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Bitesize Festival
Billed as a comedy-drama about funeral mishaps and family drama, genuine comedy is scarce but the writing and performances are at least partially redeemed in the moments that focus on loss and emotion. Summary
Rating
Ok
In the opening scene of Bury Me – part of the Bitesize Festival for new and emerging artists at Riverside Studios – a funeral celebrant addresses the audience and starts to discuss the deceased. That is, until he is interrupted awkwardly by someone who needs him to ask the congregation if anyone owns a particular car because it is blocking the entrance. Queue a flutter of awkward laughter from us as spectators. The celebrant continues as no one comes forward to claim said car. Once again he is interrupted, except this time he reads the registration plate out for the offending vehicle only for him to realise it is his own car. He dashes from the stage to correct the issue: hilarious. Except, well, not so much.
The next scene features a brother and his sister teasing each other in a family setting, bantering as loving siblings do. We become aware that the young man has a serious illness, details of which are sparse, but it is clear that it may be life limiting. This scene is well written, heartwarming and natural. The dialogue works, and the relationship between the two actors feels instinctive, less cumbersome. Both Gillian Konko as Nadia and Peter Todd as her brother shine in these moments: they are genuine, natural and unforced.
The remainder of the play follows this pattern: awkward scenes where the humour is simply not funny and ill-placed with forced laughter, followed by scenes where the drama is thoughtfully written and powerfully acted. Consequently, I find Bury Me difficult to judge as the two elements to the work are so different in quality. And personally I love a bit of funereal humour but the ‘comic’ devices used in the production are clunky and obvious.
It is also too long: billed as 65 minutes, it was at least 75 even with a delayed start, and at times felt considerably longer than that. As a thought, quite a bit of the section dealing with the delay to the funeral could be edited down. However, even though it is clear for some time what the ending will be, the final scene between the two sisters and ultimately Nadia listening to her brother’s voice note is one of the most emotional scenes of the play and genuinely moving.
The remaining cast comprises Juliette Imbert, Eleanor Dunlop and Fitzroy ‘Pablo’ Wickham, all of whom play several characters over the trajectory of the story. Clearly they are all talented and they manage to switch convincingly between different personas several times. But often the writing lets them down, particularly Wickham, who appears to be the awkward, often frustrating, fall guy.
The set is simple and a little unimaginative given the size of the studio but serves a purpose as the right hand side (for the audience) is fixed to that of a bedroom or hospital room, whilst the left hand side is used more flexibly. There feels to be a lot of characters coming and going from the set too often, which on reflection just feels a little jarring. “Bury me” is a phrase used by the family in the play as a term of endearment. By the end of the piece it has become obvious that it is also an allusion to the funeral mishap. This is a piece that has been put together and performed by a young team who should be supported, but I do think that the humour needs to be rethought and the number of characters reduced, if only to avoid the phrase “Bury me” being used in respect of the piece itself.
Written and directed by: Mina Moniri
Produced by: Scar Theatre Ltd
Bury Me plays as part of Bitesize Festivalat Riverside Studios until 4 February. Further information and bookings can be found here.
