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Fringe 2007 Reviews (46)
La Femme Est Morte or why
I should not Fuck my Son
Shalimar Productions
Pleasance Dome
****
Seneca never looked so good. Shalimar's production of Phaedra
updates the action to modern day America and retells the story in a
highly irreverent fashion. The story of the Phaedra the Celebrity-Queen
and her love for stepson Hippolytus is told with a giggle and a whimsy
that befit the situation all too well, as they try and fail to avoid
each other's amorous glances until absentee King Theseus returns from
waging war in a far-off but undisclosed land.
What struck me immediately as genius was Joey Williamson's inspired
use of popular music, sung by the trio of paparazzi musicians, and set
to articulately choreographed dance routines. By interspacing the action
with these numbers, the tone is kept jolly and fun even when the doom
becomes ever more apparent. In fact, the one moment where the play slips
into the tragic mode of the source material comes as such a shock that
it genuinely becomes affecting, before being transformed by the most
brilliantly inspired visual gag of the play and a Harp rendition of
Guns and Roses' Don't Cry.
The acting is decent, but with a carelessness at times that is welcome
in an outright comedy as funny as this. Despite all of the comedy, underneath
the play still manages to evoke a cutting satirical swipe at the modern
celebrity culture and the invasions of privacy and spin used by the
mass-media. As such it succeeds on both levels without ever seeming
cloying or heavy-handed.
Graeme Strachan
Talking to Spacehoppers
The Gorgeous North
Soco
***
This inoffensive tale of a middle-aged housewife and her annoyance
and dissatisfaction with her lot in life, barely disguises the fact
that it is in essence a loose adaptation of Shirley Valentine.
The one-woman show, performed and co-written by Joanna Swain, is certainly
entertaining but never gets past the awkward feeling that there isn't
anything here being said that hasn't been done before.
The story of Bev and her absentee husband is recounted to her childhood
toy Spacehopper 'Sam'. During which we hear about her thoughts on life,
her ambitions and aspirations and her annoyance with a husband who is
growing increasingly disgusted with her. She goes through a variety
of decisions before deciding to try her hand at stand-up comedy.
Interestingly, the stand-up sections of the play are by far the most
entertaining, as Swain has genuine charm and a great sense of comic
timing. However she never quite lifts the material out of the level
of familiarity to a more original angle. That said, the journey is pleasant
enough and Swain makes for a comfortable host.
Graeme Strachan
Open Couple
By Dario Fo
Tumanishvili Theatre Company
Assembly @ St. George's West
*****
Theatre sould be about the art. Artists who come together and make
an event both entertaining as well as thought provoking. Art that enriches
us, delights us. Art that we walk away glad to have been a witness.
Such is this production of Italian playwright Dario Fo by the Georgian
Tumanishvili Theatre Company in their native language with superscript
in fractured English.
This small stage is littered with the symbols of everyday life. The
center is a full sized painting of a young couple holding hands which
magically turns into a bed. A large box becomes a refridgerator. There
is a frame that represents a window. There is a screen with with water
symbols behind which actors "bathe" and change clothes. It
has the look of a quirkey, amateur production.
But the actors make it come to life. Nineli Chankuetadze is a dead
ringer for the young Debbie Reynolds in confidence, style and looks.
She makes every word that you don't understand completely believable.
Paata Bazatashuili is the perfect foil; he is charming as he struts
around the stage like a peacock. Imeda Azabuli who plays several roles,
the boy, the waiter, the young lover and also provides audience prompt
signs (Oooooo!, Applause) is amazingly at ease on stage.
These three inhabit the playing area with such ease and grace that
you are swept away almost instantly. They work seamlessly together.
And Artistic Director Keti Dolidze's direction is the perfect balance
between her interpretation and vision and the wisdom and skill to stay
out of the way of what these actors do best.
Yes, the translation was not great. Yes, there were some technical
glitches. But these didn't hurt much. That it didn't make it into the
Fringe guide must be the only reason that there were empty seats for
this last performance. But this theatre company will also be doing two
other shows, The Dress and Pinter's The Collection, at
this same venue and, although I find it hard to believe, I'm told that
these productions are even better.
This is what theatre should be.
Catherine Lamm
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