A tip-off led me a true hidden gem of this year’s Brighton Fringe which lay tucked within the belly of the Komedia. Having transferred from the Camden festival, FRYDAYS was certainly not one to be overlooked – a two-hander, comedy-musical with a heart of gold that brought real warmth to an unusually chilly June evening.
Chris and Chriss are brother and sister and their lives revolve around the chippy owned by their father. That is, until he passed away close to a year ago. Since then they have locked themselves in the chip shop’s freezer, unwilling to confront (or even interact) with the outside world and passing the time with a myriad of oft-repeated games and storytelling. Until day 364…
From the show’s description a would-be punter could be left wondering… Absurdist? Certainly. Comical? Most definitely. A bit unstimulating? Anything but!
From the get-go the writer-performers Madeline Hatt and Louis Turner burst out of the gates with energy and a sense of adventure. Within moments they establish a fantastic rapport with the audience, an infective charm spills (quite often with the performers themselves) from the stage and into the auditorium as audience members are, in good spirit, made to take on characters as part of the drama. Not that there is a lack of characters portrayed by the cast themselves. Between them, they gather discarded mop-heads and takeaway packaging to furnish (alongside a host of accents) an array of larger-than-life characters that guide Chris and Chriss on their journey, each archetypical but never caricaturesque, finely drawn and instilled with a nuance which is a credit to the alacrity of the performers.
Chris and Chriss’ quest has them meeting these chipper, loveable critters in a sketch-like fashion with each episode unfolding within a wonderland of fish-based puns. It is a cocktail of Python-esque witticisms blended with the absurdism of the Mighty Boosh, performed with the discipline of commedia dell’arte and all mixed up in the loose but principled framework of an Ealing comedy. And then there’s original music on top of it all. The amount of instruments played between the pair rivals the production’s character list and the songs remain catchy and well-made throughout (with one set within a lingerie store proving to be a particular clap-a-long highlight.)
With plenty of silliness on display, it may seem optimistic (or merely ill-judged) to come to this show looking for emotional heft but scratch at the surface and it’s plain to see the slick quips and the slapstick ride and roll atop a very real foundation of sentiment and pathos. It’s a pastiche of small-town life but one that is endearing and nostalgic for a sense of community interaction that is seemingly fading from our ever-pressing, never-present existences.
For FRYDAYS is meta-theatrical farce at its most disciplined and therefore most accessible and the energy of delivery is simply breathtaking. A joy-filled ride of absurdist proportions through an anything-but-sleepy coastal town brings a zeal and dynamism to this year’s Brighton Fringe that hopefully ensures the production’s return in the future or, at the very least, tips the scales (get it!) in its favour.
Komedia, Saturday 3rd June 2023
