A brand new comedy from the writer of Broadchurch Chris Chibnall sees his latest comedy play One Last Push debut at the Salisbury Playhouse.
Jen (Laura Main) is now three days overdue and is adamant that she will have a home birth despite the flat the couple have recently moved into fast becoming a danger zone. Mark (Sam Alexander) Jen’s husband has allowed his Dad, Dave (James Gaddas) to help the couple fix a few issues in the flat while adding extra problems to the chaos. How any of it passed a survey is beyond me!
Family dynamics offer plenty of relatable comedic scenes. Jen’s Mother, Eileen (Sherry Baines) turns into her doula after the Midwife messages telling her she is ill. Just don’t mention the eighties band Dexy’s Midnight Runners to Eileen, you have been warned.
The two large telephone screen-shaped screens on either side of the stage allow the audience to keep up with the text conversations that take place between members of the cast throughout the play. It adds an excellent dimension to the production as you know everything that is taking place “off stage”.
Director Gareth Machin creates the perfect dysfunctional family dynamics onstage. Combining humour, mad capers from Paul (David Partridge) the prepper neighbour from upstairs who has a vendetta with the local Badger and all the oddities surrounding separated families. What could go wrong?
One Last Push has many threads from each character that could easily become individual storylines and be expanded. I could see the play adapting into a sitcom effortlessly. The cast has a fantastic rapport on stage and I haven’t laughed so much at the Theatre for quite a while.
Please do try to catch this while they are performing at Salisbury Playhouse. For more information about One Last Push and future productions at the Playhouse, please click on the link below.
Five Stars.
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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