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Fringe 2007 Reviews (21)
The Walworth Farce
By Enda Walsh
Druid
Traverse
****
Enda Walsh's latest play is set in a filthy and, it appears, partially-demolished
council estate on the Walworth Road in London, inhabited by Irishman
Dinny and his two sons Blake and Sean.
When Sean brings in a rather odd bag of shopping, Dinny and his boys
start to perform some kind of a play, dashing between all three rooms
of the house and changing costumes to play different characters. Although
the play resembles a chaotic bedroom farce, it gradually becomes known
that they are re-enacting the day they all left Cork for London several
years ago, but the play is cementing a re-written version of what really
happened into their collective memories to try to wipe away the truth.
It also becomes clear that Dinny doesn't allow his sons to leave the
flat apart from when Sean gets the props for the play from Tesco, and
that the performance is a daily ritual. When the girl from Tesco drops
by after Sean picks up the wrong bag, the ritual is broken and something
has got to change.
This bizarre tale is oddly compelling, as even when it is difficult
to work out just what on earth is going on, it is actually very entertaining.
The play within the play is often very funny, but there is always the
sinister edge from Dinny's threatening direction of the action. The
audience lurches from laughter to shock and back again in a moment as
the violent reality breaks through the comedy of the fantasy story before
giving way to it again. As the ending approaches, it is always pretty
certain that it will be violent but exactly which way it will go is
kept very uncertain until the last moment, which produces some great
suspense towards the end.
The performers are all superb, with Denis Conway as Dinny, Tadhg Murphy
as younger son Sean, Garrett Lombard as older son Blake who plays all
the women's parts and Natalie Best who appears quite late in the play
as Hayley from Tesco. Mikel Murfi's direction is slick and fast-moving,
and designer Sabine Dargent's set looks perfect.
Ultimately this is a play about how we rewrite the past and create
family myths, but told in a completely original and often very entertaining
way with a past that anyone would want to hide from.
David Chadderton
Circus of Horrors
Meadows Big Top
**
Circus of Horrors spoil things a little bit by having their performers
lurk in the lobby while the audience are queuing. In saying this, it
does whet my appetite for fear a little, as the devil on stilts breezes
past. The crowd are pretty fearsome too you can spot the regulars-
skull and crossbone-wear abounds. An atmospheric blend of creepy traditional
fairground organ-grinding and sinister supernatural sounds provide the
musical welcome into the dimly lit big top.
The concept of Circus of Horrors is somewhere between a Victorian
freak show and a death metal concert. There’s plenty of thrash
rock, mainly sung by the Ring Master who, appearing in an assortment
of top hats and long black coats, is vaguely reminiscent of Alice Cooper,
and usually appears mauling a selection of gothica-dressed girls (I
wonder who came up with that stage direction).
This is without a doubt niche-market stuff, but most of the acts, like
Garry, the incredible stretchy skinned man (apparently there are only
ten people like him in the world) and Hannibal who pokes metal through
his face, have been done before and aren’t particularly shocking.
In addition, the constant imagery of Catholic exorcism and blood starts
become a little wearisome after a while.
There is a body-boggling contortionist who appears in a specimen jar,
some talented aerial acrobats, and a break-dancing skeleton in a fat
suit, but all in all the show seems like it might have passed its sell
by date a few years ago.
Lucy Ribchester
The Insect Circus
Theater Bosco
Spiegelgarden
****
Theatr Bosco (Spiegeltent’s newest addition) is adorable. From
the painted tigers on the outside walls to the Victoriana signs, it
is hard not to like a show which takes place in this fabulous setting.
And there’s something equally fabulous about Spiegeltent shows
for children, with the old-fashioned circus glamour providing a classic
but slightly edgy kind of entertainment.
The Insect Circus is exactly this, a charming blend of acrobatics
and physical comedy with more than a good dose of the surreal thrown
in for good measure. From its humble beginnings, as a travelling museum
of centuries old Insect Circus “memorabilia” (most of which
is fabricated, I was devastated to learn), also on display in the Spiegel
garden, the troupe formed as a show almost a year ago and have been
entertaining children ever since.
The concept of the show sees a plethora of giant insects and their
minders, performing various tricks, including acrobatic ants and a bullfighting
beetle. Before the show begins, an enormous, strangely lovable fly buzzes
through the gathered crowd, sniffing at children, adults and dustbins
alike. As the audience pile into the rickety wooden benches of the Bosco,
the same fly has shimmied to the top of a rope dangling from the ceiling.
Ringmaster Sir Ronald McPeak, in a pink tailcoat and top hat, seems
a little distracted and nervous at times, but by the end of the show
has formed a relaxed and easy rapport with the children, taking their
chattering and wandering around in his stride.
All of the performers are gorgeously kooky and instantly likeable,
but the highlight is without a doubt stunning aerialiste Morgane Jaudou
who performs alongside a robotic ladybird from the top of a pair of
lush crimson drapes.
This gem of a show would do with the tiniest bit of spit and polish,
but will no doubt grow as the cast relax into their run. The kudos added
by being in the Spiegeltent means you don’t necessarily need to
borrow a child to enjoy it either.
Lucy Ribchester
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