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Fringe 2008 Reviews (101)
Hostage
By Jenny Chapman
Tweed Theatre
Sweet ECA
*(*)
Following the story of a Scottish knight James Douglas, captured by
Muslim extremists in 15th Century Spain, this play by Jenny Chapman
is brought to the Festival after a successful local run. Taking the
story of a captured Knight being ransomed against his government has
many modern parallels but this play doesn't attempt to make them. Instead
we are treated to a play that doesn't really know what to to with itself.
The narrative is split between James in his darkened prison, being visited
occasionally by his captor or by the local fundamental extremist ruler,
both of whom torment him mentally and physically. The remainder of the
action revolves around his betrothed Alison and her long struggle to
raise the money to free him.
The actors try their hardest with the material and do quite well, but
the same cannot be said for the wandering accents, including the Glaswegian
twang on the Muslims which was not only distracting but occasionally
downright amusing. The thick overplayed period dialogue from the monks
and the healer woman were also unnecessarily distracting. However the
most eye-rolling moment came from the dramatic 'down with the infidels'
speech towards the end from the Muslim fundamentalist which was compounded
by the dramatic B-movie spotlight highlighting him as he worked into
a fervour. A wasted opportunity on what could have been an emotional
and intelligent piece of theatre.
Graeme Strachan
Cure
Struck Dumb Theatre
Baby Belly
**
In a world gone mad, with cancer spreading like an epidemic through
the people of Britain, a cure is what the people cry out for, but when
it is discovered it turns out that the cure is worse than the disease
itself. A good premise for a play, and would have made a fascinating
piece of serious drama, but instead sadly instead we are given a featherweight
farce which never entirely finds its feet.
To be honest, I'm not certain what the makers of this play were aiming
for when they wrote this tale of a Britain lost to totalitarian ideals
and capitalist nightmare. It manages to be everything and nothing at
the same time. The story is clumsy but entertaining and it manages to
be irreverent yet never particularly funny.
The cast are all exemplary but have little to work with and the characters
themselves are varied enough to add flavour but at the same time make
no sense at all in the story. Plausibly including an Irish Prime Minister,
a fruit-addicted drug dealer and a psychotic Japanese schoolgirl in
the same scene is an accomplishment in itself, yet why are none of the
character's back stories ever filled in? With more than half of the
story pertaining to the relationship between a nurse and the drug dealer,
it might have made sense to explain why she capitulated to his demands
without question throughout, but it never happens. As a result the whole
is a mess, and despite drawing the attention for an hour, never manages
to convince the audience that they should have bothered.
Graeme Strachan
Hamlet Episode
Daegu City Modern Dance Company
Rocket@Roxburghe Hotel
*****
There are plenty of reasons why the Daegu City Modern Dance Company
is one of the most exciting events on the Fringe. Firstly, there are
twenty-five dancers, elegant and athletic, graceful and robust, fluid
and acrobatic, lyrical and dynamic. Then there are fabulous costumes:
simple and stylish, colourful and sober, flowing and clinging. Add to
that the moody lighting and the musical score, heightening the tensions
and underscoring emotions. And a sublime choreography, a synergy of
bodies that sends spirits soaring and senses reeling in a seamless fusion
of movement styles.
Hamlet Episode is 60 minutes of pure and unadulterated excitement
as bodies clash furiously, brush sensually, tumble athletically, touch
tenderly and engage spiritually.
Wow! Wow! And again, wow!
Jackie Fletcher
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