Review: Breathing Corpses, Alma Tavern

Three corpses are discovered – but just how do their stories interlink? In this award-winning dark comedy, life is breathed back into each body for the audience to gather the clues about how each corpse came to be.

What makes this incarnation of Laura Wade’s play so unique is that it’s produced as part of Gatecrash Theatre’s Smash and Grab project, an initiative which involves professionals in the field mentoring an amateur cast and crew. The stage set did appear amateur – with cardboard boxes instead of shelves and a door in lieu of a desk – but this reflected the grassroots nature of the production in a charming way. The actors were used to move props between scenes but did so in exaggerated, zombie-like movements, which added to the morbid feel of the whole production.

Breathing Corpses appeals to all of the audiences’ senses and was helped to do so by the intimacy of the Alma Tavern Theatre, which makes everyone feel part of the action in a way that a larger venue never could. Live guitar music from musician Charlie Miles reverberates menacingly round the room; atmospheric lighting from David Jell adds tension; the smell of an opened can of dog food wafts into the audience during one scene.

Under the directorship of Natasha Garbutt (with Directing Mentor Laura Barnes), the seven-strong cast of actors put on an impressive performance, too. The audience is introduced to a range of characters, most of whom seem believable because of their normality – they could be you or me. Amy, a bubbly hotel housekeeper, is played convincingly by Amber Sadler, who makes her seem funny, sweet and fragile.

Amy’s unexpected discovery of the body of Jim (Steve O’Halloran) provides some light comic relief to the heavy topics of death and mortality. Rewinding back, the play introduces Jim before his demise, as well as his wife Elaine (Anna Friend) and nice but dim employee Ray (Jamie Carter).

Anna Friend’s portrayal of a happy-go-lucky woman trying to stay positive through disturbing events makes the audience empathise with Elaine. Meanwhile, Steve O’Halloran gives an impassioned performance as Jim, a man on the brink of self-destruction.

Further on, the audience is introduced to Ben (Carli Green) and Kate (Rebecca Rocker), a couple whose relationship is fraught with darkness, brutality and tension. Both actors bring a sense of rage to their characters that helps subsequent events unfold plausibly. As the play builds up to its dramatic climax, the audience is introduced to the character of Charlie, whose darker depths are expertly depicted by Roberto Glennie.

Breathing Corpses keeps you guessing until its final powerful scene, when the identity of the last corpse is revealed – someone that the audience has known all along.

Breathing Corpses was at the Alma Tavern Theatre from Tuesday, March 29 to Saturday, April 2. For upcoming Alma Tavern performances, visit www.almataverntheatre.co.uk/theatre/what-s-on