REVIEW: Spilt Milk

If the ridiculous could be contained in a swimming pool of milk, then this play would invite their audience to dip their toes in the edge, before sneaking up behind them and pushing them head first into the dairy depths.

If you’re confused by that statement not to worry, the actual play is even more bemusing. Spilt Milk is a bizarrely amusing spy parody blending utter fiction and contorted reality to show a tale that makes about as much sense as a milk-made apocalypse and is definitely good for some late night laughs after a few drinks.

The script was witty and blunt, with current jokes and references nicely incorporated. It was definitely one of the biggest contributors to the comedy (well done to writers Colin Rothwell and Haydn Jenkins). A distinct style was apparent in the way each part had been distinguished through various unusual behavioural traits and accents, which was carried off surprisingly well by a mere three actor cast.

The fourth wall was regularly broken, in fact by the end of the play it was basically a pile of rubble. In general, the whole style of presentation and script was casually comedic, with many pho-serious moments and unsubtle cultural references.

Macy Johnson as the oh so self assured leading lady and narrator of the story was acted with confidence by Kate Marston and any awkward moments on stage fitted with the style of the performance. What was really unique and added a lot of humour though was watching Macy interact with a constantly changing cast of characters all acted by Mark Bittlestone and Louisa Keight. The two thesps rushed surprisingly well from accent to accent, costume to costume, and even managed some distinct physical contrasts between their various roles.

The production and set had quite a low budget, low maintenance appearance, though this arguably increased the effectiveness of the intended spy genre parody. Despite an awkwardly late start due to technical difficulties, it was honestly a well-executed spoof carrying out an imaginatively funny plot overall.

and you even get a wagon wheel…

This impression was strengthened by the well timed, very 21^st century sound and visual effects. These brought to life various amusing additional features from secret service tracking complemented with Facebook stickers to a fight scene in the style of a retro videogame knockout.

The show contained an array of unusual humorous details and I imagine that many ‘very serious’ brainstorm sessions were used to create these moments. But the flow could have been better and the whole production could have felt a little polished. However, ultimately this wasn’t a huge issue as the style was casual and ridiculous at the end of the day. Anyone who wasn’t hugely engaged at the offset definitely got more into the humour as well as the surprising plot and character twists as the story went on.

Spilt Milk is a decidedly funny show, worth seeing if you’re in the mood for something current in its humour ,and parody meets absurd in its subject matter.

3.5/5 stars