Amédée is a surrealistic look at a floundering marriage, in which the husband Amédée (Trevor Fox) is a struggling writer who has spent the last 15 years working on a single script. And his long-suffering wife, Madeleine (Josie Lawrence) who is always on the verge of a mental break down. These characters blend together to create a bizzare yet witty look into a struggling marriage. Yet within this dark comedic performance lies a dark secret, one which could tear apart this eccentric couple forever.

Trevor Fox and Josie Lawrence together make this play come to life, full of wit and humour, however a lot of the comedic value of the piece was lost, as the actors seemed to rush through lines without giving the audience a moment to consider what was happening. Fox’s performance as Amédée is wonderful. He brings a strangeness to the character that through the piece develops into mayhem and chaos. Yet lacks the empathy to make this likeable. Instead, he is seen as the selfish artisit, whose problems and life comes before anybody else, even his down trodden wife. Lawerence plays Madeleline with such conviction that the audience can’t help to feel sorry for this zany character.

The true star of the show is however, the giant dead body. A brain child of the incredible Craig Denston, who previously worked on the BFG at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 2014. In true fashion, the puppet is absolutely absurd however, grants the audience many laughs as it is being hurled around the stage by Lawrence and Fox. It literally is the elephant in the room for this struggling married couple, yet still the couple try to ignore it until the puppet threatens to outgrow the apartment completely, forcing them to take drastic action.

The set was beautiful designed by Ti Green, the small cramped flat gives the sense of claustrophobia and closeness which in a space the size of the studio can sometimes be lost. Yet Green’s design works this perfectly, especially once the puppet is brought into the performance.

This performance of Amédée has been adapted by Sean Foley from Eugéne Ionesco’s absurdist comedies. And does not fail to bring the weird and the strange together to create an absurd night of theatre.  ★★★☆☆  Georgina Randall  1^st March 2017