Review: Tom and Bunny Save the World, VAULT Festival

Fat Rascal impress once again with Tom and Bunny Save the World at the VAULT Festival

“Tinder’s not working, Deliveroo too”

With their last couple of shows (BUZZ and Beauty and the Beast), Fat Rascal really have established themselves as a company to watch, delivering musical comedies with a fresh and feminist bent. So I was keen to see their latest show – Tom and Bunny Save the World – in the final week of the VAULT Festival.

Seen in Edinburgh last summer and now embarking on quite the UK tour, Tom and Bunny… sees them turn their hand to the underserved zombie apocalypse folk musical genre (who knew?!).  And as our titular heroes flee London for the safe haven of t’north, their hopes of survival depend on, well, how many zombie films they’ve seen so that they can borrow the advice!

As you may have guessed, there’s a strong amount of tongue-in-cheek about the show. Robyn Grant’s book cheekily pilfers from all across the zombie oeuvre but also works in its own vein of quirky humour. The WI come in for a bit of ribbing and there’s pointed reference to how your class often dictates how you cope in a country in crisis.

 In a festival set-up, short and sweet is always good but there is the sense of this show just stopping rather than really building to a climax. The tease it then offers feels like a bit of a copout , less hungry for a sequel than dissatisfied at the abrupt end to this story. That said, there’s wit and melody enough here to entertain for an hour and I suppose it is a good thing to leave us wanting more.

Running time: 60 minutes (without interval)
Tom and Bunny Save the World is booking at VAULT Festival until 18th March then touring to
Birmingham, Old Joint Stock Theatre  | 22nd – 24th March 
Cambridge, Mumford Theatre  | 11th April | 7:30pm
York Theatre Royal  | 25th April | 7:45pm 
Sheffield, Theatre Delicatessen  | 26th – 28th April | 7:30pm
Shropshire, Theatre Severn | 1st May | 7:30pm
Clevedon, Theatre Shop | 3rd May | 7:30pm
Bristol, Alma Theatre  | 4th – 5th May | 8pm (5pm matinee)
Greenwich Theatre | 6th May | 7:30pm
Diss, Corn Hall | 8th May | 8pm
Lowestoft, The Seagull | 9th May | 7:30pm
Fareham, Ashcroft Arts Centre | 17th May | 7:30pm
Brighton Fringe, The Warren | 18th – 20th May | 8pm (18th – 19th), 4pm (20th) 
Milton Keynes, Stantonbury Theatre | 24th May | 7:30pm 
Newcastle, Alphabetti | 25th – 26th May | 7:30pm 
Darlington, Majestic Theatre | 28th May | 7:30pm 
Kendal, Brewery Arts Centre | 31st May | 8pm
Leeds, Seven Arts | 1st June | 8pm 
Ilkley Playhouse | 2nd June | 7:30pm 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *