The booming and confident voice of writer and performer Ben Noble opened The Dilly Dally of Death and Dying. Noble threw the audience into the deep end with “We’re all going to die”. What followed was a series of vignettes tied loosely around Alex’s (Lee McClenaghan) experience of being diagnosed with an incurable, possibly terminal illness.
There was an abundance of surreal sketches that felt as if Alex had fallen through the looking glass of Lewis Carroll’s famous tale, but there were also song and dance, dramatic scenes and audience participation (would it be a Fringe show without it?).
There was a lot going on, perhaps too much. No one theme, idea or experience had the time to be fleshed out, leaving a sense of uncertainty around what the production was trying to say. One particularly glaring example was the audience being handed out rocks at the start of the production – a metaphor of the grief we always carry with us – that was never referenced again.
For the small theatre space there were at least two too many cast members, the stage often feeling cluttered without purpose because of this, plus the many props the cast had to wrangle in view of the audience. The jokes struggled to land and a quick scan about the theatre in the round found a number of confused faces.
There were still many moments to enjoy in this production. The cast were full of enthusiastic energy. The choral singing made the ears buzz with warmth and the choreography during these songs was kitsch in a tongue in cheek way. Kate Foster was delightful as a showgirl reminiscent of Beetlejuice. Noble was arresting even in his small, quasi-narrator role playing himself. The last five minutes showcased an intriguing and fresh narrative device that built to a cathartic and deeply intimate finish.
It’s clear Noble and the creative team have engaged with a number of salient aspects of our social norms – or lack thereof – surrounding death and grief, but this is exactly why more time or fewer topics are required to enable deeper exploration and a clearer message.
Read: Dance review: Temple of Desire, Malthouse Theatre
Nevertheless, The Dilly Dally of Death and Dying was a joyful show perfect for fringe festivals . With further development, it promises to be a wild an affecting ride through life’s last hurrah.
The Dilly Dally of Death and Dying, Fairly Lucid Productions
Director: Krystalla Pearce
Writer: Ben Noble
The Dilly Dally of Death and Dying was performed until 6 October 2024 as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
