A seemingly carefree high society couple swill cocktails and exchange witty banter and pointed barbs as they sing and dance to melodies transmitting from a classic RCA radio. They are persistently and comfortably tipsy and obviously relish a (mostly) good-natured verbal joust. But behind the veneer of gaiety and sparkling repartee, there are clues that these elegant, wise-cracking lovers are not all they seem. Their world, that at once seems straight out of Noel Coward, veers towards a darker, hyper-active Oscar Wilde with a jigger of Samuel Beckett. Ominous static replaces the radio's period ditties and weird rumbles of encroaching thunder suggest an unmentionable threat looming over them. They begin playing a comically absurd mock trial, interrogating each other and an unexpected cast of characters who bear witness to the events that have shaped their lives and elaborate marriage: the ordinary and the extraordinary; the marital and the extramarital. Imperial Fizz is a witty rapid-fire piece of screwball absurdism from award winning New York playwright Brian Parks. It stars Beth Fitzgerald (Follow Me) and Edinburgh and Adelaide Fringe acting award winner David Calvitto. ***** _x001C_ Quick, crisp and acid& unremittingly clever and sparky and occasionally laugh-out funny& Parks_x0019_ script is a sizzler and the two performances wonderful& satisfies like a Long Island Iced Tea._x001D_ - The Mirror ****_x001C_ Imperial Fizz generates a strange eerie power& brilliant poetic content& there is no American writer more thoughtful, in an explosive and surreally comic way, than Brian Parks._x001D_ - The Scotsman **** _x001C_ Like the spirit of Oscar Wilde& Imperial Fizz adds an extra ingredient to a classic recipe to delicious effect& immensely enjoyable& Social commentary about class and sexual politics is there if you squint, but entertainment is the overriding flavour& like a well-made cocktail& delightful._x001D_ -The List _x001C_ A classy fringe production from a classy team& witty and literate theatre, performed with stiletto sharpness. Oscar Wilde would admire its wit and memorable lines& Thoroughly entertaining& Good intelligent fun& _x001D_ - The Guardian _x001C_ A bit like Noel Coward on speed& a tour de force of lightning exchanges of exquisitely barbed wit_x001D_ -The Stage _x001C_ What Satre_x0019_ s Huis Clos might have been like if it had been written by a combination Noel Coward and Tom Stoppard& a sophisticated jeu d_x0019_ esprit& it is enjoyable to see two such accomplished performers put through their paces._x001D_ - The Times (London)
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