“I am hungry!” declares Fat, shortly after the play begins. At least I think it was Fat, as the characters are listed in the programme as ‘Fat’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Thin’ and it’s not abundantly clear who’s who (especially as the actors all seem like slim gentlemen)!
An obviously highly talented group of performers makes this theatre company an exciting prospect for the future.
Anyway, being hungry, is the driving force behind Out at Sea, as three men are stranded in the middle of ocean, and their last lot of supplies, a tin of baked beans, has run out. What follows, which is agreed as the logical next step by the three men, is to choose which of them should then be eaten by the other two.
What follows is an amusing, touching and thought-provoking satirical piece centring on manipulation, desperation and cunning. Written by Polish playwright Slawomir Mrozek in 1961, and translated by Nicholas Bethell in 1967, the play has deservedly stood the test of time.
The production, taken on by the theatre company Iron Lion, was very strong. The company have performed the play before on the UK Fringe scene and have reprised the piece at this year’s Camden Fringe. If only more audience members, than the six people I saw it with, had enjoyed what is a very entertaining, simple, piece of theatre.
The acting of all the members of the group was very good, with special mentions to Sam Devereaux and Karl Sedgwick. Devereaux commanded the stage with real presence and excellent comic timing, allowing many subtle nuances of performance into a very entertaining character.
Sedgwick, (think Nicholas Lyndhurst meets Griff Rhys Jones), was also excellently comedic whilst contrasting this nicely with moments of real pathos and meaning.
The pair were ably supported by Mat Ruttle and Jon Palmer, with the latter particularly amusing in his comedy cameos.
An obviously highly talented group of performers makes this theatre company an exciting prospect for the future.
