Buckle up for a rather bumpy and chaotic flight with Fresh !nk Airways from Heathrow to Los Angeles. The theatricality begins when the "passengers" show their E tickets to check in for Cabin Fever, greeted by two members of the cabin crew, immaculately dressed in the sky-blue uniform and neat cap. After being handed a flight safety card for the A380 aircraft, the audience is welcomed aboard to take their seats for this 11 hour journey.
In this sharply observed, comedic double act, Aurelia Harris-Johnstone and Beth Miles portray the air stewards as well as about a dozen colourful, contrasting characters. First we meet the rather snobbish, sneering Rachel, who cannot believe she is in seat 22C, Economy as she always flies Business. By sheer coincidence, beside her is Alice an old school ‘friend,’ now a high flying career woman, much to Rachel’s annoyance who brags about her exaggerated lifestyle with husband Michael, a lawyer.
He is however sitting a few rows back beside the calm, consoling Anastasia offering him therapeutic peppermint handcream. When she offers to swap seats with his wife Rachel, he is extremely quick to refuse her kind gesture. The action is interrupted in timely moments by recorded bing-bong announcements for the seatbelt sign and duty free trolley. Around the economy cabin are squabbling teenagers, a mother with bored young daughter, and an elderly couple trying to get to grips with the touch screen TV. All the brilliantly perceived passengers are captured with just a change of voice, accent or a pair of spectacles, for each brief scenario.
The dialogue flows along with sparkling dry wit and acerbic humour through snippets of intimate conversations, the revelation of secrets and lies. Skilfully switching between the passengers and cabin crew, just at times the supersonic speedy change of role playing is rather too brusque or loudly overplayed to follow the storyline.
Written and performed by Aurelia Harris-Johnstone and Beth Miles, Cabin Fever provides excellent in-flight entertainment for all ages and has been a sell out show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Such an impressive success for this debut production by the Fresh !nk theatre company should inspire a TV situation comedy series, as a contemporary follow up to the hugely popular 1990s comedy, 'The High Life', starring Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson on board Air Scotia.
Showtimes:
19 – 24 August @1405
Ticket prices: £12 (£10); £9.50 (£7.50).
Age guidance: 5+