A Brief Case Of Crazy

A Brief Case Of Crazy is playing at the York Theatre Royal Studio from Thursday to Saturday, with the evening shows starting at 7pm and a 2pm matinee on Saturday. It's a silent love story told through mime, clowning, puppetry and physical comedy, so there's no dialogue to follow — just watching it unfold on stage.

The story centres on Thomas, an awkward office worker with a quiet crush on his shy colleague Daisy. His quest for love gets complicated by a boisterous boss and a troublesome briefcase that doesn't seem to want to cooperate. It's a setup that leans into the comic potential of the everyday, and the company describes it as 'the sweatiest, stinkiest show in the world'.

Underneath the slapstick, though, it pulls on some heavier ground. The show touches on grief, romance, belonging and difference, and it's firmly pro-underdog. It's that mix of physical comedy and genuine heart that gives it some weight beyond the laughs.

The production comes from Skedaddle, a company that started as a group of young creatives who trained on a physical theatre course at East 15 Acting School. You can hear the influence of the greats in the description, too: they cite Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean as the comic genius that inspired the piece. If those names ring a bell, you've got a good idea of the kind of physical, visual comedy to expect.

So, it's Thursday to Saturday at 7pm, with the 2pm matinee on Saturday, all at the York Theatre Royal Studio.