"Flippers" by Kyle Eaton and Daryll Sidney.
Nottingham Arts Theatre (Studio).
Lodgers Karl and Gary have just landed a once-in-a-lifetime deal from their elderly landlady, Evelyn, to renovate her crumbling London home, flip it for profit and split the cash.
Gary, played by Daryll Sidney, is a micro-managing control freak and very down to earth. He has recently split from his wife and kids, and more emotional is the fact that his ex has sole custody of their dogs. For three years he has been renting the place across the way, within binocular sight of his old home.
Kyle Eaton, who is Karl, has already spent their non-existent budget on scatter cushions, posh egg holders and exotic pets. Energetic and a cheeky character, in fact a lusty gay man who is missing his old flame, and when I say old, I mean mature in years! He is the complete opposite of Gary, but don't they say that opposites attract?
The banter between these two opposites land really well with me ,which makes the hour quite a rapid one, making you wish for an extension to the stage time. I could see this is a saucy gay sit com, and as I was sat watching the fun, I imagined the incidental music as the show's theme tune, and this as the pilot show.
Now, was it just me having a well tuned sense of humour, as I got all the subtle, and the not-so-subtle camp gags (sorry, I couldn't resist), and even knew where "rings I'm on" was heading for, which nicely brought the jokes full circle for me, but often I could hear just my chuckles, or possibly some of the audience didn't understand the naughtiness of the jokes; that may be just the top and bottom of it, who knows? But I loved the campness of the show and could see this as a late night sit-com, or podcast.
With a script so strong and full of double entendres and wordplay, you didn't need a big set or loads of props, although there were quite a few props to take note of, especially the wine bottle which had been near a radiator, which will teach Karl a lesson with his alcohol intake. The script actually set this joke up perfectly.
The frame for the scenery and set was used really well to move you around the house and garden, and even at one stage of scene changing there was a slight error, Kyle got out of the miniscule delay with an impromptu joke, showing how a touch of improvisational comedy can bridge that very small gap of rearrangement. Likewise, with Daryll and his comedy asides when, again the props didn't want to play ball; a sign of excellent comedy actors who can think on their feet.
Apart from being a very funny piece of theatre, it shines a spotlight on loneliness, chosen family and the chaos that comes when two very different people team up on a joint project, and have different viewpoints of the end project.
Directed by Adam Colborne this is one of my favourite styles of comedy theatre, and with it being new, I did not know what was coming, or what to expect, so the jokes and the "Carry On" style of slapstick - and talking of slaps and claps, I loved the running joke with the lighting. But, do this pair get to the bottom of what is causing that strange smell, and where it emanates from?
A wonderfully refreshing piece of comedy theatre that has legs aplenty, which I am sure would spread, the more people saw it.
"Flippers" was at the Nottingham Arts Theatre Studio space for just the one night stand.
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