Writer: Edmund Morris
Director: Georgia Bisbas
A man wakes up, pissed and alone, in the afterlife. There’s someone here to help him get through it. Over the next hour, Edmund Morris’ fringe hit offers jokes galore, as well as some touching reflections on love, mortality, the uncertainty inherent in life and the strange placenessless of Coventry.
The great strength of the piece is the chemistry between Morris, playing Death, and co-star Harry Duff-Walker as the dead man. Sharing exquisite comedy connection but also a genuine tenderness and desire to connect, their performances run the gamut from Rik-And-Ade physical violence to a need for friendship that echoes Banshees of Inisherin. Although occasionally both performers stray into the dreaded, hammy drinking-acting that will forever plague actors needing to pretend to get drunk, their connection feels real and their comic timing impeccable.
Morris’ script is highly accomplished. The dialogue is non-stop but manages to stay pacy and the production allows for lulls of energy, extreme high-points and brief segways into melancholy. The jokes land and more importantly are driven by the characters, so that when we do reach a fever-pitch of combat between the two each line stays realistic.
Hidden inside the comedy are beautifully rendered metaphors and frank, devastating discussions of leaving loved ones behind, the uncertainty of what lies beyond and if we can ever really know what we’re doing with our lives. Although Morris’ script sometimes moves towards death clichés (though often lampshaded as in the case of a certain Norwegian Blue) and the endless drinking smacks of I-need-to-find-my-characters-something-to-do-dramatically, it’s a well-wrought two-hander with punch, panache and pathos.
Kudos also to Georgia Bisbas’ direction, which keeps things moving along and snappy, and Hiba AlHussein’s set design, which turns the strange space of the Drayton Arms Theatre into a realistic and enviable bedsit. The decision to use the theatre’s doors as the doorway to the afterlife is inspired.
Wickedly funny with edge and heart, You’re Dead Mate is a near-perfect treat. Combining strong writing with excellent performances and nuance about death, life and everything in between, it offers a joyous and melancholic trip to the other side. Just try not to die from split sides.
Runs until 4 February 2023
