Fallen angels Lucy (Grace Baker) and Bubs (Eleanor Tate) are here to direct you, dead person so in denial you think you might be at a Fringe show, to your assigned circle of Hell, which might be the ring of (actual) fire, the billionaire ball pit, the circle jerk or the cone of shame. But as the presentation unfolds, Lucy and Bubs’ mutual resentment bub-bles (geddit) to the surface as they confront their conflicting views on the events of their fall, not to mention the soul that they let turn into goo that they almost definitely shouldn’t have.
Part of playwright Kira Mason’s inspiration for the show was about responding to heteronormative models of paradise and about the focus on punishing and excluding those we categorise as unworthy, and the play definitely has a Miltonian “better to reign in hell than serve in Heaven” attitude, albeit one that includes Vanilla Ice, condoms, and anti-cat propaganda, though this angle feels somewhat underdeveloped where it pertains to its protagonists.
Baker and Tate are an endearing double-act, one with a cheery customer service attitude hiding a more hellish bent, and the other with a more deadpan fury, counterintuitively due to her more heavenly persuasion. Their personalities are clearly delineated and their comic banter and physical humour consistently good.
In director Matthew Attwood’s hands, Ring That Bell is an enjoyably comedic turn around hell that, much like its fallen angel Lucy, knows how to keep things fun, even when facing the hardships of a broken kettle.
Ring That Bell is running at The Space on The Mile until August 24th. Tickets can be found at: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/ring-that-bell
Reviewer: Oliver Giggins
Reviewed: 21st August 2024
North West End UK Rating: