On the night of an election, one candidate and two party workers are scurrying about, preparing for the results to be announced. While politics usually involves a great deal of talking however this is a silent comedy, so these guys are played by Sheffield slapstick trio Awkward Cough, who specialises in clownish wordless comedy specifically for theatre.
The three performers are energetic and physically expressive. Ian Farnell plays the leader of the Purple Party, who is pompous and sly, while Samuel Oliver and Tom Booth are a kind of double act, constantly getting into trouble and finding silly solutions to the problems they face.
The show is packed full of slapstick tropes, such as automatic action, pratfalls, tenuous misunderstandings and bouts of fisticuffs. The three actors handle what is clearly a demanding show, and the performance keeps surprising the audience right up to the end.
While it is 'silent' in the sense that the actors do not speak, the show does make use of voiceover in the form of television coverage of the election, as well as some traditional fiddle music to accompany the silliness onstage. This contributes to the hilarity, and is often remarkably well-timed.
While the play does not offer any astute judgements on the state to politics, it is still jolly good fun, and something a bit different that is well worth the price of admission.
