Tom and Bunny Save the World – Vault Festival and Touring

Tom and Bunny Save the World at The Vaults, London and Touring.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

Tom and Bunny Save the World is a hilarious and quirky show where a very relatable United Kingdom is thrown into the mismatched clasps of the absurd and folk music.

This quirky musical is presented by Fat Rascal Theatre which is run by a group of women who write new, feminist, musical theatre. They readdress gender roles within the industry and give a fun, fresh take to current social and political issues and make them more accessible to wider audiences.

Bunny and Tom form an unlikely partnership when Britain becomes overrun by zombies and there are very few survivors around. The pair find each other in Epping Forrest and decide to travel up North to Bunny’s home of Yorkshire in an attempt to find more survivors. The duo are very different with Bunny being a self proclaimed “Shag your girlfriend’s dad kind of person”, and Tom is more awkward and geeky.

The play mocks UK regional stereotypes in a good natured, laugh-at-yourself kind of way, starting with a map that labels each area with geographical generalisations. There is also a Donald Trump impression less than five minutes into the show.

The story is quite imaginative and relies heavily on over the top performances from the cast who effortlessly deliver. The story may look at a post apocalyptic fictional plot, but there are countless moments in the lead up to this dystopia that are recognisable in our current political and social climate. The folk songs are funny, entertaining and really show the range that the cast has to offer. However, they don’t really add very much to  the plot.

There is a lot of content for an hour yet the show remains incomplete, perhaps for the audience to walk away guessing whether Bunny and Tom were successful in saving the world or not.

Also, for a show called Tom and Bunny Save the World, it seems like the pair are just there to provide the laughs, because it’s actually the supporting characters who seem to take charge in the mission.

The script really highlights its millennial roots. The imaginative and witty writing is enough to shoot down those who cry ‘snowflake’ anytime this generation speaks up. The show offers a fresh and unexpected approach without shoving the moral of the tale down their audience’s throats. They break free of the constraints of gender and sexuality to put on a laugh out loud and thought-provoking show.

Now that the run at the Vault Festival has come to an end, the cast is taking Tom and Bunny Save the World on tour around the UK.

Tal Fox