Review: Cabin Fever, Alma Tavern & Theatre – ‘A show that passes with flying colours: no excess baggage and a happy landing’

Fresh !nk Theatre Company’s Edinburgh Fringe show touches down in Bristol this week prior to spreading its wings on a short UK tour. The action takes place during an 11-hour flight from Gatwick to LA. Will it leave the audience smirking in the mile high club, or reaching for the sick bag?

Written, performed and produced by Aurelia Harris-Johnstone and Beth Miles, we are greeted in authentic flight attendant fashion, at the foot of the steep stairs leading into the theatre.

What follows after take-off is a fun-packed 50 minutes as the two accomplished performers create 14 realistic characters, all of whom might be familiar to anyone flying.

Beth Miles and Aurelia Harris-Johnstone in Cabin Fever

The set is a sparse one, comprising two seats (in economy class) and a smattering of props, and serves the action well, allowing the performers to move into character with the minimum of movement.

The show works best in capturing those awkward moments when strangers reluctantly meet up, and the simmering relationship issues brought to the fore in times of stress and tension.

We get off to a flying start when introduced to Alice and Rachel. Rachel is terribly upset about having to sit among the proles after a flight cancellation, meaning she cannot sit in business class. She is an overbearing, unbearable snob, and upon meeting her fellow passenger Alice, she’s thrilled to find an old schoolmate. Alice does not share her enthusiasm.

Rachel’s lawyer husband, Michael, sits next to new age Anastasia, and it is these four who form the core of the drama, as we flit from brief sketch to sketch while slowly assimilating an increasingly coherent storyline.

Chloe and Christine are Instagram-hungry American lingerie models keen to pout, flirting with harassed dad Josh sitting behind. We have staid Pat and Richard, not familiar with flying but finding their way in a muted excitement. Mum Sarah is trying to cope with Lily – first excitable, and then bored – and her toy bear.

Both performers capture each role with precision, and the show is enhanced by crisp changes between scenes alongside realistic flight announcements for those vital moments such as the appearance of turbulence and the duty-free sales.

Although none of the comedy generated is especially original, and the piece has the feel of a 1970s sitcom, this is no bad thing. The performances themselves provide the freshness, and the cleverly crafted script adds several degrees of depth, injecting pathos along with the laughs.

At the end of the journey, now safely stowed away in the overhead locker, we find that conflict has been mostly resolved, not least the flight attendants’ own falling out.

Cabin Fever passes with flying colours, carries no excess baggage and the audience enjoyed the happy landing. Now where did I put that passport?

Cabin Fever – photo: Fresh Ink Theatre Company

Cabin Fever is at the Alma Tavern and Theatre on January 27-29 at 8pm. For ticket availability, visit www.tickettailor.com.

All photos: Fresh !nk Theatre Company

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