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Fringe 2007 Reviews (41)
Ae Fond Kiss
By Ann Marie di Mambro
Oran MorE at Assembly
Assembly Rooms
*
This short sketch is lowest common denominator comedy. The idea is
as old as the profession portrayed.
An 18 year old virgin visits an ageing prostitute, Lola, at the insistence
of his friends. The boy them suffers from nerves in the face of a pro
whose approaches are more reminiscent of a wrestler than a temptress.
However, since this tart has a heart of gold, by the end she sorts him
out with the girl he couldn't pluck up courage to call.
In a sentimental final twist, she rolls back the years and makes contact
with the boy she should have married so long before rather than copping
off with a best man who became her pimp.
As Jim Webster-Stewart's Zed puts it this is "like something out
of EastEnders". If you like soaps, this might appeal. If
you prefer more thought, try elsewhere.
Philip Fisher
Callate!
By the company
Mexart 2007
Assembly Rooms
****
This superb satirical melodrama has many of the long-lost qualities
of the music hall and silent movie, starring top Mexican clowns, Adriana
Duch, Darina Robles and Adrian Vasquez. It takes the classic Mexican
clichés and turns them upside down to great comic effect.
The set is simple - a backdrop of a typical Mexican house with standing
cactus and hanging bougainvillea - but works, especially when complimented
by the heroine's constantly-changed, colourful costumes.
We initially meet the pushy lady of the manor, who knows the value
of both her wealth and her beauty. She treats poor minion, Pinky like
a door mat in a routine that has echoes of Laurel and Hardy.
Romance is introduced in the form of a handsome revolutionary with
a Zapata moustache. Rather than falling for the mistress, he loves the
maid and the humorous possibilities are milked to the full in a production
well directed by Cal McCrystal, whose characteristic style melds well
with that of the Mexicans.
This is all great fun, utilising language problems, slapstick, film
and the talents of its trio of performers, who all overact to perfection.
Philip Fisher
Reginald D Hunter - F*ck You
in the Age of Consequence
Udderbelly
****
You almost expect Anglo-American comedian Reginald D Hunter to offer
an apology at the end of his set. Sorry to anyone that I have failed
to offend in the last hour.
His style is to attack every group imaginable and by doing so, to get
as many laughs as possible. This year's script gets at Jews and Moslems,
Blacks and Whites, men and women; as well as lovers (if you will pardon
the inopportune phrasing) of Michael Jackson.
The Udderbelly can seem a lonely, forbidding place when it is half
full but boy, does it rock when it is packed to the udders with a noisily
appreciative audience.
The language is as ripe as ever and Hunter prides himself on the use
of words that others would be afraid or unwilling to utter. He uses
F, C, N, J (and pretty well every other letter of the alphabet) words
in an effort to get his message across.
However, this year at the age of 38, he has begun to consider the consequences
of his actions, hence the title, half borrowed from Winston Churchill
(the other half his very own).
A new feature is Hunter's keenness to deconstruct and re-write famous
movies. King Kong and Brokeback Mountain will never seem
the same again after receiving the Reg treatment, though it is unlikely
that any film producer would risk his treatments.
The jokes and wry asides just keep coming and almost all are funny,
unless you are in the group currently under attack when you might pause
to consider - and then laugh anyway.
Philip Fisher
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