Last week, the SUDS Edinburgh festival entry piece was reprised to great aplomb.
Opening to the macabre sounds of four butchers sharpening their knives over the frigid body of a mostly naked young man, who awakes to baffled apologies from his would-be slaughterers, Last Night Things Happened follows the protagonist through a series of misadventures as he finds his way home.
His situation grows increasingly bizarre as he encounters which include an incredibly fat man composed of several cast members under a very large set of clothes, and the very literal Character Assassin.
The play consistently delivers memorable and entertaining scenes which enthrall through their self-perpetuating exploration of the strange. Each scene is both a cogent metaphor, and an addition to the overall narrative, forming a coherent sequence that pushes towards a final unified climax.
Another successful element of the play lies in its humour, which relies on genuine wit rather than simply the discomfort evoked by the uncanny. Laughter stormed the debating chamber as the patently doomed Average Angels expounded their philosophy of Versatility through Mediocrity, before marching off to face the advancing Chinese army.
The cast did an admirable job, with many playing several characters in rapid succession. Of note was Lily Pollard’s role in a marriage that’s destined to last, man and wife having been fused together by lightning.
While at times the play felt driven by a frantic tendency towards exposition, and could be accused of repetitiveness, SUDS proved that they deserved their excellent reception at Edinburgh, and that the play is deserving of future performances.
