Sarah Bennetto's Funeral

Some people have no respect for the dead. Sarah Bennetto is destined to pass away well before her time and her mother is intent on hijacking the funeral playlist. The comic, best known for her popular Storytellers' Club, resorted to writing this show so that The Cure’s 'In Between Days' would assume its rightful place on the day of her burial. In order to pad out the hour, Bennetto presents us with an eclectic list of lesser demands. When the time comes, stoned Hollywood A-listers are to deliver fond sermons on the subject of her lovemaking, while the wake (doubling as a trade fair for online startup companies) is to have an exceptionally high death toll.

Sarah Bennetto’s Funeral really does see the performer contemplate her mortality up to a point, but sentimental lesson learning has no place in this inscrutable sketch show. The entire piece is an exercise in grotesque self-obsession that proves all the more satisfying for its slightly shambolic, DIY aesthetic. Her decision to hold the event miles away from her family and friends in Australia ensures an awkwardly low turnout, but the well-wishers who gather inside the Pleasance’s inflatable igloo are rewarded for their loyalty, many feeling compelled to deliver eulogies of their own.

Presenting the audience with a sophisticated mix of standup and character comedy, Bennetto succeeded in harnessing the full power of an instinctive comedic mind. May she rest in peace.