Pommes and Restes: Shipwrecked on the Tempestuous Lost Island of Never: Much More Than Slapstick.

Photo: Barb Gray. Scott Florence and Margo Macdonald

What can I say about a play that within the first five minutes showers the audience with balloons and ends with the actors passing around trays of very tasty cupcakes? The world premiere of “Pomme and ‘Restes: Shipwrecked! On the Tempestuous Lost Island of Never” by A Company of Fools is partly a wacked-out version of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” combined with The Three Stooges and Pythonesque word-play. It begins with a shipwrecked cruise ship dumping the five characters on an appropriately cartoonish desert island, designed by John Doucet.

The two clown characters are Pomme Frites, a lugubrious philosopher who wants to do “stand-up tragedy,” and ‘Restes, his none-too-bright rubber-faced sidekick. They’re wonderfully played by, respectively, Scott Florence and Margo MacDonald, co-authors of the script along with Director Al Connors. As for the script, I can easily imagine something happening in rehearsal that got the response, “Hey – that’s fun. Leave it in!”

Pierre Brault, making his debut with A Company of Fools as Prospero, the magician, is a perfect fit for the role and style. He controls a tiny magic light that squeaks unintelligibly. Is it Tinker Bell? Is it Ariel? Who knows – but it’s very funny. Katie Ryerson first appears as Prospero’s gentle daughter Miranda, who longs for independence. Later she shows up as an energetic Anne of Green Gables complete with red pigtails and proceeds to transform herself into the Amazon Queen.

The fifth member of the cast is the limber and athletic Jesse Buck, former principal clown of Cirque du Soliel’s “Allegria,” as the smarmy cruise director Freddie. On the island he transforms into a slick and elegant Captain Hook, who can swash and buckle with the best. He has a debate with the Amazon Queen that degenerates into a brief hair-tossing match.

Speaking of hair-tossing, Vanessa Imeson’s wigs and costumes are great, especially Hook’s lace-trimmed coat and elaborately curled wig. Darryl Bennett’s lighting is bright and effective, as is Andrew Alexander’s video content. The excellent sound and projections are designed by Director Al Connors.

Mr. Connors has done a great job of staging the high-jinks. I loved the cooking pot scene, the accuracy of the falling coconut and the clever word-play with “quit.” Pomme and ‘Restes are terrific in the “unless” scene and ‘Restes has a wonderfully silly conversation with a carrot and a potato. You need to stay alert or you’ll miss some great small moments, such as when Pomme threatens suicide and makes the classic hara kiri first cut with the carrot.

This play is much more than slapstick. “Shipwrecked!” is a very clever mix of stories, scripts and styles that really works. It’s a great choice for the holidays and is just plain fun. As Pomme says, “Cake for everyone!”