SUICIDE is undoubtedly a macabre subject for a comedy.

However, in the hands of the wonderful Northern Broadsides company, Deborah McAndrew’s play, adapted from The Suicide by Russian dramatist Nikolai Erdman, is a dark delight.

Unemployed Simeon Duff (Michael Hugo) lives with wife Mary (Samantha Robinson) and mother-in-law Sadie (Angela Bain) in a dingy boarding house in the north-west of England.

Depressed and humiliated by having to rely on his wife’s wages to scrape by, Simeon announces that he is going to kill himself.

Fearing the worst, Mary seeks help from their grubby Rigsby-esque landlord (Howard Chadwick), who tries to convince Simeon that life is beautiful and worth clinging on to.

However, when the looselipped landlord spreads the word among the locals about what Simeon is planning to do, the vultures begin to circle.

One by one, a string of grotesque characters, who would not be out of place in The League of Gentlemen, visit Simeon in the hope of turning his suicide into a grand and noble gesture that will further their own particular cause.

It is finally agreed that Simeon will end it all at high noon the next day, but will he go through with it?

McAndrew’s script switches between laugh-out-loud humour, poignancy and shrewd social commentary with deft skill, while the multitalented ensemble cast shine not only in their acting but also in their fine singing and playing of musical instruments.

The denouement provides genuine tension amid the laughs, and there’s a final twist that packs a real emotional punch. If you like your comedy as dark as a wet weekend in Wigan, you’ll be royally entertained by these northern stars.

  • The Grand Gesture continues at Theatre Royal Winchester until Saturday. Tickets are available by clicking here>>