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Fringe 2006 Reviews (80)
Purgatory
Blank Theatre Company
C Chambers Street
*****
The stage earth-laden and bleak, the lighting cold and empty, a broken
tree stands in deathly prominence; finally an old man comes panting
onstage. His dress shabby and his hair unkempt and his wild eyes dancing
in his face.
It is plain to see that he is mad.
WB Yeats' final one act play is as harrowing and morbid as it is affecting.
The grim tale is told concisely and with true verve by the pair of actors,
both steadfastly real and with absolute conviction.
Brooke Morriswood is at times terrifying in his ranting, barely suppressed
self-pity and pain. Lamenting over his cursed existence and hatred for
the father who destroyed his life. Monique Cornwell is the utter antithesis
of this as she plays the meek and illiterate son, following him with
frightened scorn at first, before simpering like a beaten cur.
The strength and effect of the simple story is maximised by the plays
short running time and makes the bitter end all the more shocking, as
the audience is swept in the plain and simple horror of the tale.
Graeme Strachan
Cild
By Nick Payne
The Hoy Productions
C Central
*
Cild is a play about a man in his late twenties, who has just
moved to a new town, and the relationships he has with his young brother
and the people he meets there.
The well-acted piece takes place entirely in the main character's
living room. Short and to the point, the story unfolds the effects as
his secrets are revealed and he attempts to justify them.
Paedophilia is an issue that will always manage to create controversy
in any story, Nick Payne's play seeks to address the issue of how it
affects the offender as his past returns to haunt him. However it fails
to accomplish this in a variety of ways. The downfall of the production
is the opening of too many narrative threads that amount to very little.
The characters serve little purpose and there is barely enough plot
to cover the events which transpire, add into that a myriad of holes
in the plot and a baffling sub plot involving a water jug which further
cloud the intentions of the story. The lack of any real closure to events
is another sign that this is a piece that has not been thought through
properly.
Whilst the actors carry their roles well, they at times seem to embody
the banality of the production by looking as utterly bored and confused
as the audience are themselves.
Graeme Strachan
Top Gun
Collapsible Theatre
C Chambers Street
***(*)
The original testosterone fuelled, overproduced motion picture sensation
has now become a stage play, its story recounted almost exactly scene
for scene with actor's arms standing in for fighter-jet wings and with
live guitar support from an 80's styled Axel Rose wannabe. Who could
ask for more?
The cast revels in the 80's kitsch of it all, while hamming up their
roles to the maximum, particularly the Alpha males Maverick and Iceman
who are portrayed with impeccable Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer impersonations.
It was certainly entertaining, every bit as much as the movie, but
with the added bonus that the production is knowingly tongue in cheek.
The overall sense is one of enthusiasm and fun.
Graeme Strachan
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