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Fringe 2008 Reviews (11)
Attack of the Soccer Moms
By John DeVore
Green Room Presents
Gilded Balloon Teviot
*
The devil is alive and well and making hay in Edinburgh. In only a
day and a half, three leading players have already sold their souls
to him. Dotti and Dawn the pair that do so in Attack of the Soccer
Moms offer him a to-die-for deal if ever there was one.
They are rich American princesses vicariously seeking fame and fortune
through the efforts on the soccer field of their equally talentless
daughters, both Karens.
Lucky, as this camp ear ringed Lucifer prefers to be called, is suitably
slimy in a tongue-in-cheek portrayal by Michael Whitney. He effortlessly
persuades the dumb broads to give up their souls for a few minutes of
soccer success before they then pay and pay.
The comedy from these New Yorkers is predictable and neither Yvonne
Roen and Uma Incrocci in the title roles, nor their director, Glory
Sims Bowen, seem to have spotted that the well-filled Turret is a tiny
space. The Moms shriek piercingly throughout and act as if in a large
Broadway musical, not an intimate comedy.
Pacts with the devil are old hat and while John DeVore has some good
ideas in this sitcom, there are nowhere near enough even for a running
time of around an hour.
Philip Fisher
Lynn Ferguson - Heart and
Sole
Gilded Balloon Teviot
****
There is a great deal of fine literature on the subject of miscegenation.
If one ignores Splash, Heart and Sole is probably the
first and certainly the finest work analysing a relationship between
a schoolteacher and a tub gurnard (judging by the picture, a member
of the catfish family).
The multi-tasking and -talented Lynn Ferguson has written this extremely
funny solo show, directs it, does the ironing as she talks and plays
every part. It is a surprise that she doesn't take the tickets too.
Each of the main characters is a recognisable type and everything about
this piece is entirely logical, assuming that you accept the basis premise
of love at first sight between shy Protestant schoolmarms from St Andrews
and quiet fishes who communicate through "psychic transference".
Carol is a great teacher, as she demonstrates with audience participation
in the show's funniest scene when she treats the audience as a second
year class eager to learn about our finned friends. The visitors bought
in and contributed, including a naughty man excluded from the theatre
for smuttiness, much to the amusement of his schoolmates.
Carol's friend Elaine is an equally good invention with her broad Scottish
accent. She adds perspective and eventually almost persuades us that
compared to her hubby, Rab, and the Death Row types her friends have
ended up with, a tub gurnard might not be such a bad catch.
Heart and Sole might sound unusual but you will laugh and maybe
even cry. Just don't wet yourself, as Miss can be a bit tough on those
who flood the floor.
Philip Fisher
Absolution
By Owen O'Neill
Guy Masterson and TTI in association with OON Productions UK
Assembly Rooms.
*****
From its shock opening to a really unexpected final twist, Absolution
held every member of a packed house enthralled and eager to hear what
happens next to an unnamed protagonist.
Like John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, this perfectly paced, one-man
play performed by the author, goes to places that many would prefer
to ignore, especially the Roman Catholic hierarchy.
Dressed in unflattering underwear in what is apparently a prison cell,
our man first describes a castration and murder to get his audience
in the mood for much more.
As the hour develops a pattern, this seeming psychopath talks in graphic
detail of more and more gory murders, gradually donning his clothes
as he does so.
Amazingly, when this ginger-haired Irishman asks the question as to
whether we should see him as a serial killer or an avenging angel the
answer is indisputably both.
O'Neill questions our views on religion and morality by focussing on
a stream of priests who heartlessly abused children as young as six,
protected by the banner of the Church and hide behind the "secret,
sacramental, confessional shield".
This is a topical subject and Absolution will not be the last
word. However, it will be one of the most powerful and considered plays
about a tragedy that far too many, like the protagonist's father, would
still prefer was ignored.
Philip Fisher
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