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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2004 Reviews (6)How to Act around Cops This slick production won Best Playwright and Best Director Awards at last year's New York Fringe Festival. It is heavily influenced by cop films of every type. Tarantino is in there, along with Film Noir, Inspector Clouseau and, in the wackier moments, Scooby Doo. Young people and dim probationary cops shouldn't mix as the results can be explosive. First, an epileptic amnesiac Madison, played by Matthew Benjamin and his hyperactive friend, Barnum (Andrew Breving), not to mention a banging girl in a car boot, have problems. This is despite their apparent innocence. A death later, the cop (Chris Kipiniak) is on the loose. His only clue is a motel key. He bursts in on the pick of the actors, Daniel Breaker's law student Dean and plastic-skirted Flora Diaz as Steph, as his cuffed and gagged girlfriend. It goes without saying that he jumps to the wrong conclusion but prostitution is legal in Nevada. After a number of misunderstandings, not helped by the angry Barnum's reappearance, the remaining trio go on the run. When the cop catches up, a further homicide is inevitable. How to Act Around Cops is well directed by Jon Schumacher and looks great with minimal lighting de rigeur. It is zany and often funny and generally manages to grab the attention, in the sauna that Pleasance Above becomes when it is sold out. It may not have too much message but as a funny satire on TV and film versions of life around cops, it is a success that has been and will prove popular. Philip Fisher Sisters, Such Devoted Sisters This show, produced in conjunction with Out of Join, has already had considerable success at the Drill Hall in London. It comprises a monologue delivered by the writer Russell Barr in blonde wig, high heels and satin dress. The story takes its audience into the netherworld occupied by drag artistes and their friends. The humour always bites and is often crude. The tales can be shocking and, by the end, Barr was shaken though this may have been a function of his struggles with the performance. Barr tells stories of the family members who have combined to give him his genetically addictive personality. His world, shared with Darren/Doris and Gerry/Geraldine is one of risks - of drugs, prostitution and violence. The ending in particular is deeply unsettling. At their best, the jokes are coarse but very funny. Ideally, they would be best delivered in a bar atmosphere where a few drinks would help them to go down easily. Philip Fisher Fatboy As portrayed by energetic actor/comedian Mike McShane, Fatboy is gross. Find any definition of that word except 144, and it will fit this larger than life character, Even the somewhat oversized actor is heavily padded to play this part and with assistance from his wife Queen Fudgie, played delightfully by Nancy Walsh, Fatboy is loud and gratuitously offensive. That is the point of this comedy of excess. Saddams and Hitlers exist. John Clancy reminds his audience that within each of us, there is a Fatboy or Fudgie waiting to escape and run riot. The problem that this play might face is that the satire is so good that audience members will rush out as opportunities for escape appear. They are the ones that have not realised that the best way to depict incipient hatred is to show it taken to the limit. Unfortunately, that makes for some uncomfortable watching. It also means that Fatboy is very funny. The style is often operatic without too much singing, arms wave and voices project, often to fling obscenities to the back of the beautifully-chandeliered Ballroom. The plot tells of poor Fatboy's need for security, food and cash, assuaged by genocide. Fudgie is after love, wherever she can get it, usually this is Matt Oberg, very fetching in a wig like a dead racoon. The mass murder leads to a kangaroo court presided over by a judge, the Groucho Marx-like David Calvitto whose speciality is over-the-top bad taste. Don't take Fatboy too seriously! It will offend if the underlying satire is ignored. Viewed with a ton of salt, it is a bad taste comedy with far more hits than misses. It will get plaudits as one of the best (and worst) shows as one would expect from these multiple Fringe First Winners (Goner, Americana Absurdum, Horse Country). Philip Fisher |
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