|
Fringe 2007 Reviews (28)
Threads
By D.W. Howson
Liverpool University Drama Society
C Chambers Street
****
It could be argued that, by this point, there really isn't an awful
lot that can be done to the Bard that hasn't already been tried a hundred
times before. With that in mind I was more than a little sceptical of
D.W. Howson's play. Taking the concept of building a completely new
play using only existing lines from genuine works of Shakespeare; Threads
had the potential to succeed very well or be monumentally terrible:
luckily, it erred firmly on the side of success.
The pitfall in a production of this type would have been to have taken
the idea too far, and spliced a piecemeal narrative of little sense
from individual lines. Equally, retaining too close a Shakespearian
style of narrative would have seemed like cheating, ever dancing the
tightrope. The company instead opt to re-create a new tale, utterly
in the Elizabethan style but in a form of simply storytelling that makes
you wish 'Old Will' had tried his hand at something similar himself.
The play recounts the story of two Princely brothers, who war for the
crown and the love of the same woman.
Building from their youth, through their petty squabbles and ultimately
to all out war and the inevitably tragic finale, the pace remains steady
and draws the audience in, without challenging deeply enough to distract
from the wordplay at work. Howson hasn't simply regurgitated Shakespeare
in this play; he's taken pains to subvert the meanings of almost every
famous passage. Hamlet's discourse on humanity, said once with contempt,
becomes a moment of real soul-searching, whilst Romeo's honest wooing
of Juliet becomes the greased words of a shameless lecher. However the
play has one slight drawback in that it does, by its very nature, jar
the audience: as each familiar line brings a smirk to some face or other
in the crowd, it pulls you from the meat of the story itself.
Graeme Strachan
TwinSS
ttproductions
Sweet ECA
***
When the Nazis send their Zuber-Uber-Fuhrer Helmut Batenberger to England
to impersonate his long-lost identical twin, an MI6 agent and assassinate
Churchill, you realise that you're not likely to be in for an hour filled
with deep history and politics. Ali Blackwell's Wartime farce is filled
with about every camp nuance imaginable; randy gay Germans, alcoholic
nuns and flatulent top brass all congregate to spin out the tale.
Much of the running time is spent revolving around characters trying
to decide which of the twins, played by Will and Ben Dollard, is the
secret Nazi spy. The audience are none the wiser, but before the farce
gets too bogged down in plot, the silliness kicks in and the whole escapade
drops into a song and dance number
For the most part, the play is very funny, and the cast acquit themselves
well, despite a set of overblown accents and costumes that at times
looked genuinely painful to wear. Unfortunately the script has a tiring
habit of continually re-iterating all the plot points until it borders
on monotony. Add this to the sense that the characters are feeling their
way through a story that meanders rather than actually leads to its
climax, and you're left with a play that is genuinely amusing to watch
but also leaves you feeling slightly unsatisfied.
Graeme Strachan
The Love of the Nightingale
By Timberlake Wertenbaker
Teabreak Theatre Company
C Central
***(*)
Katherine Armitage's directorial debut comes in the form of Timberlake
Wertenbaker's award winning play, The Love of the Nightingale.
The Greek tragedy is capably handled by a quartet of actors who take
on the many roles, differentiating between person and place through
body language and movement.
The story of the rape, mutilation and ultimate revenge of Philomele
at the hands of her sister's lustful husband, is told with gusto by
the players, who utilise both rhythm and dance-like movements in the
process, giving a life and mood to the tale which is surprising on such
a sparse stage. The only prop used being a length of red cloth, which
in the end becomes both symbolic as well as practical.
The play marks a new high for the company, and well deserves to be
seen.
Graeme Strachan
Next
page - - - Index
|
