Finished with Engines

Finished with Engines slips somewhere between the absurdist dialogue of Samuel Beckett and the farcical theatrics of the Marx Brothers.

Written and directed by Alan McKendrick, it is a play less concerned with plot or character as with dramatising power struggles and finding ways of surprising the audience with comic payoffs.

Somewhere off the coast of an unnamed island, a navel officer and a subordinate stand on an observation deck and are plagued by boredom.

Removed from most aspects of civilisation, they entertain themselves by watching the natives play out a civil war, verbally sparring with each other in constant battles of one-upmanship, and contemplating whether or not to launch nuclear weapons - on top of which their observation platform may, or may not, be sitting.

By crafting a script that is dependant upon the performances of both actors, McKendrick hasn't left any room for error. Neither character is particularly well drawn, the story is weak and the action moves at a slow pace. Indeed, the script feels more of an excuse to allow two actors to clown off of one another and exhibit clever lines and wordplay than as a catalyst for character or story.

This is not a negative thing, especially if such a script is in the hands of talented actors who can make the lines and scenarios work. Luckily for McKendrick, he has just that. Stephanie Viola and Drew Friedman play the two officers and are both a pleasure to watch from start to finish.

Viola and Friedman make a good comedic team reminicent of such duos as Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello and Pinky and the Brain; neither one shines individually, but together they compliment each other well. It is of no surprise then to learn that both are co-founders of New Work-based The Riot Group and have worked with each other before. They have a very good sense of each other's abilities, can play off of each other effectively and effortlessly and are able to make dramatic use of the script.

For this, Finished with Engines is an entertaining hour that's high on energy and cleverness, even if it is low on substance.