Over the last couple years, a certain element of the Fringe has cultivated a growing interest in pirate history. This is not particularly unexpected, as swashbuckling adventures leave plenty of scope for great stagecraft and general chicanery. Last year we had a mixture of pirate education and dancing on the Spanish Main, which guaranteed silliness all round and this year is no different with The Blue Chicken’s Hell & High Water.
At heart, Hell & High Water is basically a dramatised documentary of the lives of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two of the most notorious female pirates, but it definitely less well researched than Andrew McClelland’s award winning show 0f 2004. While it may be a little shaky on facts, it is a wonderfully entertaining show that drips with bad puns, joyful pageantry and compulsory audience participation. This may not appeal to everyone but if you’re looking for a bit of afternoon fun that’s filled with idiotic characters and the necessity to boo and hiss at bad guys Hell & High Water is for you.
This bawdy and silly comedy is possibly a tad long and occasionally scrappy but when it is running at full steam it certainly grabs the audience and draws them into this interpretation of maritime history. With moments that wouldn’t be out of place in classic comedies such as Blackadder, Hell & High Water is a real joy to watch and is made even more enjoyable by Russell Dean’s fabulous masks.
4/5
Richard Biggs
