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Happy: Liverpool University Lantern Theatre
(Edinburgh Fringe preview)
Former Liverpool University student Igor Memic choose its historic Lantern Theatre as the venue for the the preview of a new black comedy that looks certain to be a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The piece, produced by the London Municipal Theatre is entitled "Happy," will be at the intimate Greenside venue in the Scottish capital for a five-night run.
And so what could be a more fitting venue for the try-out than the small and friendly Lantern auditorium, which was packed for the performance on Tuesday night.
The audience - mostly composed of young postgraduates - was very receptive to the production which lays with the emotions, ranging from hilarious scenes which elide seamlessly into those of tragedy.
Thus, we were confronted with a sequence recounting schoolboy jokes among colleagues transforming into one of suicide in the office.
Scene changes are normally effected while the lights are dimmed or switched-off and more seldom these days after the curtains close, so the technicians can work unobtrusively.
However in Memic's production it is the actors playing who are charge of the changing the set, and they achieve this to great comic effect, albeit the set consists of one table and four chairs!
Basically, the play puts a new twist on answering the age-old question "What is Happiness?"
Through the main protagonist, a lucky businessman, Memic challenges our perception of happiness. Dealing with subjects such as drugs, suicide at work, domestic violence, world capitalism, the show makes us think about the concept of happiness and to question its link with money.
Despite its experimental nature the piece is accessible to audiences including those (like myself) who to whom the English language is not their mother tongue.
I'm French, and I've been here in Liverpool for just one month on an internship, yet I understood most of the dialogue, though perhaps not all the crude street slang.
This piece will delight fans of experimental theatre and will also make you laugh if you are receptive to the absurd, in the context of situation comedy.
The preview in Liverpool was an electric event but to can catch-up the happiness buzz at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where "Happy" will be staged every evening from the 20th- 25th August at 6:10 pm at the Greenside Venue.
For further information, visit the company website: http://www.facebook.com/municipal.london
Happy
Directed by Rebecca Cope.
Cast list:
Dad - Sean Hutchings
Mum - Ellie Stephenson
Son - Jak Malone
Professor/Banker - Matt Exley
Ericson - Gregg Prentice
Banker - Matt Pieterse
