The improbably named Me, As a Penguin follows a couple, Liz and Mark, who are waiting for their child, or "the bump", to finally be born and Liz’s brother Stich, who has left his job to sample the gay scene in Hull. The story progresses in a fairly absurd way: Stich has abducted a baby penguin from the local aquarium. When Liz and Mark discover the penguin Stich runs away with it again. This eventually leads to a rather dark confrontation with Mark’s friend Dave, who Stich has been courting, as Dave comes to recover the penguin.

The play is, frankly, hilarious, but still manages to deal with some very serious issues as the baby finally arrives and Stich and Dave’s relationship comes to a head. Even as these events unfold, however, the play never becomes any less comical, with even the most emotional moments being peppered with some incredibly funny lines. Despite this the play is never flippant in its treatment of serious issues. The cast are all to be commended for the understated style with which they handled both the comedy and the drama. None of the jokes were ever overly milked for laughs (although they were delivered with consummate skill) and none of the emotional moments ever strayed into the realms of melodrama. A very fine line was unfalteringly walked throughout the play.

Mention needs to be made of the set which I was very impressed by. An enormous amount of thought had been put into the really fine details of the stage to make it look like a couple’s home rather than just another generic Corpus stage.

In truth I think every member of the cast deserves mention. Watching Max Upton (Stich) is always an irritating thing because he is just so good. He manages to be both extremely funny while still give a rather moving performance. Hugh Stubbins (Mark), despite a slightly shaky start, really grew into his part, delivering, I think, the funniest moment of the whole play with perfect comic timing as well as pitching the scenes where he opened up to us with absolute precision. Tom Stuchfield (Dave) is to be commended for some fantastically awkward comedy. No one can be awkward like a man dressed as a giant penguin. Particular praise, though, must go to Laura Jayne Ayres (Liz) who delivered the lines with a fluency and conviction that is rarely seen in student drama.

The criticisms I have of the play are very minor. There were some moments of lines overlapping  and some minor corpsing but no more than you’d expect on an opening night. I also thought the voiceovers, which covered the scene changes, could have been used to greater effect. As it was they seemed oddly out of keeping with the play’s tone. But overall I thought that the show was extremely good. Although I thought it lacked the real X factor of a five star show, I would urge everyone who can to see this play.