There are no finer exponents of lo-fi, madcap, strangely illuminating cabaret in the land than Forkbeard Fantasy. But in this, their latest stab at intellectually flawless tomfoolery, their talents fail to cohere on stage. Climate change, you can (still) hear them asking: what's the story?
They come up with a slew of stupendous ideas but sadly nothing approaching an answer. Completely lacking a tale to tell, they hurl about a mishmash of climate-change facts and irreverent fantasy, at an increasingly feverish pitch, through slapstick, live music, puppetry and film.
That the evening never lapses into tedium is due largely to the blindingly brilliant antics of Chris and Tim Britton who, as the brothers Brittonioni, are primed to deliver their world-famous talk on the environment. They are charmingly abetted by Paschale Straiton as Aldgate's nerve-ridden Climate Champion, who has an earthquake, a carbon neutral theatre policy, and a nagging suspicion of the Brittonioni's ethics to contend with, and her love-struck, sidekick electrician, Ed Jobling.
While the four-piece band are slightly hit and miss, Penny Saunders's puppets are hauntingly evocative; the moment where a white pony stalks silently through the audience delivers the only truly effective dramatic moment of the evening.
But Forkbeard just can't decide whether to actually educate or shamelessly entertain their audience, and ultimately achieve neither aim.
Invisible Bonfires
Toynbee Studios
Commercial Street, E1 6LS
