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Fringe 2008 Reviews (65)
And The Devil May Drag You
Under
Desmond O'Connor and Pustra/Vile-een's Vaudeville
Musical Theatre @ George Square
*
What to say?!? And The Devil is really hard to categorize; hard
to describe accurately. It is a little Burlesque, a little Amateur Hour,
a little karaoke. It does really registers high on the Weird-O-Meter.
This is an eclectic group with widely varying skills and talent. The
one thing that can be said about the group is that they all are seriously
committed.
American Skip Shifey (?) is quite good at a great variety of sounds/music.
Greg Wallach, another American, gets high marks by admitting at the
top, "I'm handicapped, gay and living in Harlem."
This is one of those interactive evenings that succeeds best with a
large and very noisy audience. It's an acquired taste. Something for
everyone. Sort of.
Catherine Lamm
Elegies for Angels, Punks
and Raging Queens
The Latymer Theatre Company
Zoo Southside
****
The Latymer Theatre Company brings us an engaging and thought provoking
production of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens.
The young company told passionately the tales of AIDS victims and how
they contracted the disease and their reactions to the illness. For
such a young cast they dealt with the material in such a mature manner
that it moved the audience.
Director Justin Joseph used the space exceptionally well meaning the
audience was drawn into each of the characters as they powerfully told
their stories. Musical Director Mark Laflin brought the best out of
each of the performers and created a memorial performance of "I
don't know how to help you" and "Learning to let go".
As the programme did not state who played which parts I cannot name
actors.
The actor playing the Nurse who was infected by the disease she knew
so much about gave a convincing and emotional performance that brought
a lump to my throat.
There is no doubt that everyone in this company are capable actors
and each really stood out. The vocal quality in the females of the company
outshone the males but with everyone acting their hearts out and dealing
with such sensitive material this could be forgiven.
An emotional experience, told beautifully by such a talented young
cast.
John Naples-Campbell
Monsters
West Lothian Youth Theatre & Salmagundi Training Company
Rocket
**
In a dark future Scotland, a group of children hide under the cover
of night in an old bunker, terrified of the monsters which roam the
hills outside. Their peace is shattered by the arrival of Roxy, a young
deserter soldier of the new regime and a squad of her troops. This spurs
their leader to form an alliance and make for the coast toward the promise
of safety and freedom, whilst keeping his own secrets close to his chest.
Considering the level of technical work, including the detailed props
and costuming, it's fair to say that some effort has gone into this
production, what lets it down is the incredibly stilted and over-annunciated
dialogue from the principal cast. The effect of the disparity between
the dirty casual look of the children and the words coming out of their
mouths is both jarring and surprising to hear. A disappointment considering
how well they cope with the scope of the plot and the complexity of
the interactions.
Another detraction is that there are simply too many characters who
do nothing and add little to the plot, even some of the more interesting
bit players, such as the nameless feral girl, drift out of the story
with no real arc at all. Had the plot concentrated more fully on the
main players then the result would have been a much tighter performance.
Graeme Strachan
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