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Fringe 2005 Reviews (35)
Bella and the Beautiful Knight
By Oliver Emanuel
Gilded Balloon
***
Grae Cleugh and Sally Kent play brother and sister, Donny and Bella,
in this claustrophobic drama about families. Their parents fought and
this has brought the siblings closer together in adulthood.
Donny, five years the senior, is a writer for young adults who wants
to circumnavigate the world courtesy of air miles but is really happier
composing stories at home.
Problems only begin to intrude when Bella finds herself a friend, a
concept that is almost beyond her brother's understanding.
Philip is a perfectly pleasant accountant but his arrival threatens
the (almost?) incestuous relationship between the siblings. Donny doesn't
react well, brandishing a big game hunter's rifle.
Gradually, it appears that things may turn out happily until Philip
begins to delve into the accident that led to the death of the pair's
parents. Here the plot becomes a little far-fetched as it strives for
a dramatic denouement.
Bella and the Beautiful Knight is presented in a series of dramatic
snapshots by director, Daniel Bye and features strong performances,
especially from Grae Cleugh as manic Donny.
Philip Fisher
A Clockwork Orange
By Anthony Burgess
Gilded Balloon
****
This brash version of Anthony Burgess' classic novel from New York-based
Godlight Theatre Company won an OOBR Award in 2003. Despite a few rough
edges, it is easy to see why.
Before the action even starts, the tone is set as Alex, played by the
lithe, sinister Ken King, writhes on the floor as Beethoven's Ninth
pounds out of loudspeakers. Like his fellow droogs, Alex is dressed
in black overalls, adding to the threatening atmosphere.
The subject matter is relatively familiar from Burgess' wonderful novel
and Stanley Kubrick's long-suppressed film version, now readily available
on DVD.
15-year-old Alex and his friends are young hooligans who get their
kicks by scaring people in this post-apocalyptic Dystopia. They also
fight amongst themselves, particularly when Alex becomes too dictatorial.
After the Beethoven-loving anti-hero goes a step too far with a bust
of the composer, he is incarcerated. After two years, he has the chance
to take aversion therapy to cure him of violent tendencies.
As a result, the spunky hero becomes a wimp who gets a Pavlovian sick
reaction when he hears any Beethoven. This allows Burgess to debate
the moral and ethical issues arising from brainwashing criminals to
reprogram them into good citizens.
Joe Tantalo's production is constantly exciting and brings the novel
to life using sound, light and well-choreographed physical acting. He
also allows us to get a feel for the language that the writer created
in the novel.
King is excellent as Alex, while the pick of the support comes from
Gregory Konow as the vicious schoolmaster, Deltoid. A Clockwork Orange
is well worth a look, if you can get a ticket.
Philip Fisher
NFW
By Kirsty McGovern
Gilded Balloon
*
NFW is a soap opera of a play that tries to show a social conscience
by the use of great contrivance.
The four women involved are a junkie, a pole dancer, a baglady and
a garage attendant who everyone agrees should be doing more with her
life.
The junkie moralises after mugging the baglady, the garage lady is
the pole dancer's sister but never in ten years wonders where her sister's
cash comes from. Only the mad baglady, played by the pick of the actresses,
Danielle Taylor, is in any way consistent and that is a result of her
mental condition.
Kirsty McGovern, who also plays the leggy Sam, has her heart in the
right place but this play needs a great deal of work before the message
can become credible.
Philip Fisher
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