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Fringe 2006 Reviews (28)
Shakespeare for Breakfast
By William Shakespeare (and others)
C, Chambers Street
**
This up-to-date, 45 minute version of The Taming of the Shrew
is selling out every morning. That is a reflection of the attraction
of free coffee and a croissant, the lack of competition and a very commercial
attitude on the part of the producers.
Imagine a children's TV show doing their panto chucking is a veneer
of Shakespeare and you have a good feel for this five woman show with
a rotating cast.
There are lines from the Bard involved but far more from others and
even Will's quotes are from all over the place rather than just the
Shrew.
Having said that, kids of all ages loved this hip show in which Barbie-Bianca
and punky Kate seek love from a paucity of eligible men at Padua Uni.
There are heroes and villains galore with hissing and cheering plus
all the panto paraphernalia but surprisingly no "behind yous".
The highlight, as should be the case, is the wooing scene in which Petruchio
seeks to tame his beloved.
Don't go for this is you love the Bard. For those after a cheery kids
show with contemporary lingo, it might take the croissant.
Philip Fisher
Between
By Amy Mihyang
Gilded Balloon Teviot
*
Amy Mihyang is a nice, young student who has a confused background.
She was born in South Korea and, at the age of two, given up for adoption
by a couple in Albany, New York.
For an hour, she talks about her life with particular reference to
the resentment that her abandonment has caused and the racism that she
suffered at school.
Despite the rather undifferentiated inclusion of other characters and
a story about having a baby that may or may not have been factual, this
is pure autobiography of a pleasant but pretty unexceptional lady.
The writer/performer's problems are those faced by many people who
have mixed cultural backgrounds and therefore she has little to say
that has not been repeated many times before, often by those who have
suffered far more unhappiness or cruelty.
Philip Fisher
Polar Bears
By Jim Kenworth
Underbelly
***
Jim Kenworth's previous play, Gob, won many plaudits. His latest,
Polar Bears is like an episode of The Young Ones, located
in East London (Forest Gate) today.
It is set on a shabby three-piece suite in a shared house. The main
occupants are Ed, who is uncannily like Rik Mayall; permanent visitor
and drug dealer Dole Boy, Nigel Planer with lots of hair; and mouthy
Ronnie, as close as we can get to a female Ade Edmondson. The last occupant
is resident Lothario, Nash, an Asian who measures success in life in
one-night stands.
This group are held together by the pick of the actors, Sarita Plowman
as lippy Ronnie. She talks and swears like a bloke and looks as if she
has a wicked uppercut too.
The plot is suitably preposterous with Ed kidnapping his best mate
who has been sleeping with his girl. To add ballast to the small space,
Kenworth, who directs and produces, introduces Nash's spunky Russian
one-nighter and together, they play out a small tale of infidelity.
The acting is generally not of a standard that the writer's generally
fluent dialogue deserves and the plotting can't support the hour-long
duration. There might also be problems with accusations that the ultra-realistic
dialogue is too close to racist for comfort.
However, there is an impression that Jim Kenworth can write well but
he really needs to pick a fresher group of characters and a stronger
plot next time around.
Philip Fisher
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