While we all know it will happen, we probably, and quite deliberately, don’t spend too much time thinking about the moment that we meet Death, as in the actual omnipotent being that decides how and when we’ll finally go. In Death Suits You, currently playing at VAULT Festival, this is exactly who we meet, though he assures us it’s not our time just yet.
This black comedy places Death behind a desk, methodically sorting through files, each one representing one of us mere mortals and our eventual demise. Death, as it happens, is feeling very under appreciated. It turns out there’s rather a lot of work goes into planning our deaths, often involving years of seemingly unconnected events, orchestrated by Death, culminating in that final moment.
To prove the point, Death (Sam Hooper, who is also the writer) takes us through a number of his case files, explaining the ins and outs of how he went about actually killing the person. It’s certainly macabre, but it’s also very funny…at times. Other times it’s very dark, and the way subjects like suicide and school shootings all seem to be fair game for comedic effect feels uncomfortable.
In the first example of Death’s handywork, the actual moment of death is accompanied by a musical number, composed by Robert Tripolino, it’s here that Death Suits You is at its best, a gorgeous piece of music sung beautifully by the star of the show. The next however, is accompanied by a piece of interpretative dance – bathed in blue light to simulate the act of drowning, it’s only Hooper’s remarkable ability as a dancer that keeps this on the right side of entertainment.
Seemingly unable to decide what the piece should be, the remaining deaths come with rap, poetry and a song that seems to combine all those elements. None of these are particularly enjoyable, sounding rushed and jumbled, they disengage the audience from the storytelling.
It’s not easy to empathise with the character of Death, and in reality, we’re not supposed to; we’re supposed to find his attitude amusing. Hooper does achieve this, both through some genuinely funny writing, and a superb delivery, leading to some very hilarious laugh out loud moments.
But it all comes across a touch disjointed, with the script going very dark in places, and with too many styles being shoehorned in, ultimately, we never have another moment as strong as Tripolino’s first number.
Just like the life that Death has planned out for us, Death Suits You stars promisingly enough, but comes off the rails rather sooner than we would have hoped.
VAULT Festival 2023 runs Tuesday 24th January to Sunday 19th March, full listings and ticket information can be found here.
