Holes, Arcola Theatre

Four comedy stars join forces in a lively comedy about plane crash survivors, which was one of the hottest tickets at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Catch it at in the Arcola tent this summer. 

The Story...

The play opens on a beautiful circular beach set, with a dazzling round sunlamp simmering ten feet above — three conference organisers and a teenage girl have survived a plane crash and found themselves on a tropical island. That's where the echoes of iconic TV series Lost or William Golding's literary classic Lord of the Flies stop. This modern MTV generation of castaways has no  idea  how to build fires or forage for food and our heroes are unwilling to let go of their modern comforts, even in the wilderness. Especially when Maydays start to arrive from the very people they have been trying to reach... 

The People...

Audiences couldn’t get enough of this show at last year's Edinburgh fringe and it earned a plethora of four and five star reviews and a stream of praise for Tom Basden’s writing. Having proved his comedy salt writing for cult classics such as Peep Show, Fresh Meat and Plebs, Basden has injected his script with the same brand of observational humour.  BAFTA actor Mathew Baynton is known for his roles in popular BBC shows The Wrong Mans and Horrible Histories. Elizabeth Berrington is a new addition to the cast since its opening at the Fringe. A comedienne who has made her name in film (The Alan Partridge Movie, In Bruges, Vera Drake), she has also excelled onstage in awkward social comedies, such as Mike Leigh’s unbearably funny Abigail’s Party.

But the undisputed star of the production is Daniel Rigby as the hapless Ian. He won a BAFTA for his performance as Eric Morecambe in the acclaimed television-drama, Eric and Ernie. Though well-known for his turn as the loveable layabout in the BT Home Hub adverts, he is an accomplished stand-up and comic actor, as seen in over two hundred performances for the National’s One Man, Two Guvnors.

Funny and clever, this offbeat summer comedy combines a killer storyline, a gorgeous set and a very talented quartet.