Amid a cluttered set that looks like a dirty old flat sits Edvard Munch's The Scream. How did it get there? It was stolen! The Lost Art of Lost Art tells the hilarious story of how three thieves struggle to sell the masterpiece whilst keeping the whole heist undercover.
The performance as whole will leave you grinning with delight.
From the start there is no doubt that the show is first and foremost a comedy. Within moments of starting, the actors had us all laughing. As the production goes on, we leap back and forth through recent events to see how their plan formed and begin to learn more about the thieves themselves. The genius touch that Raspberry Tart Productions have given to this production is how ordinary they make this bizarre scenario seem. We soon realise that these characters are not ridiculous parodies, but normal people who discuss plans at Nando's, struggle with job applications and eat McDonald's.
The cast are brilliant. Each one of them lets the gags and jokes flow naturally, and they never attempt to play up to the comedy in a desperate search for laughs. Alfrun Gisladottir gave a delightfully likeable performance as the calm, experienced criminal Molly, while Finn's portrayal of Lee was expertly dry and fantastically cynical. However, Baker Mukasa and Anna Crichlow (Norman and Nancy) really shone through in this production. I could barely take my eyes off Mukasa, who was clearly so absorbed in his character that a mere twitch in his face could put us all into hysterics again. And Crichlow delivered a powerhouse performance as Nancy, delivering insults with an impressive vigour.
My only criticism of this production would be that occasionally certain jokes do fall flat. For example, a comparison between Harry Potter and The Avengers seemed a little too drawn out and delivered a fairly vague punchline, and these kinds of jokes could have been sharper. But the performance as whole will leave you grinning with delight.
