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Fringe 2006 Reviews (10)
Knocking on Heaven's Door
By Rhod Gilbert
Pleasance Courtyard
****
Rhod Gilbert's hour-long 2006 set seems far stronger that the 1984
rehash which won him the Perrier Best Newcomer Award last year. His
cracking form and great energy may owe a lot to being seen right at
the start of the Fringe.
After an airport voice-over informs the audience that they are en route
to heaven (the elevated version rather than the London night-club),
our bouncy host bursts in, looking ultra relaxed in jeans and tee-shirt
with a half-drunk pint of lager in hand.
He explains that we are all dead, courtesy of the failure of one of
Stelios's planes and will soon either be heading upstairs to eternal
bliss or downwards towards those dreaded flames of Satan.
After a great deal of extremely funny ad-libbing, involving several
audience members, most of whom seem pretty willing, led by local boy
Deac and American Lindsay (at times almost as funny as her host), the
boy from the mythical Llanbobble gets into his stride.
Having covered Wales, mainly in opprobrium, he moves on to his own
dilemma. He has a form to fill in that will decide where the next stage
of his journey will take him.
The problem is that he only quite likes the environment, hasn't done
many good deeds, can't even name the majority of the Ten Commandments
and indulges in sexual habits that are not with the wife that he hasn't
got.
This builds to a scene where he calls St Peter and like Noel Edmonds,
discovers whether it is Deal or No Deal on his entry to heaven.
It would be a shame to give away the ending but visitors who shun the
front row and risk of embarrassment should enjoy a lot of laughs as
Rhod Gilbert ad libs for Wales.
Philip Fisher
In Pursuit of Cardenio
By Ken Campbell
Underbelly
****
This might be one of the most eccentric and enjoyable hours on the
Fringe this year. Ken Campbell does not do ordinary and his homage to
the Shakespeare play that either disappeared or never existed succeeds
against the odds.
Effectively, the show is an improv spectacular using a variety of styles
all of which disappeared 400 years ago.
Campbell, our self-styled "Goader of the Rhapsodies", who
even uses his remarkable eyebrows as a prop on one occasion, fulfils
the dual roles of MC and director of a remarkable ensemble.
He sets them a series of tasks rather like an old time Humphrey Lyttelton
in an Elizabethan I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
The audience is initially wary, especially when the are asked to give
up some valuables and then promenade as these are admired in iambic
pentameters.
With great extemporising talent, the cast try "sonnetising a punter"
and serenading in differently-humoured acrostics inter alia.
Oliver Senton might be the most consistent of the actors, doing a great,
melancholy Nick Cave impression. However, possibly the star is the artistic
director of The Sticking Place, Adam Meggido. He sings beautifully,
especially when alternating between the lute music of John Dowland and
musical style of Stephen Sondheim, then brings the house down with his
impression of Woody Allen hiding behind a Jackson Pollock tapestry -
don't ask why.
This acting masterclass is constantly inventive and amusing and for
those of a literary bent or with a taste for either Shakespeare or Cervantes,
should be a must.
Philip Fisher
Puppet City - A Korean Fantasy
Assembly @ George Street
***(*)
Puppet City - A Korean Fantasy is appearing at the Assembly
Rooms in its first ever showing outside Asia by master puppeteer Cho
Yong Suk and the Hyundai Puppet Theatre. It uses a new kind of puppet
made of foam and attached to various parts of the puppeteer's body -
the head to the puppeteer's head, the feet to her feet and other controls
in her hands - so that movements of the puppeteer's body create similar
movements by the puppets.
The show opens on a beautiful fluorescent landscape painted on two
giant fans at the back of the stage, between which a puppet drummer
drums in the start of the show. A puppet acting as an emcee introduces
the show as a competition between eight acts, which the front row of
the audience has to vote on to choose the best at the end. The acts
include a story of a young couple achieving happiness after overcoming
their difference in status, a fan dance, two different acts where the
puppets play drums quite energetically and convincingly and an amazing
puppet playing a penny flute that moves every finger in time with the
music. These puppets can pick things up, play instruments and even undress.
The music throughout the show ranges from traditional Asian music to
western pop music - even some Abba.
The pace of this show is slow and gentle and there is no continuous
story to follow, but the puppets are at times mesmerising to watch.
Unfortunately the show is let down by the technical aspects. The lighting
is not particularly inspiring to start with, but at the performance
I saw there was action in darkness, blackouts in the middle of scenes
and a follow-spot that was always several seconds behind the action
on stage. Hopefully this will be sorted out because it really does mar
an otherwise very interesting show.
David Chadderton
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