The Rules of Comedy

What do custard pies, rubber chickens and things happening in threes all have in common? Well, according to playwright Peter Bloedel, they’re all inherently funny. And to test this hypothesis, what better than to shoehorn them into one of the dourest, most depressing scenes in the whole of theatre – the final scene of Hamlet? Heh heh, a fiendish test indeed!

“The Rules of Comedy” is a show in three parts. In the first part, two elegantly attired narrators explain to the audience just what the rules of comedy are, and they include such timeless gems as people almost hitting each other whilst carrying a plank, taking metaphors literally and various forms of food abuse (specifically, lettuces). I found this the most exhilarating part of the show, with dry-as-dust narration being cutely counterpointed by a lovely troupe of energetic and engaging performers. Here, I think Lorna Slater’s clever direction was at its best, handling a dizzying array of vignettes with neat blocking and some inspired musical accompaniment.

Perhaps it’s in the second part that the energy level dips, as we receive a fairly joke-free “recap” on the final scene from “Hamlet”. I suppose it’s necessary, given that not everyone will remember the scene in sufficient detail, but I did feel it could have benefited from being a little more swiftly expedited.

In the third section – in which the rules from the first section are applied to the text from the second section – things pick up again. A running gag involving a stunt actor is hilarious, as are several visual jokes that I can’t possibly detail here in case I ruin the effect for future audiences. Overall, highly enjoyable.