The Edinburgh Festival Fringe often functions as a way of showcasing talents, and quite frequently this means that shows become greater than the sum of their parts; a mediocre show can also serve as a platform for some great talent.
How Not to Fund a Honeymoon is a short comic show about two people who are going to spend way too much money organising a wedding and really, really want to have a honeymoon in the Maldives. This is the story of star-crossed lovers Charlie and Gwen, who decide that theft is the best way to fund their dream holiday, specifically by robbing the home of Gwen’s Aunt, Robyn.
The story is told out of order, with the scenes chopped up to keep us guessing exactly what is going on and why. The problem is that the central story is kind of dull; two idiots try to rob a house, and it goes wrong. This is not Ocean’s 11, no matter how frequently the show references that movie. There are some good lines, but it’s mostly the delivery, not the script.
The performances are amazing; we have three actors in total, and each one of them is absolutely fabulous. The parts of the script that are funny really work, and the lines are delivered with joy and humour. Stephanie Greenwood is particularly strong as the insane and overly posh Aunt Robyn. Claire Feuille and Ausette Anderies equally shine as the would-be honeymooners.
It is, sadly, let down by the script. Too short (or not short enough), and too simple. As a way of demonstrating how talented these three actors are, it works really well, but the story itself is just a little dull. How Not to Fund a Honeymoon is worth it for the performances only. Alas, the script needs a lot of work to be anything worth robbing a rich Aunt over.
You can get tickets for the show here, and find out more about the show’s creators here.
