EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: FUNERAL REPLACEMENT SERVICE, Necrobus, August 5 2013

The Fringe simply wouldn't be the Fringe without shows in bizarre venues. Public toilets, garden sheds and even the front rooms of audience members' homes have all been pressed into service in the past as theatres for a few weeks in the summer.

This year, we can add a double decker bus to the list of alternative venues, thanks to Funeral Replacement Service, a production by Ghostbus Tours in their first Fringe venture. Specifically, it's a lovely atmospheric double decker, complete with red velvet curtains and fancy lampshades, that garners amused looks from pedestrians as it winds its way through the streets of Edinburgh during the show.

Set at the funeral of Roger Coxsweet, a bus driver whose last wish was that his coffin be taken on a last ride around the city, "Funeral Replacement Service" is performed with a mixture of live action and video footage. An order of service on your seat as you board the bus sets the tone for an engaging and interactive piece, where the audience are drawn into the story as mourners at the funeral, joining in with the singing of hymns, receiving items in the will and being invited to read out poems in honour of the deceased. Roger's greedy grandson and quirky step-daughter wander the bus, causing chaos for a beleaguered funeral director, which is only exacerbated when it is discovered that Roger's coffin is in fact empty.

The black comedy offers up plenty of laughs during the trip, with the interactive dimension proving particularly strong. The performers leap right in to the work, whether flirting with the passengers or presenting performance poetry, and keep the show constantly moving, in what cannot be an easy task to accommodate for the vagaries of city traffic. It's safe to say that if you swap your normal bus home from the Fringe for the "Funeral Replacement Service", you're certain to have an interesting trip.

Funeral Replacement Service runs until August 26th, departing each night from Waverley Bridge at 2300 and 0030.

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