Have you ever wanted to go back in time and do things differently? Change your fortunes for the better? That’s the question posed to us by Viscera Theatre in their very charming, very funny short play In Tents and Purposes, presented as part of the Lyric’s Evolution festival.

First of all, the script is brilliant. Writer Roxy Dunn (who stars alongside Alys Metcalf, who also devised the play) has essentially created a mash-up between One Day and Sliding Doors, where we meet our protagonists on a certain day every few years or so, each encounter crucially taking place in a tent. Why tents you ask? Well, this is because way back in 2010, our pair had their fortunes told at a festival – one would grow to be successful and marry the love of their life, the other not so much. Each has a differing view on the credibility of said fortune: Dunn sees it as gospel whilst Metcalf thinks its baloney, and the contrasting reactions by the actresses to their lives ahead create some excellent character work. The former allows herself to wallow in misery, while the latter works hard to achieve all that she wants, regardless of it being written in the stars.

The point at which it gets really clever is when, at perhaps the end of their friendship, we literally have a reversal of fortune. Going back in time, we revisit the characters at the same points as though they are in each other’s shoes. However, they still maintain their characteristics from before, which is just a lovely bit of detail – Dunn expects to be famous and wealthy, and Metcalf doesn’t care but she’s just happy to go with the flow and seek out her own fortune. It is so refreshing to see characters influencing a story in such a way, and the result is a short, sharp, smart piece of writing.

God is it funny though. Both actresses give exceptionally talented comic performances, but Metcalf in particular is an absolute riot. Her gift for physical comedy shines through and provides the more side-splitting moments of the play: I’m not sure I’ll ever forget the image of her miming riding a bicycle. The chemistry between her and Dunn is so believable, you know they must have had such a laugh putting this show together. Also to be praised is director Chris Head for keeping it as simple as you like. There’s a tent, a flip-chart with the month and year on, and two small chests at each side with corresponding costumes and props in. You don’t have a prop you need, you just mime it. That’s it. The pace is exceptional, as changes in location and time are kept so snappy, and the whole piece blazes through at such a rate of knots that it’s a genuine surprise when it all comes to an end.

However, In Tents and Purposes does end up feeling a little tonally confusing at times. It comes as a bit of a shock one scene change into the story, that this is actually one of these meta theatre experiences. Dunn and Metcalf are playing Dunn and Metcalf, putting on a play they have written themselves, which in turn includes a subplot where Dunn is writing a novel about the couple’s adventures. It all gets a little bit Inception, which is fine, but what with all the other narrative choices being made alongside this ‘play-in-a-play,’ it leaves the whole performance a little overstuffed. The banter between the two in these scene changes is top class, but it does tend to detract from the main element of storytelling they elsewhere perform at such a high level.

Clearly, Viscera Theatre is one company to watch. If they can keep producing work of this quality, we are all going to be better off for it. In Tents and Purposes might have too many ideas crammed into it for one show, but whoever said you can have too much of a good thing? If I had the ability to travel back in time, I would go and watch this again.

In Tents and Purposes played as part of the Evolution Festival at the Lyric Hammersmith. For more information, see the Lyric Hammersmith website.