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.