Devised comedy production Abominations by theatre company Heretical Productions was a silly, funny, fast-paced adventure of science and creation. The show follows aspiring young scientist Hugo and his time shadowing the great geneticist, Professor Foxcroft. Not all goes to plan however, when a rival scientist attempts to take over the world, using Professor Foxcroft’s latest invention and his own Frankenstein-esque creature, Grabthor.
The cast were energetic, fun and clearly had great chemistry. There was no doubt that they were having the best time and this joy really did transfer over to the audience. A special mention must go to Tom Bridges, who switched between roles but shone as Tony, the simple Security Guard with big ideas. His comic timing was just impeccable.
The sound design however had to be the strongest element of the show. The company have an excellent onstage keyboard player, Alex Howgego, who definitely possessed the skill of making himself invisible amidst the rest of the action. His old-school horror B-movie music was spot-on for the genre and really did enhance the performance. The sound effects, such as lasers, wolves and chickens had also been very well chosen and used.
The only real problem to be found with this particular show was its description of itself as ‘bursting with inventive physical theatre’. Whilst it did contain some good elements of physical theatre, such as the actors making themselves into doors and lifts using only their body parts, there really wasn’t enough of it. The play was very physical, with lots of movement throughout but I definitely wanted to see more. On the whole, it was a great show with a huge sense of fun about it and one that left the audience in very high spirits indeed.
