A happy-clappy monk spreads the gospel of laughter in Peter Barnes' Black Death comedy. Set in 1348 France at the height of the bubonic plague, this rarely revived play follows Father Flote and his band of holy comics as they attempt to bring mirth to the masses in the face of sickness and death; with unorthodox festival plays, stand-up, juggling and dance. Pacifica Christian High School resurrect this thought-provoking, gently amusing tale with some impressive period costumes and a couple of standout performances from a committed and promising young cast.
Barnes' script, which won an Olivier Award after it's 1985 debut, has a couple of laugh-out-loud one-liners, and at times a Monty Python Search for the Holy Grail-style approach to Medieval history. The real focus of the play becomes evident after the plague has passed, when Flote and his travelling band of Noses confront an even deadlier disease – ecclesiastical corruption and entrenched societal inequality. This production navigates the balance between raucous farce and political intrigue fairly well, though its wide-eyed positivity can get a little earnest and saccharine for those with cynical British tastes.
The cast is generally strong, particularly the young actress cross-casted as Flote, and the young actors are clearly having a ball with the ragtag of characters that make up the landscape of 14th century France. Occasionally, however, a couple of the actors don't project enough to fill the space and their garbled words peter out, making certain plot developments entirely though unintentionally surprising.
There are also a couple of problems with the staging; though it's performed in a thrust configuration, it's all been very much directed 'out front', and a fair amount is partially blocked or entirely missed from the sidelines. Worse than this though, the show commits the cardinal Edinburgh sin of going on later than the stated finishing time – it could really do with a cut to keep its audience's attention.
