Originally published by L.S. Media. January 15th 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

There was a certain degree of crossing over from the old year into the new at The Unity theatre. Not only was the wonderful The Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor being performed in the Unity One but upstairs in a bare space that encompasses Unity Two, the audience were treated to the kind of visual fast paced, anarchic display of comedy that is so underused, so brilliantly written and so quick that it leaves you breathless and desiring more and more.

The Art of Falling Apart by the team Big Wow, carries on the tradition of Monty Python by looking at the world through characterisation and imagination without having to rely on the subtleties of props or worrying at the back of a performer’s mind that the audience will not understand what the point of the evening was about.

Tim Lynskey and Matt Rutter have proved time and time again that their unique style is a winner. In The Friendship Experiment, the two men exhausted audiences with the speed of delivery, the timing of the lines and the overall feel of the performance. It’s a gladdening thing to be able to repeat these words in relation to the new play.

The plot revolves around the notion that no matter how good a life looks, there are instances within life where you are barely clinging on. Life can spiral out of control in an instant and with it all sense of reality and purpose can go with it. The scene where the two actors are speaking to each other over the phone as long term boyfriend/girlfriend is one which all members of the audience can relate to. The questions, which get more precise as each time the one partner rings is a thrill to watch but also understandably frustrating to witness.

There can be no doubting the comic genius in Tim Lynskey and Matt Rutter. There should be no doubting the enormous and exceptional talent of writer Robert Farquhar. In all three men it adds up to one of the finest and utterly brilliant nights of constructive and telling theatre you are likely to ever see. Exceptional!

Ian D. Hall