| 17 August 2011
When the village boasts the healthiest pensioners in the United Kingdom, the local undertakers must find a way to keep the bailiff and imminent closure from its coffin-shaped door. Coffin Up brings this macabre tale to life without a single word being uttered.
Formed in 2005, The Villiage Idiots are a company who deliver their non-verbal comedic tales from behind masked faces. These masks aren’t the creepy sort you might expect, but are full of life and expression. Watching new characters appear on stage brings excitement and delight, with each mask capturing their personalities flawlessly: cue the sallow-faced, sharp-nosed undertaker, his plumy, soft-featured apprentice Doug, and the beady-eyed bailiff, to name but a few.
The story itself is a charming one, blending the grisly with the humorous in equal measure: the bludgeoning to death of the chirpy Morris dancer with his own baton was done particularly well. While some will adore the simplicity of Coffin Up, the predictability of the plot and its plodding pace will turn the less accommodating off. My main bugbear was the unrelenting background music, which was so drab and monotonous that my attention wandered elsewhere. Be sure not to sit at the back as visibility of the stage is minimal.
Coffin Up, Pleasance Dome, 3-29 Aug (not 10 or 17), 1.30 pm
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