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ED2014 4/5 Reviews ED2014 Theatre Reviews
The Babysitters (Thrust Stage)
By Dave Fargnoli | Published on Thursday 7 August 2014
Under all the blood, The Babysitters is a drawing room comedy, except the guests are gaffer- taped to chairs. A dark farce featuring petty criminals, torture and a really intense game of Cluedo, it’s both sillier and funnier than you’d expect. Amongst a strong cast, Michael Forde particularly shines as tall-talking kidnapper Dave, pulling more laughs from the fine script with superb comic timing. Though you could easily accuse the play of casual brutality, it manages to stay on the right side of sadistic. Instead of gratuitous violence, it relies on comic banality and squeamish tension that only intensifies the audience’s nervous laughter. Not one for the easily upset, it’ll definitely appeal to fans of black humour and implied mutilation.
C cubed, until 16 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | [Dave Fargnoli]
