Theatre Review: Police Cops in Space at The Carriageworks Theatre

FROM the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Police Cops in Space tours the UK, stopping at The Carriageworks Theatre where Leo Owen caught the show

Following the success of their multi award-winning debut, London-based theatre company Police Cops tour with their second while publicising their new one-hour show, BADASS be thy name. Adding a sci-fi element to their original show, Zachary Hunt, Nathan Parkinson and Tom Roe combine physical theatre, improvisation and comedy.

After his father is killed by an evil robot called Tanner, Sammy Johnson, seeks to avenge his death and become the “best damn Police Cop in space”. With the assistance of an alien fighter pilot called Ranger and his Cyborg C9, Sammy sets out on an intergalactic journey.

Using glow sticks, a balloon and neon lights this comedic troupe cleverly create high speed motorbike chases as aliens and humans face off. An Etch a Sketch is used to represent a biometric scanner. Aside from funny prop use, Police Cops’ zany sense of humour includes a malfunctioning robot that acts like a southern belle and amusing rewound slo-mo.

The interplay between the trio adds to the humour, as does their ability to poke fun at themselves and how much they obviously enjoy performing together. Embrace the bizarre and relish 80s’ nostalgia in this quirky comedy.

Police Cops in Space showed at The Carriageworks September 13th before continuing its UK tour: http://www.policecops.co.uk/show/police-cops-in-space

by Leo Owen