boom at Theatre503 was entertaining and surprising

I go to all the main shows at Theatre503 these days, not out of some loyalty but because they have a consistent track record of delivering unusual plays that are both stimulating and entertaining.

And so I eagerly forked out my £15 for boom.

First I had to feed and water myself and I did that in the pub downstairs, The Latchmere. I am not much of a foodie so I had the nachos, yet again, and a pint of Landlord, yet again.

The premise of boom is in the poster. A gay geek is studying fish and from this he concludes that they know that the world is about to end due to a collision with a large asteroid. The fish are right.

The geek makes plans, he prepares a bunker and entices a woman into it just before the collision. She is studying journalism and her motive in going was to write a piece on him.

boom is the story of one man's attempt to save the human race.

Except it is more than that. There is a third player, a narrator and our guide. She is in a uniform and it soon becomes clear that the play we are watching is some sort of historical reenactment taking place in a museum for our education.

Balancing this sci-fi element is the story of the two young people as they try to come to terms with the new world and with each other. They had been thrown together by circumstances and were not really suited which generates a lot of humour. The play (the couple) within the play (the history lesson) is nicely entertaining in the way that sit-coms should be.

The history lesson is a surprise. I've had to delete several attempts where I have tried to explain why it is surprising without spoiling it but the clues were too obvious. Just trust me on that one.

boom was a delightful treat and ideal fare for a Friday evening.