Warehouse 364 Review

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Edinburgh Festival review
Rating (out of 5)
3
Show info
Company
Nottingham New Theatre
Production
Andy Mcnamee (director), Jess Conway (producer), James Herbert (technician).
Performers
Anna Sherriff (E), Laura Wishart (Sally), Douggie McMeekin (Seb), Tom Warren (Tuffnell), Will Vickers (Lipson), Sophie Burgess (Daphne), Nick Medhurst (Benny), Vicki Auckland (Daisy).
Running time
45mins

Following a tale of mistaken identity this black comedy follows a variety of characters to the doors of Warehouse 364 - “where good things happen to bad people”.

E (Eleanor) is a part-time prostitute who takes the opportunity to make some money in an apparent drugs deal.  She stumbles into a world that borrows more from Christopher Brookmyre than film noir.

Along with the rightful couriers, her friend and a couple of door stewards she ends up locked into the warehouse with the psychotic gangster, Lipson, and his hench-person.  When things go bad Lipson tends to shoot people, so not everyone will have a happy ending.

Through a series of comings and goings the characters give snapshots of the story from their perspectives.  There are a few nice exchanges between characters and some sharp and funny lines.

The cast from the student-run New Theatre at Nottingham University act reasonably well and Tom Warren brings a welcome intensity to Tuffnell.  They are slightly hampered by the venue, which has seating only to the sides of the stage and results in any monologues being directed to a blank wall.

It’s all perfectly watchable but the thin plot fails to build any real suspense or to resolve itself dramatically.  As a world premiere there is probably something to build on but it’s far from a Fringe classic.

Times: 6-17 and 19-31 August, 2.15pm.