|
Fringe 2007 Reviews (76)
Traces
By Les 7 doigts de la Main
Assembly Rooms
****
This show has the kind of word of mouth that fills the Assembly's biggest
space at tea time. You can see why, as it would be a real crowd pleaser
even if the four hunky guys and cute babe did nothing more than stand
around for an hour.
However, that is not their bag. This quintet are talented and brave
acrobats and clowns, with good gymnastic skills and a great act.
They seem determined to outdo each other from an opening dance sequence
onwards. The energy levels are amazing, as they go through their paces
together and individually, building to a climax with piled rings through
which they jump and roll that brings the house down.
Everyone will have their highlights in this breathless show but the
use of upright bars on which every team member seemingly defies gravity
again and again should live in the memory for a long time.
Philip Fisher
The Ballad
Aye! Productions
Zoo Southside
***(*)
Traditionally, Scottish ballads have never ended happily, so it follows
that anyone going to see this tenderly told dance duet should arm themselves
with a pack of hankies.
Aye! Productions have taken the emotive language of the ballad form
and turned it into a wordless piece of physical and aerial theatre,
beautifully performed by Tara Hodgson and Saul Garcia. In keeping with
the rural character of the form, their set is a fallen tree trunk, and
a collection of rounded pebbles, which are creatively used to represent
various objects and even at one point, the developing stages of pregnancy.
Kathryn Sawers provides wistful piano accompaniment of her own compositions.
The tale follows two lovers from the minute they clap eyes on one another
through the entirety of their relationship. Beginning with sweet awkwardness
and affectionate humour in the Amelie vein, as the bond between
the pair intensifies, so does the movement. Although there is a clunky
moment of transition from ground to aerial dance, the first kiss between
the couple is mesmerising, and perfectly symbolic as Hodgson's legs
lift into the air behind her, and she swims dizzy and weightless.
The piece shifts its tempo and mood into the later stages of the relationship,
and the exploration of birth, as Hodgson hangs and thrashes in a water-filled
clear plastic bag, is both startling and strangely beautiful. The simple
premise of this piece belies its subtle power, and although the tragic
ending presents a tale which has been told a hundred times, sensitive
performances and an instinct for the shape of a story stop it from sliding
into cliché.
Lucy Ribchester
Stewart Lee - 41st Best Stand-Up
Ever
Udderbelly
***
You are dying to know - who are the top 40 comedians in the history
of the world. Stewart Lee lets slip that Lenny Bruce is below him and
Bernard Manning above but is there anyone pre-1950 or did we not have
jokes before then?
Lee believes in biting off the hand that feeds him - right up to the
elbow. Channel 4 ran a voting show to pick the Top 100 stand-ups at
the turn of the year and rather than being grateful for beating the
billions of potential competitors, Lee has a go at the process and more
pertinently those behind it, who coincidentally sponsor the upturned
cow in which he is performing.
So, is he that good? The style is far more laid back than many of his
rivals, more like an occasionally loud, opinionated bloke that you might
meet in the pub than a wild eyed nutter who you worry will knife you
in the Gents before the night is out. That is not to suggest that all
other stand-ups give that impression, just some of them.
Lee's 2007 set is heavily biased towards TV for source material. His
quilt-making mum's devotion to Tom O'Connor is ridiculed at length,
and the producers that commissioned a series and then dropped it might
prefer not to attend. Even poor old Del Boy suffers.
The best and funniest of the material is saved for the later stages,
when Lee gets on to the touchy subject of weight and allied issues of
racism. Then, having explained the concept of the call-back to make
his audience feel wise (go and see the show if you don't know what that
is), he makes the most of it, tying up the loose ends well in an amusing
finale.
This sell-out show proves that Lee is a good comedian who knows how
to work a large audience and could even make the Top 40 next year. After
this show, whether we will ever see him starring on his own TV show
is another matter!
Philip Fisher
Next
page - - - Index
|
