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Fringe 2008 Reviews (37)
Much Ado About Something
Hazel Valley Players
Greenside
***(*)
A talented bunch of youngsters take Shakespeare's classic and translate
it to a school staff room near you. The Bard's warring lovers are two
rival drama teachers, Claudius a young PE teacher and his beloved Hero,
the Headmaster's daughter helping out in her Gap year. As rivalry over
the job of Deputy Head blossoms the jealous science teacher Joanna (aka
Shakespeare's Don Jon) plots to turn Hero and Claude's love to hate
and cause her brother more trouble than he can handle. Alongside her
she has one of the wittiest lab technicians I've ever seen - not to
mention that he's armed with a pregnancy test!
Bringing the Bard right up to date these young actors have great fun
with modernising Shakespeare's text - right down to Benedick's reaction
when Beatrice demands Claudius' death: 'He shouldn't die - it's not
Shakespeare!' he says. An energetic and thoroughly entertaining family
production which will bring children to Shakespeare and entertain adults
with a new take on a classic.
Cecily Boys
Apocalypse: The Musical
By Heather Newton and Ernest Merry
Feed the Ducks Productions
C
****
Creating a successful musical is difficult; creating a successsful
comedy musical even more so, so Feed the Ducks can hardly be blamed
for bringing back their 2005 Fringe success Apocalypse: The Musical.
And it is certainly worth reviving.
It is the tale of milkman Charlie who finds love with whore Wendy just
as God and Satan have decided that it's time for the Apocalypse. There
are inept nuns, whores, angels, cows and, of course, God and Satan.
There are echoes of Jerry Springer the Opera and more than a
few of Oklahoma!, and it's all great fun.
I confess that I didn't come out humming any of the songs (although
I do remember the scenery) but I also remember some very funny ideas,
some wonderful cows, an hilarious almost-crucifixion on an ironing board
(don't ask: see it!), a grumpy God and a Satan who, although he might
not have all the best tunes, certainly has some of the funniest lines.
As far as performances go, there is not a weak link anywhere, with
Fongphu Tran (Satan) taking the honours, partially because he has the
best lines but mainly because his is a very funny and engaging performance.
Well worth seeing.
Peter Lathan
Hand-me-Down
The Empty Space and Kate Craddock
Pleasance Courtyard
***(*)
Kate Craddock’s imaginative one-woman-show has a lot in common
with the charity shop bric-a-brac from which she draws her inspiration.
Rough around the edges moments sit alongside buried gems of creativity,
and all is delivered with genuine heart and spirit.
Inside Craddock’s charity shop, represented by clothing rails
and a lot of knick-knacks, lies a treasure trove of stories, both from
people whose clothes end up on the racks to those who use charity as
a means to sate their social conscience. Questions like the ethics of
buying a Primark top in a charity shop are raised, and the concept of
‘Africa’, as it is constructed in the west, hangs over the
consciousness of almost all of the characters, from the Glaswegian girl
who imagines her 50p donation travelling by boat and plane straight
into the mouth of a hungry child, to the media sloane whose charity
TV ideas are horribly misplaced.
The script alone may not withstand fine scrutiny, and some of the characters
teeter on the edge of stereotypes but a combination of Craddock’s
charm and Steve Gilroy’s direction give this show its magical edge.
Hanging suits become handsome, adulterous men, clothing rails are boats
and trains and a mosquito net forms an illegitimate child. The only
let down is the ending, ill-judged and dramatic for the sake of drama,
turning an otherwise exploratory play into a confused moral message.
Lucy Ribchester
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