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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2004 Reviews (11)Take Me Away Gerald Murphy's message in his black comedy, Take Me Away, is that for many in Dublin, life is irredeemably grim. The play focuses on a family that builds its structure on lies. The action takes place in Bren's living room. Joe Hanley plays the "success", a man with a recent promotion in his job as security guard. His favourite hobby, however is given away by a flickering computer screen and handy toilet roll. Life becomes complicated when his father (Vincent McCabe) and two brothers descend, in contemplation of a hospital visit to meet the boys' apparently mortally sick mother. Stable relationships and jobs (let alone good ones) are at a premium. In this family, at best, you pretend to have a good job and a woman. The problem is that, eventually, Aidan Kelly's self-mutilating Anthony will jump to the wrong conclusion and embarassment will follow. Even the shy young golden boy, Kev (Barry Ward) turns out to be a chip off the old, failure-riddled block. By the end, this family of bedwetters has shown itself to be a disaster area and it becomes all too clear why mum has done a runner with the mysterious Jess. Philip Fisher When the Bulbul Stopped Singing The problems of Arabs and Israelis are proving fertile ground for playwrights at the moment. Robin Soans recently created The Arab-Israeli Cookbook from testimonies and The Situation Comedy by Robbie Gringrass views the conflict from the Israeli angle. The Traverse has asked playwright David Greig to adapt the writings of Christian Arab, Raja Shehadeh, for the stage and under Philip Howard's sympathetic direction, a one-man show has emerged. Anthony McIlwaine's set is simplicity itself but together with Chahine Yavroyan's low-level lighting has a striking effect. The set is made up of a number of irregular rectangles, the central one made up of symbolically red dust. In this space, Christopher Simon plays Raja, a man whose experience brings to mind suffering writers in other countries, such as Nelson Mandela and Vaclav Havel. The main story is set in Ramallah during the "invasion" by Israeli soldiers in April 2002. Raja is a gentle, honest man who just wants to live a normal life. However, he finds himself as a witness and protagonist, trapped in a war zone. His brother becomes a human shield as his home is invaded and taken over. He also relates the stories of many other innocent victims. It is rather too much to expect political objectivity in a play about a dispute of this type but at least Raja can recognise that individual Israelis may be good men, if he cannot relate to them collectively. There are many beautiful verbal images in When the Bulbul Stopped Singing and the increasing desperation of the inhabitants of Ramallah is painful to behold. In some ways, the insidious attempts to control information and destroy identity are as shocking as the human tragedies. Ideally, this play needs to be seen in concert with one showing the other side of the coin. On its own, it is moving but inevitably partial, as it relates the lives of the inhabitants of "the biggest detention camp in the world". Philip Fisher Shimmer Shimmer is something really special. Linda McLean has stepped into the theatrical space generally occupied by the likes of Caryl Churchill and David Greig with this piece about important topics like the meaning of life, the nature of memory and how people get on. The narrative is not linear and is very postmodern. There are three attempts to cover the same ground, each adding to and clouding the understanding already built up. Three women arrive at a B & B somewhere en route from Glasgow to Oban and then to Iona. They are on a pilgrimage to the holy island to pray for the soul of Petal (Lesley Hart). She is terminally ill and her bickering mother, Missy, and grandmother, Hen, take her on a final trip. The kind of storm that slowed Noah up forces them to take shelter with three rather mysterious men and continues at the back of Monica Frawley's set throughout. The masculine trio mirror the women in age and in some ways in nature. The old pair reminisce, the middle aged ones seem on a cusp, while the youngsters have a fresher outlook. Always in the background is a God(ot)-like fisherman who offers rescue and redemption. Dialogue is repeated but facts change; and memories impinge in a dream-like way. It is possible that the whole play takes place in Petal's mind, as she awaits her end. The dialogue churns in the brain and the way in which each character takes on iconic status for the others reminding them of dead relatives, adds an extra dimension. As Hen says, "It's the people who love us we miss the most". With its lyrical language, Shimmer somehow says more about humanity and the ways of folk than any number of less opaque pieces. It can also be funny and touching and is always thought-provoking. Philip Fisher |
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