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Fringe 2007 Reviews (45)
An Age of Angels
Written and performed by Mark Soper
Guy Masterson and TTI
Assembly Rooms
****
The vast majority of one-man shows involve the performer talking to
the audience in his/her own or an assumed persona, possibly briefly
taking on other characters as they make a more or less brief appearance.
Mark Soper eschews this "easy" option: he plays no less than
ten different characters, ranging from a little girl to an elementary
school "dweeb nerd" with weak bowels to a Los Angeles policeman.
They all tell the same story of the incidents that lead up to mass murder,
each detailing their own inadvertent part in the building tragedy, and
all with nothing more than a simple change of costume and his own versatility
as an actor to help him.
For most of the time we simply don't see where all this is going. In
fact, it is very hard to see - at least in the first quarter of an hour
or so - just what connection these individuals and their stories have
with each other, let alone understand what they are leading to. But
gradually the connections emerge and the story unfolds with almost tragic
inevitability.
It's a virtuoso piece, running for an hour and twenty minutes, and
requires very careful attention to pacing and this is where, for me,
An Age of Angels doesn't quite some off, which is why it misses
the five star accolade: although the characterisation is excellent and
the story unfolds in a fascinatingly subtle way, the dynamics of the
performance (essentially the pace and vocal range) are a little too
restricted. But it's still a show well worth seeing and a piece of writing
to admire.
Peter Lathan
Popsicle's Departure, 1989
By Madi Distefano
Brat Productions
Assembly St George's West
*****
This might be one of the best-kept secrets of the 2007 Fringe, judging
by the minuscule audience at the performance under review.
This exhilarating in-yer-face monologue plays out like a marriage between
Conor McPherson's structuring in his early monologues and Jay McInerney's
druggy scene and pacing.
The effect is totally intimidating, as writer/performer, Madi Distefano
faces down her audience dressed in punk chic, every item of (masculine)
clothing torn, and black boots laced beyond her calves.
The actress starts in the character of Dito, theoretically an art student
but, in reality, a punk rock hedonist who is fuelled by chemical highs
and wild sex.
She is a totally believable successor to the Warhol Factory crowd,
enjoying life to the full and spewing out uncomfortable views about
life and her fellow Bostonians with wicked relish and her own patois.
A tug on her hat by Miss Distefano combines with a deepening of voice
to introduce Jeremy, AKA J-Man, Dito's man and constant almost-ex. He
is a punk rocker who is on the brink of the big time as we take up his
story. The Lemonheads may not quite be punk but supporting Evan Dando
is bound to be good for getting girls and a further step towards fame.
On the day in question, problems galore arise for a couple who actually
love each other. Both spend much of the day high but that is to be expected.
The first issue to divide them is that Jeremy, who has spent the night
with mutual friend Yvonne, is a bad liar.
Dito gets her own back, laying some guy at her temp job and then another
pair while scoring coke, not to mention varying the theme by making
a play for her best (female) friend. The drama then builds to what might
be a tragic ending in sub-zero temperatures.
This review will either enthuse or repulse readers. If you are in the
former category, get down to Assembly St George's West as soon as you
can. The pace never slackens in what has been one of the delights of
the Fringe.
Philip Fisher
On Wonderland
By Gavin O'Carroll
Kandinsky
Babybelly
****
Kandinsky have built a big reputation on the back of Al Smith's monologues.
They now demonstrate that they are not just a one-trick pony with another
pacy solo show, this time penned by Gavin O'Carroll.
Moia has led an eventful life, growing up in Northern Ireland with
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, an illness that affects her ability to
trust what she sees. Although the Troubles do not get a mention, she
has enough of her own during those important formative years.
Her lovely father begins to have difficulties that lead to his departure
from the house, when his daughter is only five. His wife's issue was
his love for another man but within a week of moving out, he is dead.
That is dramatic but the most gripping moments of this 50 minute monologue
come as Kerry-Jayne Wilson, narrating like a runaway train, relates
the story of how a girl who didn't drink began to do so in a club. The
description of what happened next is almost literally stunning.
A move to Camden and a job begin to firm up Moia's life and all ends
happily after a trip to Spain where she meets lovely Jack.
This is powerful story telling, well performed under the direction
of James Yeatman and grabs the viewer's attention throughout.
Philip Fisher
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