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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2004 Reviews (37)Playing Canadian playwright Jodi Miller is clearly a good writer, although in Playing she seems uncertain of her authorial voice. This means that what could have been an excellent, racy piece on the nature of love and sex in the third millennium, is merely good This two-hander focuses on the relationship between the intelligent Lorraine, played by Elizabeth Bower, and the self-confessed geek, Richard (Nathan Naylor). The first phase of a play of nights and mornings in their bed shows a happy couple in their twenties. It introduces their similarities and the minor differences that become sources of irritation. They also discuss communication between men and women in stereotypical terms that do the action little justice. The next stage looks at what happens when they decide to spice up their sex lives and can be graphic. This part varies between insightful analysis of the behaviour of a young couple and sometimes trite sex comedy. At the end, Miss Miller strives for a dramatic dénouement and achieves this but only at the expense of forcing both man and woman to act uncharacteristically. Under director, Lisa Cagnacci, who maintains a very good pace, the actors perform well, in the spotlight for almost 1 1/4 hours and varying between serious drama and comedy with skill. Playing is entertaining with a little rewriting could be far better. Philip Fisher Nikolina Van Badham is the most frustrating of playwrights. Elements of each of her plays, generally those with a political dimension, are wonderful. However, she always chucks in enough plot twists for a couple more plays, thereby dissipating the impact. Nikolina is on one level, the story of a young woman from Krajina, played by Emma Forster, who daringly escapes from Serbia with her brothe, for a life as a waitress in England. On another, it looks at two students, inveterate womaniser Francis and his dull friend Dale. On a third there are faithless Ruth and dull Dale heading for a break-up and, just for luck, even a little bit of incest. The story of Nikolina and her brother Aleks in Serbia is terrifyingly real. The scene changes are also beautifully and swiftly realised by directo James Grieve, so that no sooner do we leave Krajina than we are in a living room in England. The fact that the pair are treated like gypsies makes one realise that their new homeland is less than perfect, though nothing compared to the war-torn former Yugoslavia.. The Ruth/Dale/Francis relationships tend towards the banal and are not necessary for the plot of a play with a running time of little more than an hour. They are not helped by the unneveness of the acting in these scenes. Yet again, Van Badham has written a memorable play that could have been so much better. It can only be a matter of time before she becomes a very good and possibly a politically important playwright. Philip Fisher Doderskratt - A Dramatic Concert To my mind, Auroa Nova is the undisputed joy of the Edinburgh Festival. Their programming is a veritable celebration of diversity and quality in visual theatre. I could take a sleeping bag and camp out in the cafe. Theatre Slava herald from Sweden and the word that sprung to mind most forcibly while I was entranced with their performance was PASSION. They sing like angels, wail like banshees on heat, twirl their flags like the Beijing Opera and they are sexy and butch and beautiful. This is a finely honed performance of song, music and movement that challenges. There are sounds earthy and spiritual that elicit a recognition of things primordial long erased from the rational brain of the human race. Theatre Slava challenge us to put our very British embarrassment in our pockets and give ourselves up entirely to this pleasure. But this is not merely a concert. Visually, the performance is enhanced with atmospheric lighting, swirling firebrands, dance and ritual. The material is drawn from folk migrating from stepe to forest and investing their fireside songs with the joy and suffering of life. It is a celebration of human endeavour. Jackie Fletcher |
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