|
|
|
|
The
Edinburgh Fringe
|
|
|
|
Fringe 2004 Reviews (32)Taking Charlie Jonathan Harvey is one of our most accomplished playwrights, at his best when examining gay issues in plays such as Beautiful Thing. Taking Charlie is something different, a return to the one-woman show. In 1997, he wrote the poignant Swansong that also appeared in Edinburgh. This play with songs is far stronger. Charlie is a woman on the verge of her 30th birthday and life is not going well. Her man is sleeping with her sister, her mother drinks too much and she is developing a habit. Even when her dog-walking job introduces her to "spanking, young, shag-me vet" Brian, things only get worse. After an unforgettable (if forgotten) experience, Charlie is left disappointed and pregnant. From there, she tries the only escapes available, sleeping tablets and retreating into a second life as Carol Decker of T'pau. Taking Charlie, which is directed by former Eastender Susan Tully, can be poignant and funny. It features a fine performance from Abi Roberts both when relating Charlie's sad tale and singing like Miss Decker at her best. Philip Fisher 1001 Nights Shakti is a Fringe institution. Her erotic Indo-Japanese dance has provoked outrage and enthusiasm in equal measure over the years. She treads, according to one reviewer this year, the fine line between art and pornography. So I thought that, in my eighth year of Fringe reviewing, I ought to see what it's all about. I'm still not sure! It certainly isn't pornographic (unless your definition extends to anything erotic), but equally I would hesitate to call it art. You can see the Indian and Japanese influences in her performance and Shakti can emote with the best, but at the end of it all, 1001 Nights doesn't have much to do with 1001 Nights except for the oriental (but shouldn't it be Arab?) influence. It's dance for entertainment and, within those confines, it succeeds, but it's nothing else, neither pornography nor art. Peter Lathan Blood Relations Although based around the story of Lizzie Borden and the question of whether she actually did kill he father and step-mother, Blood Relations is, as writer Pollock says, more about the "struggle to maintain a sense of self". Ten years after her acquittal, Lizzie Borden challenges an actress friend, who is constantly asking whether she did or did not do the deed, too put herself in her (Borden's) place and re-enact the story. Placed under the same pressures as Borden ten years eaflier, she... But why spoil the story? It's a gripping take on the story and Braindead have a pretty good stab at it. Caroline Donnelly as the actress is particularly impressive, as is Barnaby Ferris whose performance as Mr Borden, although understated, is powerful. Otherwise the performances are of variable quality. Peter Lathan Forbidden No show hits harder than the socially blasphemous Forbidden. At least, thast's what it says in the Fringe programme. However, as a play it has less dramatic tension than Playschool and less convincing acting than the Teletubbies. It can't even be called a rant, for that implies passion, something which it singularly lacks. There is a good play to written about political correctness but this certainly isn't it. Peter Lathan |
|
|