THE COMEDY OF BABI BABBETT

Abbey House, Abbotsbury

THE Rude Mechanicals are back on the road so it is time for music and laughter in the Commedia dell’Arte tradition which means riotous comedy madness performed by six seriously talented actor/musicians.

Set at the time of the French Revolution, the action is all about love sought, found, spurned and betrayed as servants and masters get themselves into a tangle – at times literally – in which a bomb and lots of sausages play a major role, well they would wouldn’t they?

Written and directed by the company’s founder Pete Talbot, the farcical plot owes much to the historical background of live theatre but what the audience most enjoy is seeing grown men and women making complete idiots of themselves on a live stage with the help of a superb script that is absurd and clever in equal measures.

With the company’s signature slapstick style, the story highlights social injustice and the pomposity of power, naturally all done in the worst possible taste which makes it all the more delightfully funny.

The cast play a variety of comic characters in a well dressed open air production that has neither scenery nor props – not even sausages - the excellent musical accompaniment being performed by the actors as they dash in and out of their roles.

The company are touring the south throughout the summer and will be at Swanage Durlston Country Park on July18th and you would be a fool to miss it.

MARION COX