Review: SNIFF by Make It Beautiful Theatre Company at Theatre503 25 & 26 July 2022

 ‘SNIFF’ is all about scratching beneath the surface to see what darkness lurks beneath' ★★★★

Liam’s in the grips of addiction. Alex is in the stranglehold of an advertising job in the city. They meet in a grim toilet in the pub where Alex is due to propose to his girlfriend- an eventuality that fades into fantasy as both characters’ true selves begin to unravel.

‘SNIFF’ is all about scratching beneath the surface to see what darkness lurks beneath. At the beginning, it feels like sketch comedy. The two characters appear to be polar opposites, bound by some elusive tie that’s only revealed later on in the play. By this point, however, the story has shifted entirely in tone, becoming a social commentary on the gambling industry. SNIFF moves from Peep Show to Inside No.9 in just over an hour.

Fast, conflict-heavy dialogue between Alex and Liam gives us barely enough time to stop laughing at a witty quip before we’ve reached another one. The characters are stereotyped. We’ve seen them before. But the comedic writing is bursting with fresh originality.

At times, I felt myself watching actors Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson and Felix Grainger intently, expecting them to crack up and laugh at something the other had done or said. I literally don’t know how they made it through without breaking character.

While comedy is the play’s clear strength, the commentary is, admittedly, a little on the nose. For me, it isn’t thread through carefully enough, so when it does come, it hits us very suddenly and is almost like we’re being told, “right you’ve had your laughs, but actually this means something.”

That being said, the play was exciting, full of energy and well worth a watch.

SNIFF

Theatre 503, Battersea

25th-26th July - 7.30pm

Make It Beautiful Theatre Company

https://www.makeitbeauitfultheatrecompany.co.uk/about

Twitter @MIBeautifulTC

Reviewer

Danny Shaw studied English at Bristol University before completing a screenwriting MA at Leeds Beckett. He now works as a journalist and is an aspiring screenwriter / playwright.