Fringe Review: THE UPWARDS JOURNEY OF A CHAMPAGNE BUBBLE, Gilded Balloon Patter House
Daisy (Maisie Stalham) and Marmaduke (Ben Greenwood) are panicking. They only have today to prove their love for one another and reproducible compatibility for the maintenance of the country’s population. In this dystopian-era comedy, All Is Pink Productions presents a raucous hour of farce with an edge of something darker in what people can be capable of to merely survive.
The happy couple need to show their undying devotion before they turn 25, or they are cast from society and already the cracks are starting to show as The Upwards Journey of a Champagne Bubble begins. Their assessors Michelle (Siobhan Ward) and Lance Boyle (Matthew Dangerfield) are jaw-droppingly, unescapably, overwhelmingly in love. Or perhaps lust. There are few words reachable to properly describe the animal hunger that the Boyles possess for one another, performed with supreme gusto by Ward and Dangerfield. The hyperbole is in equal turns ridiculous and fun, and the audience are loving every minute.
The perfect blend of preposterous and evil, the Boyles make for glittering villains as they march the couple around their own flat. Excellent satire on class, relationships and society removes any chance for the plot to become stale or forced as the mood between the four sours. As The Upwards Journey of a Champagne Bubble spirals and all is not what it seems the narrative twists and turns with convincing surprise.
Set in Daisy and Marmaduke’s perfectly-to-the-letter ordered home the space is well used as they try to look the picture of love. The scripting is witty, the concept an entertaining parody on the pressures of society today and the acting compelling. As the performance continues, there is a slight descent into madness, but it is pulled off with just enough panache by the actors to hold the audience. For a wacky, thoroughly entertaining hour at the Patter Hoose, take a punt on this one.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Hannah Goldswain