Drayton Arms Theatre – until 28 September 2024
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
3***
This dark comedy from Broken Gods is fantastically filthy and silly. Calum McArthur’s hitman spoof chronicles the chaos inflicted on a houseproud homeowner (Tom Lane) by Agent King (Gregor Copeland) after King crashes through his window. King used to live in the house and is expecting other agents to turn up, all contracted to kill him. Lane’s character’s horror – and fear for the safety of his beloved orchid begins to mellow, even as the bodies pile up, and the play begins to riff on familiar odd couple buddy movie tropes – there’s even a pastiche musical montage as the duo gather weapons preparing for the arrival of the big crime boss.
Hannah Clancy-Hughes plays multiple oddball characters who enter the house to meet a grizzly end amid a poonami of scatological humour. Copeland is a hoot as manchild King – the polar opposite of the cool hitmen we see in the movies, definitely more Hot Fuzz than Hollywood. Lane is wonderful as the increasingly frustrated homeowner who seemingly just relaxes into the role of partner. But, like all good crime stories, all is not as it seems. Calum McArthur writes and directs confidently and has created a devilishly funny show with exciting potential. However, an unnecessary epilogue with two comedy bobbies cleaning up the carnage misses the mark and diminishes the impact of the gruesomely satisfying ending of the previous scene.
A fun production filled with gruesome giggles – well worth a look.