The Snug in the Three Jolly Butchers pub is certainly true to its name but, sadly, not a problem on Saturday evening as audience numbers were down due to the sunny weather and Eurovision.
Emma Ashley-King developed the show after having experienced a considerable amount of death in her life and considering a change of career into the funeral business.
The Portsmouth comedian has put together a funny and thought-provoking exploration of the absurdity of life, the taboo subject of death and how we deal with the complex emotions of grief.
Ms Ashley-King engages her audience and draws them in asking them questions to inform content. The highlight of this has to be planning Mr Blobby’s funeral!
She tells us that she considered using the five stages of grief as a structure but plumped for the five stages of a volcano … well she really likes volcanos … oh get with the programme!
The parallel is actually a good one with those stages being Pre-eruption, Signs, Eruption (with full volcanic explosion reconstruction) Cooling and New Life guiding us through the process of demise and its aftermath.
The show is a mixture of comedy and heartrending moments in perfect balance.
Venue: The Snug @ Three Jolly Butchers, North Road, Brighton, BN1 1YD
Dates: Friday 10 May to Sunday 12 May 2024
Time: 3pm to 4pm Sunday 12 May
Tickets : https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/death-becomes-us/
