Fringe Review: A FOOT IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE PRIZE FOR A TOMBOLA, Attic at Pleasance Courtyard
Photo credit: Graeme Braidwood
Lydia (Daniel McVey) clutches her clipboard - the cornerstone of civilised society - and ushers us into the Attic at the Pleasance around her tombola stall. We are in the aftermath of the incident. We all know, don’t we, that that is not an appropriate prize for the tombola - even if you can get some crap. As an upstanding member of the local community - a local councillor no less - Lydia feels duty calling as she tries to get to the bottom of the severed foot in the box at the tombola.
A joyous, riotous hour of small-town satire A Foot Is Not An Appropriate Prize For The Tombola is a delight. It happily features all of the characters necessary in the local ye olde English village - PC Peach, the primary school teacher, the layabout and the village mad scientist. The perfect collection for a thoroughly entertaining and slightly mad murder mystery uncovered piece by piece whilst still operating the tombola stall. Quite the feat from our busybody, Lydia.
McVey is resplendent. Just the right level of slapstick, satire, and sharp wit tumbles together into a devious, delectable one-man play in true Hot Fuzz-esque fashion. With a host of props, the staging never gets overcomplicated but is merry in its shapeshifting. But not only is it a one-man performance, as audience recruitment is unveiled as the show progresses. Smart scripting and use of recordings sees the audience laughing along onstage and off as the performance freewheels through comic greatness.
Winding around McVey’s absurdist surrealism is a political note, with a commentary on the powers that be and how control reaches every corner of society. It is cleverly infused at the beginning and ramps up to an absolute takeover towards the end. Majestic in his delivery, McVey is a masterful storyteller and hilarious throughout.
A Foot Is Not An Appropriate Prize For The Tombola is a cleverly concocted hour of silly fun with a glimmer of reality. Brilliant satirical writing and hilarious delivery makes for a wonderfully ridiculous performance that will brighten your day. And you never know - you might even walk home with that Lavender Bliss Shower Gel that you never knew you needed from the tombola.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Hannah Goldswain