Two men, one tree, zero chill — the wittiest 99 minutes you'll ever spend in a dark room.
In 2013, Daniel Kitson wrote a play for two people (himself and (the mighty) Tim Key) to perform for a week or two at the (also mighty) Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. In 2015 that play was restaged at the (again, mighty) Old Vic in London for something like 28 performances, in total. This is one of those performances, in real time, start to finish.
Writing
Kitson's linguistic gymnastics — every sentence is a trapdoor.
Acting
Key's chaotic energy crashing into Kitson's precision like beautiful waves.
Director
Ewan Jones Morris
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The entire show was performed with no set changes and minimal props — the tree itself was a simple lamp on a stool, forcing the audience to build the world through language alone.
Kitson is notoriously protective of his work; this filmed capture is one of the rare instances his theatre has been preserved, making it essentially cinematic contraband for fans.
GB
