Edmund Morris’ hour-long play is a fringe theatre treat. The writing is neat and the performances are fun. It’s a comedy horror, with a touch of crime drama, set in an undertaker’s shop, with a murderer returning from the dead. I laughed a lot and jumped (once). It’s all good.
Morris’ comedy is strong on observation – his characters being of a similar age and sharing a love of sweets helps. Setting the play in the 1960s might need elaborating on, but there’s some nice detail about Irish folklore that impresses. Best of all, every line is delivered enthusiastically. Morris also stars and, if he rushes a little, his speed helps the humour overall. Louis Davison is funny, too (they are a strong comedy pairing). He revels in trying to creep us out with scary stories, including one about the titular spectral dog (I could have had more of this). With the arrival of Jackie (Harry Carter), a formidable yet charismatic gangster who has been shot after killing a policeman, the jokes continue.
A twist that the corpse brings to the crime sub plot might be expanded, both boys believing what they read in the papers could be questioned and a few clues beforehand would have been nice. Nor is a spooky phone call explained fully. Maybe it doesn’t need to be? Like the spooky sound effects (from Fergus Carver) unnerving the audience is reason enough. The direction from Ben Woodhall is sharp, the show whizzes by, and leaving an audience wanting more is no bad thing. Morris isn’t afraid of clichés – comedy, horror or crime – and he uses them well, creating an accomplished, knowing script that is highly entertaining.
Until 18 January 2025