Three Can Keep A Secret ***

Three Can Keep A Secret is piece of comedy drama with a twist: there is frequent audience interaction to influence the plot, making it a cross between drama and the ‘choose your own adventure’ genre.

A boys’ poker night is the setting. The host, Mason, is expecting various party guests and with his wife, Denise, safely out of town, it promises to be raucous. Sonny and Moose arrive, yet…they don’t especially seem to be cordial with one another – are they in fact friends at all?

While Moose distracts Mason, Sonny murders him, the first of many plot twists. It transpires that Mason owed an unpleasant organisation a large sum of money and the others were here to collect, under cover of a poker game. However, rather unexpectedly Mason’s wife and inebriated friend Julia return, having missed their flight to Vegas, Julia eventually being bundled into an Uber.

None of the five characters emerge with any great ethical credit. Mason inferentially has a gambling addiction and has brought his household to the verge of bankruptcy. Sonny is self-absorbed and unpleasant, even for a hitman. Moose, also a hitman, is having an affair with a married woman. Denise takes a string of lovers, while Julia tries to seduce a married pilot, causing them to miss their flight.

The plot now ebbs and flows, as the characters seek to achieve various goals. Will they get away with murder? Who will get the money? Will the women prove to be collateral damage?

A constituent component of this ebb and flow are various action freezes, with Mason asking the audience to influence the plot with votes. Yet, this is where the premise somewhat fell down on the production today, as the choices turned out to be temporary with the plot resuming a seemingly predetermined course. This may in fairness have been an exception, as there a plethora of plot decisions and shows will rarely be repeated.

While the performances are also a little uneven and unlayered, the standouts being Denise and Mason, this is nonetheless an entertaining and amusing Fringe hour.