We are so lucky to live in a city with a festival like The Fringe which gives us the opportunity to enjoy quirky little plays like OFFICE INK. Set in an office supply company, this show is somewhere between a post-it on the staff noticeboard and an inter-office memo.  It’s not serious enough to be an email or pretentious enough to be a ring binder.  And it’s definitely not stationary!

A large shipment of ink cartridges has gone missing and office manager Patricia Apple (Therase Neve) is threatening her staff of three.  Someone’s head will roll at the end of the day so everyone except the office hunk, Calvin (Gabriel Aprahamian) is investigating.  Personal foibles and secrets are revealed as Christina (Jade Alex) and David (Fadi Alameddin) team up to hunt down the culprit.

Running just under 60 minutes, the show has many elements to entertain. There’s broad comedy and sexual innuendo, slapstick and choreographed dance sequences, monologues and rapid dialogue, singing and oratorio.   Jonathan Solomon has written a comedy where the humour has a wide appeal.  I found myself laughing in odd places and being the only giggler.  Yet other times I was wondering what my companions were laughing at.     And it’s a slow burn for the many puns and a neat little scene built on some very spurious acronyms.

The setting and props are multiuse and flexible.  The lighting suitable.  The backing tracks to the songs were enjoyable through a good speaker system operated with an appropriate volume and mix.  The venue at the Annex, Newtown is a venerable old building with a purpose-build black curtained stage.  The Festival staff were welcoming and enthusiastic.  5 highlighters from me.

The show is two nights only so you will have to be quick to see it.  11 and 12 September.  The Annex, 5 Eliza Street, Newtown.