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Fringe 2008 Reviews (25)
The Fooligan
Al Seed
Pleasance Courtyard
*****
Out of the dark and the blinding light, comes The Fooligan. He is trying
to return to a place he does not know nor knows how to find.
With exquisite physical comedy and awe inspiring storytelling the Fooligan
(Al Seed) combines the medieval buffoon and the myth of the great storyteller.
As the village idiot, shut out of the banquet and finally chased away,
he at first tries to spruce himself up in an effort to flirt with the
ladies. Dressed as a very gentlemanly and rotund clown the Fooligan
also recounts the legend of the greatest story teller who destroys a
kingdom with his unstoppable tales and laughs in the face of terror
- for a full six days and nights no less.
Previous Fringe-First winner and Total Theatre Award nominee Al Seed
is a master of his trade, from the blink of his eyes right down to the
end of his overlarge clown boot. This is a beautifully conceived and
brilliantly executed show - see it before it sells out.
Cecily Boys
Loving Burns
RedHed Theatre
Rocket @ Roxburghe Hotel
***
Alicia Devine writes, directs and stars in her show Loving Burns
which looks at the women in the poet Robert Burns' life. Jean Armour
was his wife and 'felt the heat of him'. But he had many other lovers
beside her and was causing scandal from even the early days in his life.
His mother was afraid of his wild ways and she takes the baby in when
he gets the serving girl pregnant. He becomes the talk of the town gossipers
and as his poems become famous so he moves on to find fame in Edinburgh.
Devine is joined on stage by Patricia Mullen who plays Nancy Maclehouse,
Burns' Edinburgh love. For poetry and Burns lovers this is an intriguing
piece with some beautiful singing by Devine. However without this primary
interest others will find it less stimulating. If you're not a native
the Scottish accent is very strong and sometimes hard to follow. The
uninventive setting has the two performers diving behind screens to
change, at times leaving the other performer on stage pacing up and
down in an effort to mask the fast change. Nonetheless this is worth
seeing if you do indeed love Burns.
Cecily Boys
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Lincoln School of Performing Arts Theatre Company & University of
Central Lancashire
C soco
***
Four girls from the newly formed Lincoln School of Performing Arts
perform a new adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Victorian gothic classic.
With their hair scraped back, all in white shirts and black jodhpurs,
the girls become Wilde's essentially male cast with cravats, glasses,
cigarettes and waistcoats. This production also includes the use of
puppets for an unexplained reason. As Dorian's depravity deepens, the
play gets darker and the girls use flash lights to highlight their faces
with a ghoulish mask of light.
The atmosphere of corruption, vanity and depravity is achieved well,
with some good performances from the three leads. However it does seem
to lack the male element since this book's homoerotic themes and 'immoral'
influence on the young was cited at Wilde's trial for obscenity. Whilst
it may be unnecessary to cast four women, the actors do make a good
job of awkward casting and pull of the play with their best efforts.
Cecily Boys
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