Something Fishy (The Marlborough Theatre, Brighton)

As the audience takes their seats, at the little Marlborough Theatre, they all seem ready to have some fun. The simple, but very effective set, is enhanced with the use of some excellent sound effects, and together they create a very comfortable atmosphere into which Ruth Rich Ginny Davis enters, and her one-woman play begins.

Rich is a middle class, middle aged, mother of three who lives in middle England. Her youngest child Fred has been banned from taking any school trips unless his mother accompanies him, and so, as we join the action, preparations are being made for the two of them to embark on a journey.

We are quickly drawn in to her chaotic world as she attempts to get everything in order for the trip to Marrakesh, with Fred being of very little help with the task. Her mind is not only preoccupied with the journey but she is also worried that her 17 year old daughter will be staying behind at home, alone – or so she thinks!

Davis is a keen observer of the many and varied happenings that take place in busy family life and it is obvious from the laughter and the total engagement of the audience that we all recognise family members, relatives and ourselves in her keen observations.

Her sullen, monosyllabic, son causes her almost non -stop grief and isolates himself from the world with his noise cancelling earphones unless he is getting stoned at the souk with his best friend Tim. Ruth loathes Tim’s mother “a woman blessed with the skill of giving maximum offence with minimum effort”, but has to tolerate her because Tim is Fred’s best friend.

The scene changes from the airport to the flight, the ryad and the souk with one of the highlights of the performance being a superbly hilarious sketch, in which they wrongly interpret the call to prayer from the local mosque as a political coup.

Whilst Ruth is in Marrakesh she is having constant phone calls from her daughter Ellie who is hysterical at not being able to access Facebook and is full of teenage angst. The” fishy” part of the play arises from Fred’s acquisition of seven goldfish named after the seven deadly sins and their fate!

I won’t give any more away, except to say that this is an excellent production and a laugh out loud evening.