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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2003 Reviews (22)Tonight We Fly - The Story of Marc
Chagall The title of the play says it all. Elliot Levey, a charmer if ever there was one, judging by his performances in Monkey and this production, plays the artist. All of the other protagonists in artistic director Toby Willsher's production are played by strangely surreal, silent people in Russell Dean's beautiful masks. They were seen in Adventures of the Stoneheads at the National Theatre, have gigantic heads and a sense of innocence. In addition, puppets of various types fill in gaps. The consequence is that the dialogue is one-sided, a bit like Sooty and Sweep, with Chagall asking rhetorical questions of his family and friends and then relating their answers. Visually, Tonight We Fly looks fantastic with a fold-out set that can become views of houses or rooftops. Onto this he projects familiar images of the cat with the human face, the artist's parents and the artist in flight with his beloved muse, Bella. Dean also gives us some good human impressions of Picasso's cubist paintings. The atmosphere of Vitebsk a hundred or so years ago is enhanced by the playing of Klezmer music by the very versatile quartet that also plays all of the parts. This homage to a great artist gives its audience a reasonable overview of Chagall's life but where it is really successful is in recreating his most characteristic work on stage. Boxed Off Minimum requirement for a play (unless you are Beckett) is basic form and structure; beginning, middle, end (unless you are Pinter), protagonist, antagonist, conflict and climax. It helps to have well drawn characters who are integral to the plot and dialogue consistent with the style of the play. The novice will always fail if they do not apply these dramatic tools (unless they are genius). Kelly Hart is not. Nor does she seem to know about basic structure even with the advantage of being in the Royal Court Young Writers Programme. Boxed Off sounds like a good idea. Set the play in a box office. The theatre is replete with plays set in the theatre. But for all that Ms. Hart utilizes the setting, it could as easily have been set in a hotel kitchen or a public toilet. And, although in hindsight one can hunt down a clue or two, the plot does not surface until the last ten minutes. On a very small stage they have managed at one time to have three desks, three office chairs and all six cast members without bumping into each other. The acting (Ms. Hart as Cheryl, Jessica Thom as Pippa, Matthew Blanks as Adrian, Louise Neven in various roles, Gareth Morgan as Derek) and directing (Mellissa Morgan) are pure first year drama with none of the bad habits broken. This may be the fault of the contagious quality of “have a lark.” A stand-up job from David William Palmer behind the lights and sound. Well, I hope they had fun. There were those in the sympathetic audience that seemed to be familiar with the form. My Arm This one man performance allows the incredibly relaxed Mr Crouch to tell an apparently autobiographical story. It commences with a collection of bric a brac and photos from audience members and these are used as props They are shown in stark close-up using a camcorder and TV screen. Many boys are wilful but Tim Crouch decided to hold up his arm as a child and left it there forever. This had the consequence of making him an oddity and risking his life. Eventually, like a self-made Elephant Man, he becomes a celebrity loved by artists who wish to exploit his infirmity. This one-hour play is a comment on the art world and exploitation but its slow delivery is not to everyone's taste. |
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