Imperial Fizz

Think Noel and Gertie, The Lunts and mainly those 1930’s Hollywood smart talking but ultimately lightweight features. That sets the scene for the couple in Imperial Fizz, though you soon realise that there is something off kilter about their situation. As we take in what, on first glance, seems like a fairly swanky art deco apartment, you realise that all is not as it seems. Writer Brian Parks pays homage to those films but the tone of this play is much blacker with a surreal and cruel edge. Bringing Up Baby crossed with Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. The once glamorous pair make cocktails in preparation for a visitation from some dark force.

Park provides some very witty lines though there is little time to pause to take them in. The complicated dialogue is delivered at breakneck-speed by two highly skilled performers. Issy Van Randwyck and David Calvitto deserve praise for managing to deliver all the lines without falling over the furniture and that is meant as a compliment.Add in some songs and inventive direction from Sophie Fletcher and you have a rather heady cocktail mix that looks appetising but leaves behind  a somewhat bitter taste.