Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018 – Review: Timeless comedy in “You Only Live Forever”*****

Review: You Only Live Forever

By Viscera Theatre Company Studio Four Assembly George Square 1335hrs

WE have said it before and we will say it again, Roxy Dunn and Alys Metcalf write some of the sharpest, funniest plays around.

If you had the pleasure of seeing their 2016 show “In Tents and Purposes” you will love “You Only Love Forever”.

The audience at this performance laughed out loud throughout the performance. Sometimes, they laughed when jokes come straight at them and others completely blindside you.

The story follows what happens when one partner takes an elixir that gives her eternal life. That is just one theme in the show. The other is the interjections in proceedings as they explain the creative process between the two writers.

Alys Metcalf is a wonderful comic actress. You always feel that words such as zany are dated and hackneyed. Perhaps we will say that Alys has great timing and funny bones. You feel that she is like a really left-field children’s tv presenter. Maybe there is a play there?

Underneath the comedy there are deeper themes within. How does each partner face their growing age gap? The script enables the play to operate on a number of emotional levels however, it always returns to what they do best and that is comedy.

It is plays like this that make the Edinburgh Fringe Festival what it is but we implore you to get down to Studio Four at Assembly George Square.

This reviewer does hope that this play goes out on the road in the future.