|
Links
Articles
News
Reviews
Amateur
Theatre
Contact
Other
Resources
|
Fringe 2008 Reviews (110)
Instruction Manual
Questi Fantasmi and Sons
The Space @ Venue 45
***
We are ushered into the auditorium by the ringing of a bell. A single
performer, surrounded by suitcases, recites a monologue. At times, a
saxophone accompanies the speech. Various sizes of suitcases are opened
and emptied. A puppet, skeletal and fearsome, appears. Metronomes are
placed around the stage, and the performer exits. The ringing bell ushers
us outside.
The intervening surrealism is held together by a strong, clear delivery.
The words may not make much sense- and the sheets of music flung around
the stage, or the trickling sand, or the banana that covers the face
do not clarify - but they are crisply expressed. Taking its cue from
Magritte and perhaps Dali, Instruction Manual delves into the
subconscious, emerging with an undefined paranoia and an obsession for
ordering trivial details.
Aside from the pure pleasure of the voice and sporadic free jazz, it
is difficult to take much away from the performance. It is uncompromising
and obscure, alluding to profound understandings of time and space,
but ultimately revealing nothing. This isn't uncomfortable. At the Fringe,
it is refreshing to see a work that is so unconcerned with cheap laughs
and accessibility, without descending into a painful, chaotic aggression.
It may be a slight piece, but it does pay homage both to the attempts
by the beats to fuse word with jazz, as well as capturing the arch,
arid modernism of much surrealism. It alludes to Dada in its confusion,
without appropriating any punk emotionalism. There are interesting ideas
lurking around in this work's subconscious and repressed desires.
Gareth K Vile
Crave
By Sarah Kane
3Bugs Fringe Theatre
Sweet ECA
****
Never having seen any of Sarah Kane's plays before, I was stunned into
silence by Crave's vicious torrent of words. Four characters,
each one struggling against the disintegration of relationships, society,
their very selves, shout their desperation in a mixture of dialogue
and monologue. Nothing is resolved - the cast end on the floor, unmoving,
daring the audience to leave. This is an hour of brutal, emotional theatre
that takes the bleakness of Beckett, removes the humour and adds a millennial
despair. Kane was an astonishing author, and it seems strange that her
work has not had a greater impact on subsequent English writing.
3Bugs do struggle with the material. It does slip into occasional melodrama
- the ferocity of the lines, the frequency of yelps and howls make the
script very difficult to keep realistic. The play itself seems to beg
a more complex production - perhaps PunchDrunk could make it more personal,
or projections replace the voices to vary the atmosphere. Yet for the
most part, all four performers manage to let the material speak through
them.
Crave is a tight study of the impact of desire on the self.
There are a vague narratives threading through the relationships - possible
child abuse, loveless sex, a failed affair - but these are less important
that the overall impact of horror and despair. Tenderness, compassion,
humour, sex: everything become a weapon, a razor to slice the self into
thinner layers. Quotations from pop songs, allusions to other playwrights,
frantic, despair pleas are juxtaposed to create an overwhelming flood
of fragmented imagery.
However, the play isn't just about the emotions: the way that Kane
has deconstructed the usual baggage of character and plot makes this
a formally disturbing work as well. The audience are left with no reference
points, no development, only relentless repetition, grievance, frustration.
Apart from a few desperate attempts to find the humour, even applause
is prevented when the end comes: the stage lights go up, the actors
lie still and the audience leaves their bodies prone across the floor.
Breathtaking.
Gareth Vile
Esoterica
Fletch Productions
Baby Belly
***
It is rather dishonest for Esoterica to be advertised as theatre:
it is an old school magic show, even if Eric Walton does recite a poem
during one of his card tricks. For fans of Derren Brown, Esoterica
is a fun-packed hour: Walton's charm, feats of memory and sleight of
hand combine to make up an entertaining package. His strength is in
his relaxed, erudite delivery. The tricks themselves are relatively
commonplace, although usually impressive.
At an hour, the show is slightly too long and doesn't build to an amazing
climax. He does end up doing three tricks at the same time, but he doesn't
quite manage to convince the audience that this is impressive or difficult.
If anything, his delivery counts against him. He seems to be performing
tricks in a distracted mood, tossing off apparently psychic answers
while wanting to be doing something far more stimulating. As part of
a cabaret, the close-up magic would be stunning. In isolation, his attempts
to include meditations on philosophy feel like padding.
Walton is a talented magician and his persona is both intelligent and
attractive. However, there isn't really enough in this show to keep
the attention, and the wonder at each trick isn't developed into something
profound or astonishing.
Gareth K Vile
Next
page - - - Index
|
