By his own admission Rudolph is thick. Dropped on his head by his mother when he was young, he has problems learning new words but is determined to always see the good in everyone.

This made him an engaging narrator for this tale of smalltown tragedy, as he gave his innocent view on how his mother turned into a tabloid monster and tore his family apart.

Rick Bland’s comedy was of the blackest hue, with death, alcoholism and grief never far away, but providing some genuine laugh-out-loud situations as Rudolph interacted with a foul-mouthed baglady, his frail old grandmother, an over-eager shoeshop saleswoman and even Pope John Paul II.

Played against a child-like, drawn backdrop of a city, Thick began with Rudolph preparing to “put his mother in the ground” and remembering what had come before through his rose-tinted glasses.

The clever use of flashback and narration kept the audience hooked, as Rudolph, played by Rick, hinted at the bigger underlying problems his family faced.

Genevieve Adam as his loving older sister, Gary Fannin as his wise father and the brilliant Barbara Barnes as his complicated nightmare of a mother addicted to “non-alcoholic gin” all gave bravura performances.