one4review | On 17, Aug 2024

A contemporary thriller brought to us by Canadian company, Ottowa Little Theatre, making a welcome return to the Fringe, and written by John Muggleton, author of their 2022 award winning Burn.

The play’s rather shocking start has Grace, hooded and tied to a chair, about to be murdered by two men in a plush suburban flat. In flashback, we learn that the men are Chuck Casey, an ex-golfer and budding minor TV personality who is now a financial advisor, and Tony Jarvis, a lawyer. The men have been invited to Grace’s flat, despite not having met her before. Grace, a very wealthy woman living of an inherited fortune, announces that she only has six months to live, and the two men argue about who should therefore provide her with financial advice, deal with her estate and act as her executor. The problem for Grace is that she has no obvious heirs – her husband died eleven years ago and she has no children, relatives or even close friends. She has also lived a very unremarkable life, but is looking to have a much more exciting end of life. Grace has another, and much darker motive for inviting Chuck and Tony to her flat, and the plot twists and turns from there to leave the audience guessing as to what on earth is going to happen next.

The cast are superb, with Kurt Shantz as Chuck, Christian Giansante as Tony and the appropriately named Venetia Lawless as Grace. Making allowances for this being an amateur company and the slightly underwhelming ending, this is still a very enjoyable hour of fringe theatre that romps along, and I would highly recommend catching it.

****

Reviewed by Howard
theSpace @ Niddry Street, Upper Theatre
12.05 (1hr)
Until 24th August