EDINBURGH 2019: Review: CREAM TEA AND INCEST, Gilded Balloon, Rose Theatre
Peracals Productions presents writer Benjamin Alborough's Cream Tea and Incest in a revival, featuring an all-female cast of four in a Jeevesian tale.
A British gentleman, Eddie Spangler, and his razor-sharp valet Jeffrey have a mission to swindle wealthy Lord Wiggins and protect Spangler's secret Rhodesian opium plantations from tax hikes.
Our baddy comes in the form of Lord Biggins, seething over his lower share of inheritance, and holding an additional grudge for his brother Wiggins' better name choice. Just go with it!
The talented cast are high energy, project their voices with beautiful clarity and are adaptable, transforming into multiple characters and happily breaking the fourth wall. They confidently ask the audience if they are watching for "cream tea or incest" - joyfully, they replied "Incest!". One member of the audience is hugged and another crowned audience member of the day, all achieved warmly.
The title of the piece is purely in reference to how English the play is - as they exclaim, "as English as cream tea and incest" - but there are no incestual relationships to ponder, and in the aftermath of Game of Thrones hysteria, there was a slight disappointment that they didn't delve into the controversial title topic.
Kudos to the elaborate, cardboard, intricately drawn props, consisting of teacups, tickets, duvets and guns, to name but a few. Jubilant moments came in the form of a choreographed piece of dance and a discussion over whether blackmail or haircuts were most effective.
Cream Tea and Incest is a confident tale, with outrageous characters prancing about in this absurd farce.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/cream-tea-and-incest
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