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Fringe 2006 Reviews (4)
Necessary Targets
By Eve Ensler
Pepperdine University, Malibu
C Cubed
****
Set mainly in a Bosnian refugee camp in 1995 and with an all-female
cast, this is a very powerful piece which explores not only the stories
and needs of the five refugees but also shows the effects of meeting
them on the two American women who have come to help them, psychiatrist
J.S., who has not been involved in this kind of situation before, and
her much more experienced assistant Melissa, a therapist who is also
writing a book on the effects of conflict on women in war zones throughout
the world.
Beginning with an excuciatingly embarrassing group therapy session,
the relationships between the two groups - and between the two American
women - develop and grow until a shocking but not unexpected revelation
precipitates a real crisis.
The cast of seven, working in a very basic but flexible setting which
they change while singing some haunting Bosnian songs, build up the
tension subtley and skillfully, leaving the audience "sadder and
wiser".
Peter Lathan
Lady Chatterley's Lover
By D. H. Lawrence, adapted by the company
Kangaroo Court
Zoo
***
Kangaroo Court have updated Lawrence's novel to the mid-1980s, setting
it against the backdrop of the Miners' Strike and attributing Clifford's
injuries to the Falklands War. He is now a fervent Thatcherite and,
initially, a fund-raiser for the Tory party. It does work, to an extent,
helped in no small measure by the cast of six.
However the adapatation cries out for the services of an a good dramaturg.
The whole thing is a series of short - sometimes very short - scenes,
with characters coming and going in the half-light between them. Many
of these scenes seem to be there just to make points rather than carry
the story further or to remind us of something from the novel. This
filmic style of presentation prevents the dramatic tension from building
effectively and it is only thanks to the performances that we actually
have any tension at all.
Peter Lathan
Love Me, Dorothy
Flip Theatre
Rocket@Demarco Roxy Art House
***
To an extent it is rather unfair to review this performance at all
as the show had had some cast problems and one of the cast had joined
and, in fact, only received the script 48 hours before. As a result
there were timing problems, including a few awkward pauses, songs were
missing and the show did not have the zing that it ought to have. However
the signs are there that once they get into the swing of the piece,
the problems will vanish.
It's a light-hearted cabaret style piece, containing a play dealing
with the love affairs of what turns out eventually to be two couples
and MC-ed by a drag queen. A light sex comedy, then, with music and
an, at times, rather frenetic pace. Starting at 10pm, it's a pleasant
enough late evening entertainment.
Peter Lathan
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