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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2004 Reviews (54)Paper World If there were a Fringe Fools' First Mimirichi would win the prize. The four-strong Ukrainian clown troupe are indeed 'utterly bonkers' and all in the best possible taste! Paper World could be subtitled 'a zillion things to do with a massive roll of paper and a large audience'. It is the sheer inventiveness that delights as much as the superbly executed gags and slapstick. Just when you think they have exhausted the potential in pieces of paper huge and miniscule, they tumble off again into a whole new realm of adventure dragging us weak with laughter in their wake. There is shadow play as the little guy with the broom defeats the monsters, paper-throwing battles with the audience, a rapacious tyrant, characters cheeky and endearing. They tickle each situation until it yields up every vestige of fun imaginable. Mimirichi are veterans of audience participation. And they elicit delight and trust as they persuade members of the audience to exchange spectacles, participate on stage and steal our bags and jackets. It is a very British tragedy that we assume clowning is only for children of the short variety. We all have an inner child who needs to play. Paper World is nourishing, enriching, heartwarming. It will make you a better human being. So, get yourself down to Pod Deco and let Mimirichi massage the laughter nodules in your brain. Jackie Fletcher The River The River, produced by the wonderfully-named Cardiff company, Ruth is Stranger than Richard, is a coming of age drama that focuses on the dreamy Rose, a little girl who idolises her father. The first scene gives the seven-year-old her last glimpse of him, as he mysteriously disappears having introduced her to the mysteries of The Rushy River, both mythical and real, as cleverly brought to the stage by designer, Carl Davies. After this idyll and her father's disappearance, Rose, very convincingly played at all ages from child to teen by Sara Lloyd, struggles to come to terms with life. Somewhat confusingly, Rose splits in two as her inner demon is embodied by a second actress, Leah Crossley. She is the one who puts doubts into her alter ego's mind. She also pollutes the river, symbolising a gradual loss of innocence. This loss accelerates in the early teen years as she befriends the slutty Scouse Leanne (Rhian Green) and Angharad Lee's foul-mouthed Marie-Claire. It is the latter that has the key to the disappearance of Rose's father as she relives the drowning of her 16-year-old cousin. The revelation of her father's misdeeds almost destroys the heroine but, ultimately, she comes though it, as she belatedly achieves maturity. The River is generally very well written by a playwright who shows great promise, particularly in the creation of a believable protagonist. She only slips a little out of character in a scene with a teacher, played by Alistair Still, who also does a good job as the father. Philip Fisher One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest From the moment the curtain goes up on this show, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is almost entirely predictable and not particularly compelling. It's not that One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is poorly done - with the talent on stage, it would be hard for this production to be less than professional - but that the show doesn't seem to make an effort at showing its audience anything new in the material. With a guaranteed packed house each night, it's a shame there wasn't more effort made in presenting a show that was less middle-of-the-road reinterpretation of the film. The most surprising part of the show is MacKenzie Crook as Billy Bibbet. Who'd have thought that the man behind Gareth (not to mention the pirate with the wooden eye in Pirates of the Carribbean) would also be a stunningly sympathetic dramatic actor? It's difficult to say more about Cuckoo, simply because there's not much else about the production that stands out. Rachel Lynn Brody |
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