|
Fringe 2007 Reviews (11)
Dickens Unplugged
By Adam Long
Bad Boys of Abridgement
Assembly Rooms
***
This new compilation is dishonestly subtitled "The Complete Works
of Charles Dickens abridged". It isn't quite that but Dickens Unplugged
is a speedy comedy homage to the great man that will entertain and educate.
It has been compiled by Adam Long, one of the men behind Reduced Shakespeare
andthe show has the hallmarks of that company, a respect for sources,
a wicked sense of humour and crowd-pleasing songs.
The hour-long show combines the life of "Charlie" Dickens,
played with an accent closer to Santa Cruz, California than London,
England, with extracts from his writings.
Rather than the complete works, the five energetic performers concentrate
on three novels but also work brief wonders on two more. Somehow, they
turn Great Expectations into a one-minute song and Bleak House
into a tune of half that length.
The bulk of the show is taken up with subverted appreciations of Oliver
Twist, David Copperfield (who knew that these two Victorian
lads wore ear studs?) and, perhaps inevitably, that great tear jerker
A Christmas Carol.
The stars are goody goodies, the baddies melodramatic and the women
sweet. The pathos does get a look in and by the end, those who knew
nothing of the books would have a reasonable idea of where Dickens was
going with them.
There are also odd perceptive moments that show the creators to be
talented literary critics. They perfectly summarise Dora in David
Copperfield in a single word - "airhead". For that one
can forgive the odd old gag and the unwarranted neglect of so many great
novels.
These days, the public know what they are going to get from these shows
and, even if the recipe has become somewhat formulaic, visitors to the
Assembly Rooms will not be disappointed.
Philip Fisher
Coat
By Rory Mullarky
Overcoat Productions
Underbelly
*****
Student productions at the Fringe are very much of a lottery: they
can be superb or dire, and very rarely something in between, so let
it be said straightaway that Coat is cleverly written and superbly
performed. It won the 2007 Harry Porter Prize, awarded for the year's
best new comic play in Cambridge, judged by no less a theatrical personage
than Declan Donnellan, so its pedigree is good.
It's a three-hander inspired by Gogol which swaps between Gogol's Russia
and modern day Britain. The cast move effortlessly between the two,
changing costumes and set cleverly and swiftly and slipping easily from
character to character. In fact, it is a character-led piece which finds
its humour in the foibles of some typically slightly odd people.
Well worth a visit!
Peter Lathan
Skolka
Point of Departure Theatre
Underbelly
****(*)
After successful runs in several countries, and a running youtube advertising
campaign, this Russian-born play hits Edinburgh for the festival.
Skolka tells the life stories of three unfortunate Muscovites
who, for reasons each their own, have decided to try their luck at becoming
mail-order brides. The action takes place in a small room where the
trio meet whilst filling in the application forms, and flashbacks, stories
and downright lies relay the events which have brought them to this
decision and the horrors they have experienced.
What strikes most about this piece is the very earthy realism that
lies at the very core of it, although it shocks to the core at times,
it never strays beyond what is obviously the meat of many real lives
and the ugly truths of society that so often slip from the mind.
The quick-paced and dazzling storytelling is broken up with quieter
moments of introspection and barrages of music and dance; with the cast
turning split-second from cheerful exuberance to absolute despair and
back seamlessly, all three of them wallowing in their contrasting roles
and letting the personalities collide with one another to comic and
tragic effect. With nary a bum note between them, they elevate the witty
dialogue which manages to pull laughter and tears from every corner
of the audience.
So why not five stars? I would have loved to have given this piece
the accolade that it so nearly deserves, but there sadly is no final
dénoument to the play, the building atmosphere seeps out with
no pinning at the last hurdle and leaves the audience moved but unsatisfied.
Graeme Strachan
Next
page - - - Index
|
