Timothy

Edinburgh University Theatre Company's new comedy starts with two of its four characters, Yvonne (Alexandra Wetherell) and Susan (Sarah McGuinness), sitting in the dingy basement that becomes the setting for the next 45 minutes of enjoyable confusion and chaos. They await the arrival of Annette (Olivia Holland-Rose) within whose cellar they sit, and by whom both ladies have been urgently summoned.

After an initial—and slightly plodding—sequence where Yvonne and Susan attempt to deduce the purpose of their impromptu meeting, Annette finally arrives and drops her bombshell: her husband, the titular Timothy (Tom Shah), is plotting to kill her. Her logic? Her supposedly perfect hubbie has “murderer's eyes”.

These scenes between the three friends stand out as the most engaging of the piece. The actors are clearly well-rehearsed and well-oiled, and bounce lines off one another with a pace that's joyful to watch.

Other than these scenes though, and the amusement derived from the absurdity of the situation–some of the humour feels slightly misjudged. A running joke about a leaking tap—or rather, about the slightly clumsy sound design—gets more of a giggle from the show's technical crew than from the audience. Furthermore, the comedy derived from Yvonne and Susan's hackneyed relationship can—without a third presence—feel a little strained.

But there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments here. Far more, perhaps, than you'd ever expect from a student-written play performed at 10am.