|
Fringe 2008 Reviews (78)
Britt on Britt
Avalon Promotions
Assembly Rooms.
**
It is almost as if Britt Ekland is trying to make a point about a certain
type of actress. How can anyone struggle with the lines of their own
life? Surely she must have lived it?
The problem with the lines accords with a script that seems haphazard,
jumping around like a blonde Swedish actress seeking the love of her
life.
Miss Eklund (as she was born) may have been a tubby, dark-haired 13-year-old
but, within seven years, had bagged a contract with Twentieth Century
Fox and, after a ten day romance, a wedding ring from Peter Sellers,
the first of several.
For an hour, the actress selectively recalls episodes from her colourful
65 years, often as if she is surprised to learn about the person whom
she portrays, often far from convincingly.
The fans though will be happy enough, as they get some insights into
marriages, love and motherhood as well as what it takes to be a Bond
girl.
Philip Fisher
The Patriot Act
By Lydia Bruce and Sandy Burns
Green Room Presents
Gilded Balloon Teviot
****
Lydia Bruce and Sandy Burns so nearly pull it off. They have composed
about three-quarters of a play that Arthur Miller never wrote about
a man that could easily have been Miller, had he been born thirty years
later.
William Carpenter, the 72-year-old protagonist, is a brave playwright
given life by an impressive William Lyman. He is a tough cookie who
does not back down, even when threatened with a military prison.
His experiences with a Government lawyer, Robert Pemberton's ironically
named Goodman, recall the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War but also
the USA when McCarthy and his House Un-American Activities Committee
was in its pomp, attempting to blackmail and silence Miller and his
comrades.
The plots of Carpenter's works might seem familiar to Miller fans,
as are some of his experiences. The difference here is the period and
the Act under which this writer is to be prosecuted. The premise is
juxtaposed with an early scene in which the Millers (oops Carpenters)
visit England and see the Magna Carta with its eternal message of habeas
corpus and becomes truly chilling.
It is with the family that the play falters, as Carpenter battles with
his conservative son and then the pair achieve simultaneous volte
faces to reach a convenient ending. The writers should be encouraged
to rework this play or speak to a dramaturg, as it could get a major
professional production with some relatively minor changes.
Philip Fisher
You Don't Need to Know That!
By Angus Barr, Mark Conway, Clare Thomson and Abigail Anderson
Gonzo Moose
Pleasance Courtyard
**
The title might be ironic but, to some, could easily be taken literally.
This is post-modern comedy with a slapstick component that can convulse
or leave cold, depending on sense of humour.
The story is Kafkaesque, as an ordinary bloke is arrested and then
guillotined without committing any offence beyond being inoffensive.
The primary verbal style is what might be known as comedy of repetition,
assuming that if you say something often enough, it will become funny.
This is then complemented by visual gags.
A trio play lots of parts and use some novel filing cabinets for special
effects. Best of all though is a home-made guillotine that threatens
to reduce the cast to two each afternoon and could leave younger viewers
with nightmares.
Philip Fisher
Next
page - - - Index
|
