A dark but heartfelt comedy that uses its limitations to its advantage.
Another One Bites the Dust by Noah McGarrity and Kathleen Tierney is a comedy set at the wake of Neil Letterman, who died under unexplained circumstances. This murder mystery style play features five wacky guests who each have individual motives for killing Neil–all attending the wake hosted by Neil’s rich auntie, who seems to know more about his passing than she lets on.
One of the most enjoyable parts of this production is the creative use of music, which provides a striking contrast to the setting. While the sorrowful circumstances that brought this group together might suggest something more subdued, the 80s soundtrack is anything but. This juxtaposition sets the tone of the piece from the get-go and creates a playful tension that really highlights the comedic atmosphere.
This show is fantastically written, and blends the perfect amount of humour with some really touching moments and, of course, an intriguing set of immediate circumstances. All of the characters are bold, interesting and distinct for one and other—with fleshed out backgrounds and motives, which is what makes them so interesting to watch interact with each other.
The performers all do an excellent job taking on these juicy roles—and almost every actor in addition to playing their own guest, multi-rolls as Neil in various flashback scenes. The effectiveness of the multi-rolling is not only a clear sign of the talent of the cast, but also adds to the overall charm and fluidity of the show. Every switch in time period is clearly marked by a significant change in lighting, sound or physicality, and every actor’s switch from their own character to Neil is marked by them donning the scarf that the deceased wore so often that “he should have been buried with it”—a simple but incredibly effective way to let the audience know who was who, which they picked up on straight away.
I found this directorial choice to be such a creative way to show the events leading up to Neil’s death without the need for exposition (or a seventh cast member). Alternatively, having each character at the wake show us a different version of Neil from their memories acts as a constant reminder that the audience shouldn’t take any version of events as absolute truth, turning practically every single character into an unreliable narrator.
Overall, Another One Bites the Dust is a concept that could have easily been held back by its single location, minimal props or small cast—but instead was made infinitely more compelling by using creativity to get past these obstacles.