'Dead Funny' Vaudeville Theatre ****

Without any shadow of a doubt, British comedy is the best in the entire world as us Brits are widely known for our dry and witty sense of humour and British situation comedies AKA sitcoms have provided us with some of the most hilarious moments broadcast on British television and British comedians and comediennes are hugely admired. The West End revival production of Terry Johnson’s 1994 play, ‘Dead Funny’ was a roll on the floor play about a group of comedy enthusiasts who cherish their hobby; furthermore, the performances were thrillingly funny.

‘Dead Funny’ is set in 1992 where we are introduced to husband and wife, Richard and Eleanor who are hosting an annual meeting where they discuss and re-enact classic sitcom moments that we should all know and love. Eleanor is not as much of a fan of comedy unlike her husband; Richard who is a bit of an obsessive, nonetheless, when Richard’s friends, Brian, Nick and Lisa come over to Richard and Eleanor’s the drama is soon started. Over the course of the performance, we see that the group show their love for the comedians especially Richard and Brian and it appears that both of the men are a little bit too obsessed with their hobby and Eleanor knows that this passion is really ridiculous. There’s a dark undertone within the story as Eleanor is yearning to have a baby with spouse Richard, nonetheless, Richard does not want to be a father just yet which makes their marriage to become rather awkward. Progressively, Richard and his best-mates wife, Lisa commence an illicit affair and they even have the audacity to have sex in Eleanor’s living room and in order for both their marriages to survive they vow to keep this hush hush. Apparently they are supposed to be joined by more guests coming to the gathering and it is obvious that they’re not coming as they are at someone else’s. Throughout the duration of the plot, it is revealed that Lisa has become pregnant and you can guess who the father is and when the secret is exposed, Eleanor throws Richard out of the house and he stays at Brian’s as he has nowhere to go and it is obvious that Richard and Nick’s friendship is over. Both Eleanor and Nick are completely betrayed by their spouse’s deception and it takes a relatively long time for the group to patch up their problems and at the finale, Nick unleashes all of his anger onto Richard and the meeting is sprung a huge astonishment when the rest of the members of the group are actually coming so a huge clean-up operation is needed. Johnson’s narrative is rib-tickling and startling at the same time as the comedic lines and the discussion of British comedy icons suggest that we have down to earth humour, moreover, the shocking elements such as; dishonourable cheating does wonders in capturing a different spin to the plotline which is lovely.

One found the performances by the company of, ‘Dead Funny’ to be terrifically spiffing as the entire company have created a joyous amounts of vocal abilities and the fight sequences to the imitations of the Brit comics were majestic. Katherine Parkinson is awesome as the desperate hopeful mother, Eleanor; mainly when she begins shunning and mocking Richard’s hobby and how much she disapproves these meetings and over time we see her upset by Richard’s cheating and how the only thing she has ever wanted has somewhat been taken away from her. Rufus Jones is fantastic as Eleanor’s lying husband, Richard; especially when he attempts to imitate the legend that is Benny Hill and how realistic he comes across, furthermore, even though I hate cheating spouses, the sex scene with Lisa is actually quite funny and it does show a sinister black humour there. Steve Pemberton is brilliant as Richard’s friend, Brian; largely by the fact that Brian is even more of an obsessive of British comedy such as his re-enactments of Frankie Howerd and Sid James, but when he has to collect Richard’s stuff you can see that he really wants to have the group to be re-united and let bygones be bygones. Ralf Little is excellent as another one of Richard’s friends, Nick; for example how you can see that he is the more quieter member of the men but still a massive lover of Brit comedy, on the other hand, as the secrets and lies are exposed his character portrays his rage and I did get moved as he became a bit teary eyed and the scenes where he smashes cakes into Richard’s face shows that Richard deserves it. Emily Berrington is grand as Nick’s wife, Lisa; predominantly where when she has sexual activity with Richard, it shows that she has totally forgotten the “girl code” and you can see that Eleanor and Lisa aren’t actually haven’t got the strongest of friendships so she doesn’t appear to feel too guilty towards Eleanor but to Nick it is noticeable that she regrets it.

Terry Johnson’s direction is voluminous here as he has presented such an amusing revival which encapsulates to wonder of British comedy and with so many legends passing away it is important to keep remembering what impact these people had on a nation and the fight direction by Ruth Cooper-Brown connects the tension and the destruction of a vital friendship group and this has been shown in a funny manner. Richard Kent’s design is ceaseless as Richard and Eleanor’s house has been realised through outstanding construction and scenic art and I was impressed by Paul Pyant’s lighting and John Leonard’s sound, also the safety curtain with Ian William Galloway’s video design and animation portrays that all elements of design have been brought together in a gracious way. Overall, the experience of, ‘Dead Funny’ was a laugh out loud show that celebrates the British comedy greats that will instantly make you want to watch a show on ‘Gold’ or ‘Dave’ when you venture off home.