Americana Absurdum - Part I:Vomit and Roses

Synopsis

In Vomit and Roses a family-run funeral home business fights back a hostile corporate take-over while the two children face the perils of the Senior Prom.

Our Review:

17 May 2004

Americana Absurdum has been a hit off-Broadway and at the Edinburgh fringe so it was only a question of time before it hit London.

The evening consists of two plays: Vomit and Roses and Wolverine Dream. The former is a take on the American dysfunctional family that provides the mainstay of much American offbeat drama; the second concerns itself with the aftermath of a plane crash and the legal battles.

Of the two plays, the former is the more accomplished - but there's little competition. Wolverine Dream is the sort of play put together by fresher students, a conglomeration of absurd images and lawyer jokes (the Irish lawyer is called Peat O'Mayo, which gives some idea of the quality of the humour), all mixed up with a smattering of literary allusions. Brian Parks doesn't miss any opportunity to show off: so if you don't know your Wallace Stevens from your Hart Crane, then it's bye-bye blackbird, bud.

Vomit and R...