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Fringe 2005 Reviews (41)
Me, My Cello and I
By Rebecca Carrington
Assembly Rooms
***
Rebecca Carrington is that oddity, a populist cellist. Her act is a
cross between stand-up (and sit-down) comedy, a jazzy concert and a
solo recital. Think Victor Borge on a different instrument.
Miss Carrington is a pretty and personable young lady who has received
a classical training in the art of playing the cello. After a few years
on the circuit playing inter alia with the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra behind The Three Tenors, she tried quartets and solos before
deciding to take her friends Joe and Iris around the world.
It transpires that Joe is her 224-year-old cello and Iris is her voice
box. This "trio" then entertains a rapturously enthusiastic
full house for an hour.
The format is simple. Miss Carrington allows us to join her world tour,
stopping briefly for a tune from each country. Along the route, she
cracks cello jokes that can occasionally be risqué, although
she is so wholesomely English that this always comes as a surprise.
Her versatility is amazing with both singing voice (Iris) and abused
cello (Joe). She travels from the sublime Bach solo through a good tenor
imitation as Pavarotti and a trebly vibrato Piaf. She also regularly
converts the cello into a double bass with ease.
If you want an hour of soothing cello recital, you will be disappointed.
The playing is always at least competent, though with occasional rough
edges, but Miss Carrington is no Du Pré or Rostropovich. That
isn't the aim.
This is all good fun and has massive popular appeal. In some ways,
it could be compared with Twenty20 cricket in a world of long Test matches.
As such, purists will frown but Rebecca Carrington may also introduce
a wider public to the delights of this wonderful instrument.
Philip Fisher
Some Explicit Polaroids
By Mark Ravenhill
Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group
Diverse Attractions
***
An average production of Mark Ravenhill's cutting script. The set is
constructed of black tables which are manipulated to form various locations,
and the costumes (Siobhan McGovern) are exactly what the script requires.
Performances are competent but uninspiring, though Sean Lithgow manages
to provoke more than a couple laughs as Victor, a Russian mail-order
sex slave, and Asha Mayan's perky Nadia proves a nice splash of colour.
The story seems to be missing some element that could bring it into
sharper focus, but this is a production that relates the script rather
than stretches it. Luckily, Ravenhill's words are powerful enough that
the production still holds the interest, and this is a good opportunity
to see a work which premiered in 1999 but still holds relevance today.
Rachel Lynn Brody
A Mobile Thriller
By Renato Gabrielli, translated by Maggie Rose
The Hush Car
****
It isn't easy to come up with something unique in Edinburgh but Hush
Productions have got pretty close. A Mobile Thriller is almost
guaranteed to sell out since each house is restricted to the three seats
in the back of a top of the range Volkswagen Phaeton.
If you have ever wanted to be a hanger-on in one of those ubiquitous
TV thrillers about almost respectable businessmen, try to book into
The Mobile Thriller. It will be touring the UK after it leaves
Edinburgh and will have the hottest three tickets in any town that it
visits. It has already sold out in Edinburgh for two years running and
also played in Toronto.
The experience starts when you book. You are not told where the car
will pick you up until the day of the trip. On arrival you are given
detailed instructions, largely to keep you safe and (ironically) within
the law.
A smooth chauffeur (Max Dowler) takes you on a tour of Edinburgh, which
would be worth the admission price if he wasn't so taciturn.
After picking up a bearded business-type called Martin (Francis Lee),
you become embarrassingly embroiled in his affairs. To tell any more
would be to spoil the experience. It is unique and presents an opportunity
to enter a netherworld that is not normally available to theatregoers.
Philip Fisher
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