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Fringe 2007 Reviews (93)
Unsex Me Here
Skye Loneragan in association with Scamp Theatre
Pleasance Courtyard
*
Skye Loneragan has written and performed this confusing, unfocused,
perplexing feminist diatribe, loosely pertaining to Cinderella, a variety
of women's shoes and with a central focus on the history of the female
calf muscle. It's not a winning combination.
Loneragan's humour misses the mark completely (no-one laughed), and
the plot is utterly flummoxing (why does the lawyer strap her thighs
together with a length of white satin before she totters into court?
And who is the mother who neglects her children to recite Shakespeare
in her bedroom wearing a pair of terrifyingly high black patent platforms?).
Loneragan won a Fringe First in 2001 for her show one woman show, Cracked,
and here she works undeniably hard on stage. But this is a joyless performance,
seemingly lacking that verve and self-belief an actor needs to pull
off a one-woman show.
Allison Vale
Wunderkind
By Darren Thornton
Down to Earth Productions in association with Calipo Theatre Company
Udderbelly Pasture
*****
Darren Thornton's a new play is a brilliant, satirical look at the
movie industry, told by an Irish movie director, Sean Quinn (Owen Mac
Donnell). We follow the making of the movie he calls his baby, and the
agony of handing it over to Mirimax who "tear the baby limb from
limb" in the editing rooms, and his final return home to Ireland
after the movie's done.
Sean is in the business because he loves the movie but he has come
to realise the hard way that those around him are in movie making because
they love the lifestyle - the drugs, the kudos, the parties where the
girls are lined up "like a 50 Cent video".
This is a fast-paced, inventive and achingly funny show, laced with
brilliantly observed comedy. Owen MacDonnell is extraordinary as the
neurotic, driven and increasingly unhinged Sean.
The production values are high on this one too: the set is a slick
hotel room, backed by a large screen (designed by Kieran McNulty), upon
which some sharp, mocumentary style film footage is inter-spliced throughout
the story.
Wunderkind has already stormed Ireland on a sell-out tour, and
would no doubt do so on the mainland too, given the chance of a transfer.
The show would fire up a London audience; it's a perfect candidate for
a West End venue like the Arts Theatre.
But no review can really do this one justice. It's a whirlwind of a
show. Go see it!
Allison Vale
Sound Of Music in Drag
Gilded Balloon Production and Drags Aloud
Gilded Balloon Teviot
***
This Australian troop of Drag Artistes working the hills for all they're
worth. A sizeable Maria with a unique twist on childcare, a grim faced
Captain Von Trap who knows how to work it on the dance floor and some
great routines along the way.
This is high energy fun and not the faint-hearted. A sell-out show
in a new and larger venue within the Gilded Balloon went down a storm
on the night I saw it with everyone (except for a bewildered and uncomfortable
looking fella beside me who'd clearly been brought against his wishes
by his girlfriend).
This isn't slick enough to rate any higher, but don't let that put
you off: if the concept grabs you, it's still a great show that won't
disappoint.
And the audience were singing 'Doe A Deer' all the way down to the
bar.
Allison Vale
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