The Real Housewives of the Zombie Apocalypse
It’s the end of the season and there’s a lot to squeeze in on the recap finale of Real Housewives with all of the drama and all of the treason, producer Campbell Bruce assembling stars Jocasta, Cassandra, Selena, Alexandra, Pandora, Elektra and Penelope in glittering reds, golds, blues and bridal white, demanding that despite concerns with only a brief safety drill on how to spot an infected the show must go on.
Smiling for the cameras and being sure to mention sponsor Zydrax, the miracle weight loss, anti depressant, life enhancing elixir, exclusively distributed by the Raimi Corporation, the lecherous Bruce has a helicopter standing by, but for his leading ladies there is no room even if they were to shrink their egos, reality coming a-crashing when it becomes apparent that the tech crew are already displaying symptoms and craving brains, sadly lacking.
Created, composed, orchestrated and directed by John Paul Liddle and Hugh Moore who also appear in the show alongside the superb ensemble of Natalie Masterton, Hollie-Ann Feeney, Lou Istoriou, Eliza Twaddle, Rachael Hepburn, Lisa-Jayne Rattray-O’Hare, Roslyn Dale and Michael O’Hare, The Real Housewives of the Zombie Apocalypse is the messiest fun to play at the Fringe since the days of the stagings of Cannibal the Musical and Re-Animator.
The lyrics smart, the voices sharp, the melodies and harmonies impressive, the pace is frantic and the enunciation is perfect, every word discernable, rare in any high-energy staged musical, particularly one with correspondingly high body count, the ladies with knives out for each other after another year of backstabbing but moving quickly to chainsaws and baseball bats.
Crowdpleasing crossover carnage with a host of in-jokes, the feuding clans named for famous zombie creators, Romero, Kirkman and Darabont, even Braindead’s Sumatran Monkey getting a namecheck, Clydebuilt Theatre demonstrate just how much can be achieved on a small budget and stage with determination, talent and the sheer will to survive… or at least to sacrifice those who don’t make the cut.
