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Fringe 2007 Reviews (56)
Adolf
By Pip Utton
Guy Masterson - TTI & Pip Utton Theatre Company
Assembly Universal Arts
*****
It is not often that an actor manages so brilliantly to blur the boundaries
between staged performance and reality. Pip Utton can successfully do
so.
Utton chillingly looks, moves and sounds like the 'Great Dictator'
himself. He looks you straight in the eyes and you know it could be
him, the most familiar face of evil glossed with charm. He lays out
chapter and verse, like a skilled politician, or better still, like
an outstanding QC defending a terrorist, making him sound logical, sensible
, visionary and just in his cause. In his last hours in the bunker there
is not a hint of defeatism. The backdrop of the large stage with its
high ceiling is a large red banner bearing the swastika. He stands,
paces and very occasionally sits by the single simple table on the side
of the stage towards the front.
The limelight is all on that single individual who transfixes all present
with his oratory.
Adolf the man becomes far more reasonable than the Hitler we have learnt
to detest. At the end of his demagoguery and in a surprising move Utton
removes Adolf's masking gear, namely the wig, moustache and then his
jacket with its swastika, sits casually on the edge of the table and
asks the audience for a fag and beer. He sounds just like an old acquaintance
in a pub. The transition is so craftily designed that you will be forgiven
for thinking he is a friendly chap you can trust and that now we are
just having a 'heart to heart' chat. We are now subjected to modern
day racism which sounds as convincing as that of Hitler. Then a second
monologue starts. It is here and now. This time Utton is justifying
the previous character, namely Adolf, just to show us, in modern parlance,
why there is a serious problem. "Did you know that since World
War II, 35% of the British Cabinet ministers were Jewish?" He then
rants about immigration, the country his father fought and died for
in WW II, not the country we have now, certainly not the country invaded
by foreigners. Utton gives expression to views many British people think
yet refrain from airing, to avoid being branded as "racist"
or offending political correctness.
Utton's Adolf should travel beyond the fringe into every High School
and be used as an important text in serious political, historical and
social debates.
Rivka Jacobson
Potted Potter
Festival Highlights
Pleasance
****
Tying in neatly with the release of the 5th movie and the final book
in the series, Potted Potter could hardly be out at a better
time.
The first six Harry Potter novels are all re-told in one hour by two
performers, Jeff and Dan, who act, joke and play their way through the
books and touch upon the seventh. This being a children's show, there
is a good measure of slapstick moments and gags which keep the younger
members of the audience enthralled, but also a good number of clever
comments and oblique references to give the adults a chuckle as well.
The highlight of the show most definitely had to be the impromptu game
of quidditch involving the crowd batting a large beachball around while
two audience members were taken on stage to catch the golden snitch.
Fans of the books and the films will love the show, as Jeff and Dan
are more than familiar with the material, and the level of ingenuity
and charm with which they hold proceedings is infectiously entertaining,
making this a great stage show for all ages.
Graeme Strachan
The Hypochondriac
Kensington Drama Company: The Outpatients
Sweet Grassmarket
**
Molière wrote his classic farce to be a criticism of 18th century
medical practice and the wit he instilled in it is still both pertinent
and funny today. Sadly this cannot be said for this musical modernisation
of the work.
Throwing aside much of the original dialogue in favour of modern references
and song and dance numbers, this adaptation manages to lose much of
the charm inherent to the original play,
Whilst the actors do their best and the choreography is accomplished,
the overall result is a dumbing down of a good idea, and comes across
as flippant and pretentious.
Graeme Strachan
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