Post Mortem's marketing gives little indication of the nature of the play; its stark, black-and-white posters might lead one to expect a dark exploration of the motives behind coronary work. But, like many freshers' plays, the Corpus writers have turned to comedy in their writing of this original piece. Perhaps it is something of a cliché to choose the comedy as a first dramatic exploit, but it can be a risky option, as it relies on the audience's laughter to validate it. Yet this group of ambitious freshers pull it off with aplomb, creating a playful and charming script that led to an enjoyable production.

The play follows Helena Montague (Ellie Price), who wishes to be a coroner, through a lengthy series of interviews and odd occurrences. This led to a very witty take on the interview process, with sharp and pertinent humour leading to many laughs from the audience. Peter Lekarski's perfectly deadpan interpretation of an eccentric interviewer was a particular highlight, as were Ellie Price's bemused and well-timed responses as he asked her to "delve into the luggage of your feelings". In fact, much of the play's amusement comes from accurate exaggerations of many recognisable characters; the ridiculous series of interviewers, the unstable mother, the arrogantly sexist city banker types and the villain revealing all of their secrets (without even needing to be asked).

Some of the scenes, however, felt far too short and choppy, and the constant scene changes sometimes detracted from the necessary rhythm of the plot. There was certainly room for development in parts, as many potentially amusing scenes were cut short before they could become entertaining, such as the use of a human radio. Nonetheless, the parts of the script which were self-referential to their medium provided an interesting post-modern feel to the play, which maintained a light and refreshing tone throughout. Ed Ayers' interpretation of Helena's flatmate, Frank Franklin, added to this with his flighty, disorganised and generally very sweet character.

Despite being slightly stilted, the play retained its good humour and light heartedness, and praise must be given to the enthusiastic cast, including the more minor roles. It did not feel like a first production by any means, with both the writing and the performances at an impressive standard, showing sparks of great potential. The Corpus freshers demonstrate an understanding of the tricky art of comedy that should not be underestimated, as well as showing promise of future talent.