The Pickle King is on now at the Hannah Playhouse and is a colourful, quirky and unique tale of love, death and what is worth preserving.

Once the finest hotel in town, the Empire is now as faded as the dreams of the piano player who haunts the lobby. Ammachy runs the Empire with an iron fist and has one big problem, her niece is blind and she will not be married. Sasha knows she must not marry because she is curse – everything she loves dies. Jeena is a heart surgeon. However, as a recent arrival from India the only work she can find is as a night porter in the Empire.

The masked performers who set the scene and book-ended the play were unique and portrayed emotion effectively.  For me, Vanessa Kumar when playing Ammachy was a standout character as well as Andrew Ford who played the Pickle King and brought high energy to his performance. However, I found the romance between Jeena and Sasha to be a hard sell – I didn’t see the connection or chemistry between them.

The masks, costumes, creative use of the set, and versatility of the performers were all exceptional and makes the whole show very appealing to the senses. Speaking of, the talented pianist made for an interesting dynamic with this musical abilities – it was also a cool touch that he was a ‘straight man character’ for the comedians to play off.

The show is very fringey… which of course makes sense considering it won the ‘Fringe First Award’ in 2003 at the Edinburgh Fringe (one of many awards the show has won since first performed in 2002).

Overall the show was very enjoyable! It’s on until 9 September – book your tickets today!