Funny Guy, at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, is a character-driven dramatic performance that has the capacity to address important themes for all of us: love, friendship, desire, and trust. In reality, however, the play’s aim to confront these important questions is left unreached, and the audience is left confused and wanting more.
The four actors take on the roles of Dan, Emma, Bill and Margie, two couples whose lives intertwine through friendship and deceit. The story is a powerful one and moments of the play certainly pack a punch, but too much of the story happens off stage for the audience to get a clear sense of what is happening, or of the meaning the writer is hoping to convey. A lot is left to the imagination; too much so for the story to be believed or for its significance to be felt.
Over 45 minutes, friendships are betrayed, marriages fall apart, and crucial decisions are questioned, making the tale, from beginning to end, a hectic one. To begin with, the plot moves slowly, documenting detailed conversations and building relationships between the characters that the audience can connect with. It is here that the actors show what they can do, and it gets off to an interesting start. That said, the dialogue feels forced and there is no forgetting that this is a scripted and highly rehearsed performance. There is no poking your head behind the fourth wall here. Suddenly, time begins to skip past with no warning, making the second half of the story feel rushed and the entire timeline incongruous and confusing.
The defining feature of the play is the neon puppet that represents the internal self of the central character, Dan. Controlled by a fifth actor, the neon puppet, referred to as “Funny Guy”, is a remarkable addition to an otherwise uninteresting visual experience. When Funny Guy makes his first appearance at over halfway through, the play’s promise picks up, and the visual element is very impressive. Disappointingly, Funny Guy only partakes in one significant scene, predominantly a monologue from the perspective of Dan’s subconscious, and has a final appearance at the end. The play could have a strong and well-communicated message if the character of Funny Guy had a greater role in the entire play, as the main take-aways of the play come from him.
Bar a handful of impactful scenes, Funny Guy was a disappointing experience that I would not recommend. It is not difficult to understand the intentions of the writer and I would agree that the storyline is intriguing, but it is not executed convincingly enough for the moral of the story to be felt in a meaningful way.
Funny Guy is running until August 24th (not 11th and 18th) at Greenside @ George – Lime Studio (Venue 236).
Buy tickets here.
Images provided by Greenside to The Student for press use.