Lions theatre review: Morbid mayhem
This Kafka-esque double act blends the macabre and the manic, picking apart how we view role models with unfiltered absurdism
Dad is dead, so what now? This madcap and meditative two-hander smashes together Python levels of silliness with a time-tripping detective story, all in service of the central question: what does it mean to be a good father? Turns out, getting to the answer means discovering uncomfortable truths.
Performers Scott R Sheppard and Alice Yorke, moustachioed within an inch of their lives, barrel into action at breakneck speed, flitting between slapstick, skits and big buddy-movie energy. The production’s clever sound design anchors a first half of whirlwind hits and misses, before a handbrake turn in tone begins to unpick the existential message lurking at the play’s core.
Lions transition from absurdist to elegiac seems like an odd fit, all that manic energy replaced by a treatise on grief and the minutiae of a man’s life. Even so, the tenderness expressed when packing away those feelings and possessions feels like a significant win.
Lions, Summerhall, until 30 August, 7.30pm.