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Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2003 Reviews (6)Desdemona Desdemona is a play based on what might have happened to some of the ladies that appear in Othello. This is a very good idea and Paula Vogel's play is interesting while it stays close to Shakespeare. The lost handkerchief is key, although at the final performance a broken zip tested Caroline Tate's Desdemona far more. The poor leading lady spent almost the whole play subtly holding her top in place - very negative body language but not inappropriate. Despite this, her performance was impressive. The bulk of the play consists of discussions between Desdemona and her maid Emilia, played by Tracey-Anne Liles, wife to the physically disappointing Iago. For no very clear reason, Desdemona, in a major plot-line, becomes a prostitute for the dreadful Bianca. This forces the play to descend into bawdy sex comedy. Charlotte Milchard is a good character actress but not well cast as Bianca. The end of the play successfully returns to a reappraisal of Shakespeare. Desdemona could have been so good but got lost somewhere along the way. This Lime Tree Bower Richard Jordan has become the Conor McPherson specialist in Edinburgh. In past years, he has produced very professional productions of Rum and Vodka, The Good Thief and St. Nicholas. In 2003 he surpasses himself with the best yet, a revival of McPherson's tale combining a young man's coming of age, philosophy and criminal acts. The structure is a series of monologues delivered by three young men. They link and diverge as they build a story of ordinary Irish life looked at from differing angles. Peter Quinn plays young Joe, a teenager desperate to learn about life and in thrall to his new classmate Damian. They have some good craic when they should be in class but there is an inevitable sting in the tail. Dermot Kerrigan is the philandering philosophy lecturer, Ray, who can't resist his female students despite his relationship with Joe's sister, Carmel. He also desperately wants to prove himself in high powered debate. The two lives that he leads prove incompatible. Finally there is Joe's brother Frank, Nick Danan. He works in his dad's chipper and watches as the old man sinks a bottle of the hard stuff each day. This is to escape from the knowledge of debts owed to "Simple Simon" the local bookie. The play is well-structured and benefits from the playwright's almost visual language. It builds to a series of entertaining climaxes, as one has come to expect from Conor McPherson. The three actors are all strong under the direction of Patrick Connellan. Mr Jordan is at pains to point out that this production is available for touring and festivals. With the current popularity of Irish writing, it would go down well almost anywhere. Don Q Labyrinth Theatre have bravely attempted to condense the whole of Don Quixote into 90 minutes. Their physical production, with a great soundscape designed by Tony Charlton and extremely effective, low-budget costume and props, so nearly pulls it off. This is a tribute to director, Laura Farnworth, and her three actors who play a cast of thousands with great skill and immense energy. They have worked very hard on appearances, Clive Ashborn just happens to be Sancho Panza in the flesh. With a bit more effort, Christopher Petrus is a pretty good Don Q lookalike. Everyone who has read the book will have favourite parts and most manage at least a mention, the windmills though get only half a sentence. The playwright has also taken some liberties that might not have appealed to Cervantes but that is inevitable if the show is to last less than a week. There is some of the poetry of the original particularly in the prologue but odd changes grind. The Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance becomes one with a sorry face. Labyrinth's strengths are an ability to bring episodes to mind, depict them with originality and then move on. The characters of not only the two protagonists but also many others such as Caroline Corrie's Sanson Carrasco BA are well-drawn. Treated as a taster for the novel or a reminder of its richness, Don Q. does the job. |
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