The Further Adventures of Antoine Feval

Venue 14 – The King’s Head

In this sequel to Antoine Feval, Chris Gibbs returns in the role of Barnaby Gibbs, narrating some more of his memories of the time he spent with the great detective Antoine Feval. For those of you who haven't seen the original, Antoine Feval is not really a detective at all. He is a burglar who, despite being caught red handed by Barnaby, manages to convince him that he is in reality a famous detective, thanks to Barnaby's incredible naivety. In this instalment, Barnaby is still labouring under this delusion, and is financing Feval's nonexistent detective agency.

Like the original, this is also a very funny play. Barnaby Gibbs and Antoine Feval are wonderful comic creations, and Chris Gibbs gets great comic mileage from Feval's consistent ability to pull the wool over Barnaby's eyes. The plot, though secondary, is absurd and fast moving, adding an element of structure to Gibbs's free wheeling comedy. As well as having few equals as a comic performer, Gibbs is also a talented storyteller, easily drawing the audience into his narrative with his engaging style.

Chris Gibbs is as about as close as you can get to a sure thing at the Fringe. You can always count on him to deliver a show that will keep you in stitches, and this show is no exception.

- Terry Moor UMFM