Flies

Oliver Lansley
Les Enfants Terribles and Pins and Needles Productions
Pleasance Courtyard

Flies

You can always expect the unexpected from Les Enfants Terrible who, together with Pins and Needles Productions, bring us Flies a truly absurdist macabre play about these pesky insects.

Dennis (George Readshaw) has a phobia about flies that is driving him insane. He has sealed all the windows and has cling-filmed the toilet bowl but he’s so paranoid he has decided to seek treatment and do anything to escape the fly that is his nemesis.

Piers Hampton plays the white tuxedo-wearing fly with a suave yet vindictive air. “I took a shit on your food, then I vomited on it and then I stamped around it with my little sticky feet and all because I don’t like you” he proclaims.

This is a fly with attitude and Dennis is prepared to conquer his fear and do battle with this buzzing enemy.

Hampton also plays the calculating psychiatrist trying to help cure Dennis’s irrational fear whilst counting up the number of sessions he needs to be able to buy a new couch.

Harry Humberstone is the DJ (music by Kid Carpet) and foley sound artist providing the backing tracks and makes a running commentary on events with echoes to the “old woman who swallowed a fly” story.

Dennis decides his only hope is to fly to Antarctica to escape but the fly manages to get on board the flight, much to the angst of poor Dennis with disastrous results.

This black comedy is filled with ‘buzzing’ inventive silliness in a totally surreal production.

Reviewer: Robin Strapp

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