Directed by Robert Eyers & Will Dalrymple - Just The Tonic - The Caves - The Big Room, 2016, August 4th - 28th
‘I think we all need to calm down and do what we always do in an emergency.’ ‘Good thinking George. We're the Famous Five... and it's time we had a picnic!’.
...The FAMOUS FIVE are BACK!
Shedload returns to The Fringe with Robert Eyers’ farcical spin on the childhood classic.
Following its successful debut last year with two highly lauded shows, Shedload returns to the Fringe for 2016 with Robert Eyers, a writer and graduate of Pembroke College, Cambridge, who penned this witty parody of Enid Blyton’s most popular adventure series. With thick-knit short shorts all round, and an irresponsible amount of hammy-hampered picnics, this promises to be a milk-squirtingly hilarious spin on a childhood favourite!
Robert Eyers has masterfuly woven this original, semi-faithful, Blyton-esque plot, complete with strange Frenchman, curious shenanigans on Kirren Island, missing neighbourhood dogs, and surreptitious messages given by ne’er-do-wellers. Can the Famous Five thwart all these villainies without Timmy, who is worryingly missing? A full cast of Blighty-based, Blytonish characters is present, from cartoonish thugs to kindly shopkeepers and inadequate policemen.
The show is a wacky, fast-paced spoof, moving from scene to scene as sets and locations are created from the wealth of props and scenery. Interspersed between the action are handfuls of farcical delights, which frequently contain winks and nods to the original book series. This high- energy comedy is a veritable hamper of hilarity and will leave you grinning from ear to ear.
Cast
Directed by: Robert Eyers & Will Dalrymple
Written by: Robert Eyers
Produced by: Shedload Theatre
Graphic Design: Benjamin AE Filby
Julian: Sam Lamont
Dick Alex Harris
Anne: Molly Stacey
George: Millie Foy
Uncle Quentin: Jack Bolton
Aunt Fanny: Natalie Reeve
Wooden Arm Mitzi: Louisa Keights
Soppy Lenoir/Additional roles: Tim Vaughan
Additional roles: Robert Eyers
Reviews
FRINGE REVIEW - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SHOW "The pace never faltered though at times we laughed heartily and the action moved before we could recover; some of the innuendo got swallowed when we just wanted it spat out"
★★★★★ Varsity
“This is a fantastic romp through a surrealist, satirical, silly marsh of comedy genius. Performance, script, set and music come together in a rather wonderful messy harmony. Eyers’ characters are ridiculous from start to finish, and brought to life by a vivacious cast.”
★★★★ The Cambridge Tab
“More like Uncle QuentWIN. If you want to see a highly energetic laugh-a-minute show, this is the gig for you.”
About the Writer: Robert Eyers
Robert is the Writer and Co-Director of Five Go Off On One!. A recent graduate of Cambridge University, Robert read Law at Pembroke College, during which time he was president of the renowned ‘Pembroke Players’. Writing and performing alongside his undergraduate career, Robert's sketch shows have included such Cambridge hits as Failure, Hamlet and And Then There Were Nuns. Robert also performs “better than usual” stand up (The Tab, Cambridge) and has lent his “impossible to flaw” (EdFringe Review) comic touches to productions throughout Cambridge, Edinburgh, and further afield. Five Go Off On One! is Robert’s most recent and successful play to date, and he is looking forward to seeing his “silly marsh of comedy genius” (Varsity) being performed to the Festival crowds this summer
About the Director: Will Dalrymple
Will Dalrymple is an English graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge and is himself an experienced comedy writer. He makes his return to the Fringe this year to direct Five Go Off On One!. Will’s previous credits as Director include the show’s inaugural run at the Corpus Playroom in Cambridge, where he also originated the role of Julian. This time round Will has put his “actor’s hat” on the stand, and is solely focused on bringing his ingenious eye for comedy to ‘Five’ for a second time.
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