 This play is written by the comedian Jim Sweeney it is the fourth
play of his to be presented at the Gilded Balloon since 1999. The others
were ‘Danny’s Wake’, ‘Sick Transit’ and ‘My MS and Me’,
either Geoff or myself have seen all three.
Working with Stephen Frost for years the two performers know each
other well and I feel this comes out in the writing.
I have watched Stephen
Frost over the years perform mainly in comedy and on TV. I also saw him
in the production in the Assembly Rooms, 2003 as part of the phenomenal
’12 Angry Men’ cast. ‘Cabin
Fever’ could almost be a snapshot of him in another life.
Billed as a one-man show
for two people, we see Billy Merriweather in his cabin onboard a
recently refurbished luxury cruise liner. In a wheelchair he has a man in uniform taped down with
gaffartape. As the show
proceeds we find out that after 25 years as a comic for the same cruise
liner he is being pensioned off! ‘Alternative
Comedy’ and ‘Reality Shows’ have taken over.
Frosts portrayal of the
character is such that without knowing him so well I would almost think
he was not acting at all. The entertainment officer’s (I am trying to
get his name) fear of Merriweather for me wasn’t quite believable
although in the final scene of the play a possible reason for this
developed. The twist in the show slowly dawned on me at the start of the
third and final scene with almost a groane.
Cleverly written and
superbly performed it is well worth trying to see this production.
****
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