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Fringe 2006 Reviews (46)
Dark North
By David Skeele
Slippery Rock Theatre
Venue 45
**
In a darkened basement in a remote part of rural America, a television
psychic and his assistant prepare to undertake a private séance
with a wealthy family.
Daniel "Dark" North is a charlatan and a manipulating spin-doctor,
who uses Internet searches and pandering to give clients the illusion
of speaking to dead relatives. However as the family tear his charade
to pieces, he begins feeling strange sensations from his long forgotten
natural talent.
The production, which begins intriguingly enough, starts to lose momentum
as it meanders rather slowly through a myriad of odd behaviour as the
unearthly sins of the family's past are ever so slowly drawn out.
The acting was all of a competent level, but there was a definite sense
that they simply didn't have enough to work with. The characters who
all seem to make sense at the beginning, lose their credibility as the
concept progresses to a lacklustre finale.
This is a shame, as the dark mood and theme of the play is rather intriguing,
and a deeper mystery and more complicated back-story would have negated
the need for the overlong and repetitive first half of the play. As
a result all that the audience is left with is a gloomy, morbid and
somewhat plodding tale that fizzles out in a manner that begs for a
more interesting conclusion.
Graeme Strachan
Tone Clusters
By Joyce Carol Oates
Traverse 3
****
Parents almost always want to believe the best of their children and
that trust is the subject of this short, emotional two-hander.
On one level, it consists of an interview with Frank and Emily Gulick
about their family and also their attitudes to a series of moral issues.
These are ordinary people in their fifties, a postal worker and his
wife from New Jersey, and their views are typically conservative - small
"c".
It gradually becomes apparent that their son Carl has been arrested
for the murder of a 13-year-old neighbour. The circumstantial evidence
all points towards his guilt but even so, his parents are in denial.
This quite unusual play by Joyce Carol Oates, best known as a prolific
novelist, is based on a real case in 1990 and expands beyond the Gulicks
to consider society at that time. It plays with form, using an impassive
computer to carry out the questioning. It also provides images to reconstruct
scenes around the murder and to raise other issues.
Under Neil Doherty's direction, as the parents get increasingly desperate
in the face of the evidence, the recording also begins to fail. Until
both are close to breakdown.
This is an strange but moving hour-long play, excellently performed
by Benny Young and Deirdre Murray.
Philip Fisher
Treacle
Written and Directed by Madeline MacMahon
Z Theatre Company
Venue 45
***
With one lead and a seven member choral group, Z theatre tackle the
complex issues of depression, anxiety and self-harm. We are led through
this journey, by the narrator, a young woman of average means and lifestyle,
whose difficulties with everyday life and mental illness are the focus
of the play.
The action is well choreographed and flawlessly performed as the chorus
speaks out in a succession of voices; speaking-for, chatting about,
arguing, agreeing, and digressing from the main characters situation.
They serve to recount the feelings and effects of the issues at hand
whilst lending themselves to the progression of the narrative.
There is however a lack of consistency throughout as to whom and what
the chorus represents. At times they seem irrelevant and the play strays
into more uncertain territory that seems unnecessary.
Ultimately the overall effect is still powerful and interesting.
Graeme Strachan
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