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Fringe 2006 Reviews (69)
Lolita
Act Provocateur International
C Central/C Cubed
***(*)
Nabakov's celebrated and challenging portrait of a paedophile scholar's
infatuation with his landlady's daughter is brought to the stage in
a solid production from Act Provocateur International, directed by Andy
McQuade. His adaptation, with Victor Sobchak, brings into play the main
thrust of the narrative without compromising on time or impact. The
story remains as timeless as it can, with what small moments of modernisation
do appear fitting in neatly with little fuss.
The actors work well together, with Mark Marlowe's Humbert leading
proceedings with a dry and sardonic voiceover; touching the edge of
his performance with a raised eyebrow. In doing so, allowing the audience
to feel the contemptuous superiority he feels for all situations other
than his own lusts and self-loathing.
Sophie Brooke manifests the titular nymphet with a sly and subtle air;
playing on Humbert's fears and naivety without ever giving away what
is so apparently obvious to the audience. But there is slightly soulless
quality in much of the play, possibly due to the omission of the revealing
moment when she is told of her mother's death. Without this fragment
of humanity, she becomes a more cold and distant creature.
The play then is a largely standard, and solid interpretation of the
book with many strengths, but unfortunately for all its charm, the production
never quite makes the material its own.
Graeme Strachan
The Pier Glass
Young Pleasance
Pleasance
****(*)
With over thirty actors upon the stage, this Young Pleasance production
held the very real possibility of becoming so muddled and confusing
that it might trip on its own shirt-tails. Luckily, the musical comedy
about a poor troupe of actors arriving in a small town effectively utilises
the stage in such a way as to make the huge cast seem at home in the
space. A surprising feat considering the amount of scene changes, prop
movements and intricate musical numbers.
The story is a simple one, at its heart a young romance between the
young lead actor and the local heiress, imprisoned in her home by her
evil stepmother.
Misunderstandings, confusion and liberal amounts of Shakespeare are
thrown into the colourful mix, resulting in a fantastic parade of talent
complete with an orchestra and full musical numbers. There are also
enough literary in-jokes and snatched classical quotation to draw a
smile from even the most hardened of the literati, making this a true
feel-good production for theatre fans and the uninitiated alike.
Graeme Strachan
Creena Defooie
Written by Charlotte Baron-Hoare
Ruby Bloomsbury Theatre
Sweet ECA
***(*)
I was never meant to see this production. During the first few weeks
of the festival I planned on three separate occasions to see this show
and each time something conspired against me making it to the performance.
When I finally booked my ticket in advance I resolved to make it there.
So it was that five minutes later, and wholly out of breath, I finally
saw this play.
The plot is as silly as it is bizarre, following the events of an evening
when the titular therapist is discovered as being a euthanasia practising
serial killer.
Her habit of killing her patients to avenge the death of her sister
brings her to the attention of the local constabulary. The silliness
and overacting blissfully continues as the actors cavort back and forth
in a lunacy which culminates in a dildo sword-fight that is as inspired
as it is mind bending.
Such utterly abstract farcical humour could have been off-putting but
when it is played in such a clownish and manic gleeful style, it's almost
impossible to hold back from being pulled into the fun. Events transpire
in a tone not unlike the Rocky Horror Show, albeit without the
transgender issues.
Free from all sense of propriety, this comedy is fun on a base level,
which is no bad thing at all.
Graeme Strachan
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