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Fringe 2008 Reviews (54)
Not Everything Is Significant
By Ben Moor
Pleasance Courtyard
*****
It is strange to see a self-effacing man return year after year to
the brash world of the Edinburgh solo show. Ben Moor has won Fringe
Firsts in the past and has every chance of doing so again.
He is a really fine writer with a quirky sense of humour. At times,
almost every line seems to be a comic time-bomb and even better, the
writing about life's minutiae is highly visual.
This tale of an autobiographer who specialises in nobodies and his
footnote writer is well-paced under the direction of Northern Stage's
Erica Whyman.
Effortlessly, Moor takes us into an invented world that is humorous
in its normality but also owes something to science fiction as both
time and reality bend.
A packed theatre loved every moment of this highly-recommended piece
of story-telling.
Philip Fisher
Learn to play the Ukulele
in under an hour (How George Formby saved my life)
Erica Fee Productions and Ukulele Men
Gilded Balloon Teviot
***
Being supernaturally visited by of the ghost of George Formby is possibly
the most bizarre reason to stage your own play about the ukulele, however
it seems to have worked in the case of Sam Brown, who both leads and
directs this play. After supplying the entire audience with a Ukulele
he leads us on a tour of the bizarre spirals of depression he and his
assistant fell into an the reasons behind them. All the while teaching
chords and songs for the audience to strum when they feel appropriate.
This leads him to discover the works of George Formby and from there
to set his life's aim upon teaching others to be happy by playing the
'happiest instrument in the world'.
It's a throughly entertaining and informative production with a good
sense of humour and a very real understanding of it's own silliness
while still having a bittersweet hint that grounds it enough to let
the exaggerated parts pass without question. At the same time, it does
have a shambolic and untidiness which lets the side down a little by
making it all seem like a clown-show at a childrens party. A little
more polish would have gone a long way. In any event, it's a brilliant
laugh and the most entertaining music lesson I've ever had.
Graeme Strachan
The Jungle Book: A Murderous
Song
Livewire Theatre
The Space: Venue 45
****
Having previously adapted the classics of epic poetry, Livewire theatre
turn their capable hands to Kipling's classic children's tales and bring
them to life with all the ferocity and dark terrors of the jungle still
intact. Focusing on the Mowgli stories they weave a cunningly crafted
tale that manages to capture the beauty of the original book while still
managing to keep a coherent and captivating narrative.
The cast are magnificent, imbuing their roles with a mixture of vigour
and heartfelt passion that captivates the audience utterly. What is
most surprising about this production is the amount of absolute terror
injected into the performance; considering this is a children's story
and advertised as such, it's ironic that this is the company at their
most fearsome. There is a sinister undertone to the play with the jungle
present constantly in the background, oppressive and looming ominously
like an all-encompassing spectre.
The action is well conceived and vividly brought to life thorough the
meat of the performance, so it's a shame that the end seems to come
quite abruptly, but still powerfully portraying Mowgli's descent from
noble beast into the ranks of mankind. In any case, children ought to
be made to see productions of this calibre, as Livewire prove yet again
why they are one of the most essential companies at the Festival.
Graeme Strachan
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