LOOT

I was invited along to the opening night of Loot at the Silo Theatre by my friend from Coup de Main. She was late and I was surprised to learn that if you arrive after the show has started, you can still catch the performance from 'The Crying Room' - a handful of seats in a small room separated from the main theatre by a pane of glass.

Eager to avoid this lachrymose relegation, I decided to employ my not-insignificant powers of flirtation to woo an employee at the theatre and have the start of the play delayed. I downed my beer, checked my smile in the glass of the main door and set my eyebrows at a cheeky slant before sauntering over to the helpless usher. Having been told to take my seat immediately I was delighted to see my friends being shown in after the curtain went up after all - eyebrows 1, house-rules nil!

The first thing that caught my eye was the set. Meticulously designed in black and white, it makes excellent use of the unusual shape of the Silo; the stage being a square in the corner of the theatre with two sides exposed to seating. It was functional and simple, yet also lead to the unusual staging decision of having a chair at the join of the two audience-facing sides of the stage. This meant that characters sitting in it effectively had their backs to the audience while carrying on a dialogue with the other players. The theatre is intimate enough for this not to be a problem, but it's an interesting choice nonetheless.

The black and white theme was continued in the costuming where it was evident great care had been taken to ensure only the two tones and shades of grey were used. Just two exceptions were made; a flash of bright red lipstick and a flash of bright red bra strap. Coincidences? I think not.

A good farce is a wonderful thing, which may, as an aside, explain some of my relationship choices. This one is a deliciously dark dig at the Roman Catholic Church, the police force and death along with the way people deal with it. A son refuses to go to his mothers funeral because he fears it would upset him. A policeman poses as an employee of the water board because while a policeman would need a warrant to search a house, the water board does not. And a nurse, prevented by her religious beliefs from euthanising her terminal patient decides to murder her instead as this would not conflict with her faith.

Well directed by Michael Hurst and with superb performances by Mia Blake and Cameron Rhodes along with the rest of the cast, this is a thoroughly good night at the theatre. Loot may be monochromatic in it's setting, but it is anything but colourless.

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4 Stars