Tuesday 15 May 2012
Spymonkey's Oedipussy: A Little Slap & Tickle Got Theatre Royal Brighton Audience Happily Titillated
It really should be ridiculous, but it isn't. Somehow concocting a seemingly obnoxious stew that includes such tasty ingredients as incest, violence, mutilation, and nudity - at Theatre Royal Brighton, no less - all comes together in the mix to serve up one of the tastiest treats of Brighton Festival.
With tongues firmly in cheeks, Spymonkey brought Oedipussy onto the hallowed Brighton stage and unravelled the tale of Greek mythology; where a baby is dispatched to die in the hills to avoid the Oracle’s prediction of son-kills-dad-marries-mum coming true.
It was the physical comedy that carried what could have been an unpalatable presentation to the funny bones of a notoriously difficult to tickle Brighton audience.
Aided by a static set designed by Michael Vale (RSC, National Theatre, Kneehigh), and with sumptuous fashion by costume designer Lucy Bradridge (Boosh, Cirque du Soleil), the ridiculous tale of forbidden lust, accidental incest, violent murder and the ultimate dysfunctional family, produced a rip roaring romp of true class.
Some of the comedy comes from the fact that the cast are no spring chickens and need to tone their ageing limbs in order to provide their over the top dose of slapstick.
Actress Petra Massey titillates all the sad dads in attendance by unrobing and briefly flashing her fabulous form for all to mentally snap and take home!
Massey has been quoted as saying that the inspiration for Oedipussy was a review in The Scotsman which said something along the lines of “watching these 40-year-olds cavorting about the stage is nothing short of depressing.”
She added: “We spoke about doing a show Oedipus with a Barbarella/James Bond flavour and Emma Rice suggested the name and then it stuck because every time we said Oedipussy, everyone laughed.
“It was only a month later that I thought about what it sounded like out loud.”
With a nod to Barbarella and a wink towards the really cool sci-fi James Bond look, Spymonkey have more than succeeded in all they set out to achieve.
A wonderful production, incredible cast and, most importantly, a top night out at the theatre.
by: Neil Turner
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 The Temper Trap pic by Andy Sturmey
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