Red Bus Londinium Life

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A Brief Case of Crazy comes to the Riverside Studios after being called a “hidden gem” by the FringeReview at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Hidden gem is an apt description,  as in this show the Skedaddle Company (Rowan , Lennie Longworth and Samuel Cunningham) deliver a delightful movement-theatre based treat.

Inspired by the likes of Buster Keaton, Mr Bean and Charlie Chaplin, the show’s unlikely hero is tragicomic, introverted, homemade jumper-wearing office worker Thomas (Armitt-Brewster) who is in competition for the affections of his office colleague Daisy (Longworth) with the oozingly dastardly Simon (Cunningham).

The interplay between these three characters is absolutely charming and Thomas and Daisy’s long awaited date is pure joy. Armitt-Brewster is a fantastically physical actor and his ice skating was a hilarious scene that will stay with me for a very long time.

Daisy and Thomas are both played so precisely that it is almost as though one is watching a stop-motion animation at points and the soundtrack enhances this significantly.

There are also very satisfying commuter scenes where the trio uses every element of the physical movement playbook to recreate their journeys.

There are some elements that worked slightly less well. A scene on a moving travelator had uncertain audience members behind me asking (“Why is he on the floor?”). Maybe some additional sound making clear what he was travelling on would help here, though it seems unlikely that Upper Wadlington would boost such technology. I was also not sure that the octogenarian thief storyline added to the overall show.

By contrast, the puppetry retelling of devastating events in Thomas’s childhood was breathtakingly moving and the trio worked together seamlessly to manipulate a marionette doll through some dreadful memories. The lighting in these scenes further exaggerated the horror. It serves as an important reminder that everyone has an inner story.

 Skedaddle Theatre is a very new company born out of the Physical Theatre course at East 15 Acting school. This course is informed by Jacques Lecoq methods in physical theatre, movement, and mime. This production is very strong and appealing and I am excited to see what the three actors do next both individually and collectively.