IMPERIAL FIZZ

by Parks, Brian

A seemingly carefree high-society couple swill cocktails and exchange witty banter and pointed barbs as they sing and dance to melodies transmitting from a classic RCA radio in their swanky art deco apartment. They are persistently and comfortably tipsy and obviously relish a (mostly) good-natured verbal joust. They are awaiting the arrival of a very special guest, though gradually it becomes apparent that behind the brittle smiles, the free-flowing cocktails and the banter batted back and forth like a dazzling, gold-plated ping pong ball that there is something very wrong. Their world, that at once seems straight out of Noel Coward, veers towards a darker, Beckettian landscape as the music on the radio turns to static, thunder claps in the distance and the couple’s bright smiles are stretched to the breaking point with anxiety with the imminent arrival of their special guest.

“Witty and literate theatre . . . the torrent of epigrams and epithets is thoroughly entertaining.” – The Guardian