Dildon’t, Casual Violence! – theSpaces on the Mile

***** (5 stars)

As provocative and hilarious as the title suggests, Casual Violence!’s first Fringe venture, Dildon’t, is a bizarre smorgasbord of crazy characters and sexual innuendos, all accompanied by the ‘Singing Strap-On’, a keyboard player with a strap-on stuck to his head. This comedy play is most definitely not for the faint hearted or easily offended, but if you can get over the shock of necrophiliacs singing songs and a series of grisly murders committed with an antique dildo, then you will have an absolute riot of a time.

Dildon’t follows the tale of Glen and Miriam Garfunkel, a sex-toy-shop owning couple, who are unwittingly drawn into a murder investigation after a they purchase an antique dildo, the Exocet, from a dodgy dealer, Axl. As the story unfolds we meet their odd but endearing customers, such as an elderly ex-porn star, a romantic necrophiliac and a wonderfully parodied American investigator, Glasseye.

Casual Violence! most certainly did not shy away from the subject matter, with very graphic innuendos and intelligent sexual puns keeping the audience very firmly on their toes. This mixed bag of sexual humour was matched with some extraordinarily strange and seemingly random scenes, such as my favourite part of the show; the reformed and romantic necrophiliac singing a song entitled ‘Dead Girls Don’t Say No’. This utterly fantastic musical interlude seemed to really shock the audience, and like many other parts of the show seemed to force people to reconsider what they thought was appropriate to laugh at. This vein of quite extreme jokes was well-balanced by a more sedate humour, primarily by the bumbling Glen and Miriam, as when they played ‘I Spy’ in the shop:

‘“… something beginning with ‘s’”

“uhmm… strap-on”

“No! Shoes!”’

The script was superb; brimming with humour and wit, but also allowing for an extremely engaging story underneath all the madness and sex. The unpredictable plot kept the audience entertained as the well crafted, hilarious characters consistently made them laugh. Perhaps the one criticism would be that it was too short and ended far too abruptly – but this seems to be curse of the Fringe, whereby wonderful performances are cut short by time slots and the need for a quick changeover in the venue.

Be warned! Dildon’t is every bit as graphic, explicit and weird as the name suggests, and while it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, those whose sense of humour can stomach it should prepare to be shocked and pleasantly surprised at the wit and intelligence of this truly original and refreshingly frank tale.

Orla Murray