Four Felons and a Funeral – Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Rua Barron, Jordan Broatch, Gabrielle Friedman and Maddy Maguire in Four Felons and a Funeral at the Pleasance Courtyard – Upstairs, Edinburgh. Picture: Steven O’Gorman

Four Felons and a Funeral continues at the Pleasance Courtyard – Upstairs until 27 August 2023.

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Bang! The show is off! And we’re racing along the motorway in a car (four boxes and good lighting) pursued by an irate father. Four Felons and a Funeral is a road trip. The crime (if it be so): stealing their friend Charlie’s ashes to fulfil his last wish that they be poured into a vat of Guinness at the Dublin brewery.

And it’s the dead Charlie who forces our four dysfunctional felons to discover what death actually represents for each of them, to confront themselves, an examination of memory of the departed and ultimately acceptance and comradeship.

There’s the effervescent Wilf (Jordan Broatch) of unsure gender who’s an anything-goes being; Charlie’s demure sister Bex (Mandy Maguire) who refuses to admit any feeling for her brother let alone any grief; her ex-partner Saz (Rua Barron); and Saz’s new partner Millie (Gabrielle Friedman) who attempts (unsuccessfully) to be the voice of reason.

The pace is fast, furious… and funny, thrown up a gear at every appearance of the father (we never see him – he’s always a presence) with a razor-sharp script (touches of Mamet), and a host of great songs, (occasionally Sondheimesque), played live by the composer. The acting is magnificent, the direction (and harmonies) tight. The staging inventive and ingenious.

Like all road movies, there are islands of respite – a hilarious “shopping” break at a services station, and a moment’s languor as the quartet misses the last ferry in Holyhead. Some exquisite solos and duets to let us catch our breath. I suddenly… and briefly… found myself disengaged from the action around about here. Maybe it was something to do with my psyche; maybe it went on just a little too long? Anyway, that’s why I’m giving it four stars rather than five.  On the whole, it’s a five-star production.

And a smile-inducing and life-enhancing ending. The cast works together like a dream. GOYA Theatre is a great example of a small-scale company doing inventive new work. Long may it continue. Recommended.

(NB: Four Felons and a Funeral has book, music and lyrics by Sam Woof – who also directs) and music and lyrics by Máth Roberts – also musical director.)

James Bryce