Population 3, The Wicker Woman

Review in Issue 15-3 | Autumn 2003

The title says it all: The Wicker Woman. Those of you familiar with the film The Wicker Man might spot the gender difference, but very little of the plot has been altered, it is only the jokes that have changed. Or rather, there are jokes in it. Lots of them, and silly puns and ludicrous wigs and sunglasses and a costume that starts off as an electronic computer display and turns round to become a bar in an inn on a remote Scottish island where the locals speak in a Somerset accent because they can't do a Scottish one.

Cleverly performed by Lucy Montgomery, James Bachman and Barunka O Shoughnessy, with a twinkle of pleasure in their eye, this is a playful romp that might use props that look cheap, and gags that are cheap, yet taps a rich and constant vein of silliness. The Wicker Woman is directed by David Sant of Peepolykus and though you can see the influence in the delivery and the groaning puns, this trio have a style all of their own. When it comes to comedy of this calibre the clichés, like the gags, come thick and fast, and though no intellectual tour de force, The Wicker Woman had me climbing back into my chair more than once and rushing home afterwards for fresh underwear.

Presenting Artists
Presenting Festival
Presenting Venue
Date Seen
  1. Aug 2003

This article in the magazine

Issue 15-3
p. 23