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BrumHour saw Four Felons and a Funeral at the invite of Birmingham Hippodrome.
By Dave Massey x.com/BrumHour
This production features strong language.
Review: Four Felons and a Funeral at Birmingham Hippodrome
Written and directed by Sam Woof
Charlie has passed away and his friend Millie (Robyn Sinclair) thinks he didn’t get the send off he deserved, so she and Wilf (Gareth Moriarty) swipe an urn containing Charlie’s ashes from his father’s house, they then contact his sister Bex (Maddy Maguire) and together with Millie’s new boyfriend Simon (Conor Dumbrell) they set off to get an over-night ferry to Dublin.
This musical is all about dealing with bereavement and moving on it deals with this in a lightly humourous way.. with music and lyrics. As the seventy-minute single act progressed we discover the complex relationships of this group and those around them.
Despite strong and solid performances from Robyn Sinclair and Conor Dumbrell their voices didn’t seem to blend and I couldn’t quite work out why as all of the relationships seem pretty believable. There is a feeling of this being an autobiography in its fringe qualities. As well as an isolation from other generations. Do the characters feel so distanced from other generations that they can’t talk to them about their own feelings or expectations?
Maddy Maguire and Gareth Moriarty also deliver strong performances and their characters seem far more complex than Simon, ironically as Simon is the new person in the group he’s the one the audience relates to. Shocked by their repeated petty theft he tries to be the voice of reason, but his lack of life experience and exposure leaves him an outsider throughout.
The set is a black box space with vertical light tubes and four boxes to represent car seats and then two metal racks with props on to be used throughout the show.
This is a thoughtful fringe-style production which hides a little bit behind its comedy and music, and certainly, its audience last night enjoyed it. Were they felons? Was there a funeral? There were certainly some F-bombs.
A strong story with great actors, Four Felons and a Funeral is at Birmingham Hippodrome until 28th September 2024. Book tickets here: birminghamhippodrome.com/calendar/four-felons-and-a-funeral.
