KEVIN!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Four actors and a Foley artist perform a live, shot-for-shot parody of the greatest Christmas film of all time.”

Kristin McCarthy Parker's direction is great. There are some brilliant uses of the space, and I particularly appreciate the decision not to do every single scene in front of the cameras and screens. Some moments are played directly to the audience, which stops the production from feeling like we are simply watching a screen being made in front of us. It keeps the theatre at the heart of the experience and makes the whole thing feel genuinely live.

The set is wonderfully like a cutback production. There is the Foley artist’s table, while the rest of the stage is filled with blue screens, cameras and miniature sets. It immediately gives you a sense of just how much technical wizardry you are about to witness. The miniature sets and recycled materials also add to that wonderfully homemade aesthetic. At the same time, the sheer amount of equipment onstage makes you wonder how nobody has tripped over a cable yet.

James Appleby's lighting and sound are great. There isn’t an enormous amount of lighting because so much of the action relies on key lights around the cameras, but when the lighting does step forward, it works brilliantly. The sound is generally at lovely levels, although there were a few moments where the Foley artist’s singing could have been a little louder.

The projections and live camera work are the real powerhouse of this show. This is what KEVIN!!! relies on, and it is technically so impressive. Switching between blue screen, live cameras, miniature sets and different scales while having two or three cameras interacting on the main screen simultaneously is no small feat. There are so many moving parts happening at once that it is almost as entertaining to watch the technical process as it is to watch the parody itself. And somehow, it all works.

The book is hilarious. I absolutely loved the trailers at the beginning, and from there the show is packed with laughs. What I particularly enjoy is that this is clearly made with love and affection for the original film. It is a parody, but it never feels like it is simply taking cheap shots at Home Alone. Some of my favourite jokes were actually the ones that poked fun at the venue and the theatrical situation itself. A lovely self-awareness runs throughout the writing, and it knows that half the fun is watching these performers desperately recreate an enormous Hollywood film with a handful of cameras, miniature sets, and a Foley table.

The performances by Nick Abeel, Brendan Dalton, Rosa Palmeri and Natalie Rich, alongside Foley artist Richard Sears, are brilliant. The cast are incredibly talented, multi-rolling with complete ease while constantly running around the stage the second they finish one job and set up the next. The level of coordination is genuinely impressive. One person is acting, another is operating a camera, someone else is preparing a miniature set, and Richard Sears is creating an entire universe of sound effects. At the same time, everyone somehow keeps the story moving. And they are tight as a unit. You can see the trust between them, especially in moments when the production becomes extremely fast-paced. It feels like watching a very well-rehearsed machine that has somehow also remembered to be hilarious.

KEVIN!!! is a ridiculously clever piece of theatrical filmmaking that recreates Home Alone in a way that feels both technically impressive and completely silly.

The technical skill required is enormous, but thankfully the show never forgets that it is supposed to be fun. The performers are clearly having a brilliant time, the writing is packed with laughs, and the decision to bring the action directly to the audience stops the technology from becoming the entire point. What makes it particularly impressive is just how much is happening in real time. Cameras, blue screens, miniature sets, puppetry, Foley, physical comedy and live performance are all happening simultaneously, and somehow it never feels like you are watching a rehearsal for something that will eventually become a film. This is the film. Just considerably smaller.

KEVIN!!! is playing at Pleasance Courtyard, Forth, at 12:20 pm, running until 31 August, with selected days off. The show runs for 60 minutes.

Fancy being left at home… alone? Book tickets for KEVIN!!!