Last Laugh theatre review: Scattered post-apocalyptic chaos
Cramming intergalactic romances, puppets and alien invasions into a ‘eulogy to live performance’, Last Laugh is an overstimulating attempt to cover too much ground
A semi-scripted, semi-improvisational, post-apocalyptic hour of dodgy British accents, monologues and a cobbled-together love story referencing Carl Sagan and Wall-E, all in the middle of an alien invasion. Ooh, and horny puppets. Sounds simple, right? Alice (Pimprenelle Noël) and Bee (Lydia Sims) are two friends in a breathless race against time to gift the world ‘one last improv show’ before Earth is, presumably, blasted into the cosmos.
What may have sounded good on the page has a helluva hard time translating onto the stage in any coherent or meaningful way. It’s the worst of all worlds: each element is left underexplored before something new barges into the limelight, leaving the plot frustratingly out of sight. It’s a bit like watching the action unfold through the wrong end of a telescope. Noël and Sims are engaging and talented in equal measure, but Last Laugh may end up being truer than they hoped for.
Last Laugh, Zoo Playground, until 30 August, 9pm; picture: Eduardo Ramirez.