REVIEW: DROP DEAD at Drayton Arms Theatre 2 - 6 January 2024

‘A light-hearted dark comedy offering something for everyone’ ★★★★

DROP DEAD is a fast-paced dark comedy, following six ‘mourners’ and their battle for a six-figure inheritance. Through strong characterisation and a laugh-a-minute format, the company creates an engaging portrayal of jealousy, desire, paranoia, and greed.

With a pre-set coffin and montage of character introductions, DROP DEAD gets straight to the point: an unconventional rehearsal funeral for a millionaire still alive doubles as a forced uniting of individuals from the fake-deceased’s past and present. Each character portrays a hilarious archetype, carried consistently throughout both acts, with their motives intertwining as they reveal more of themselves to each other. The actors impressively maintain their high energy through complicated overlaps in conversation and physical comedy – creating a believably ridiculous ensemble that work brilliantly together yet are strong enough independently to hold the stage on their own. The age differences of the characters versus the actors were sometimes confusing – perhaps leaning into the archetypes could involve more physicality as well as dialogue? Nevertheless, to devise six completely different characters of equal importance in a play is not an easy achievement – yet DROP DEAD displays this seemingly effortlessly.

The layers of comedy presented throughout act one - and cleverly refreshed in act two – offered something for every audience member. With both running jokes and quick one-liners, sharp puns from character names, and a classic ‘misunderstanding’ side-plot, DROP DEAD  is chock-full of humour, which marries well with the funeral setting at every turn. At points, dialogue was lost due to it being delivered during the audience’s laughter – one of the only interruptions within the slick flow of the play. Another interruption came with the transitions between scenes – as the use of blackouts sometimes slowed the pace. However, as the run continues, I’m sure both transitions and dialogue will tighten.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed watching DROP DEAD – a light-hearted dark-comedy offering something for everyone. The company are onto a winning format, with the play already lengthened since their successful Edinburgh fringe run – and I would happily watch more.

DROP DEAD

Blue Pears Productions

Company:

Alexander Bittar, Madeleine Clark, Paddy Court, Tara Farquhar, Flo Lunnon, Noah Tucker

BOX OFFICE: https://www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk/drop-dead

Review by Anna Rastelli