|
Fringe 2008 Reviews (83)
The Search for Sunshine
Platform
Baby Belly
****
Creating a portrayal of Death in a form that makes sense to humanity
is one of the oldest struggles in human fiction. Platform make a more
interesting job of it than most by showing us an insight into the life
of death and his failure to comprehend the lives of those whose existence
he lives to end. Played as an easily distracted eccentric who lives
in a cave, this embodiment of the grim reaper has him telephoning God
to find out what time it'll all be finished and addressing the audience
to show them his latest accordion versions of James Bond themes.
This bizarre comedic set is interspersed with performances from the
three actresses. Rather than telling a coherent story, the vignettes
are fragmentary pieces of life, constructed to resemble the flitting
moments of life passing through the mind of the dying. Re-playing a
cringe-worthy night at a party until the point it becomes almost almost
painfully sad to watch is made all the more harsh when it is death himself
that insists on its repetition. What is most interesting is that, despite
Death's friendly attitudes, it becomes apparent that considering his
actions and the task allotted him, it serves him better to live such
a curious existence divorced from any real understanding of the way
humanity works, something hammered home by his impromptu stand-up routine
of terribly bad jokes about deaths and tragedy. All in all, it's a novel
and triumphant piece of theatre which plays on the bleakness of existence
with a wry smile and wit.
Graeme Strachan
Richard Herring: The Headmaster's
Son
Richard Herring
Underbelly
*****
Throwing his all into this production; Richard Herring delves back
into his life and tries to examine whether it now can be put down to
the single formative fact that for several years his father was the
Headmaster of his school, putting him in the unfortunate position of
being both accused of unfair advantages at school by his peers and of
being treated far more strictly by his father.
So it's with this as a basis that he goes off into a rollicking journey
through both his own neurosis and the problems that face the average
teenager anywhere. It's baffling why Herring has failed to ignite the
popular consciousness in the same manner in which his peers have, but
it may be something to do with his own self-deprecation seeming far
more alarmingly apparent than in most others. Not that this detracts
from the show: instead it brought the audience closer to him, as he
clawed back old memories and moments of crippling embarrassment from
his early days, even going so far as to read entire passages from his
lengthy diaries and happily ridiculing the masturbatory habits of his
teenage self for the benefit of the crowd.
It's rare to see someone so comfortable with his own shortcomings,
real or imagined, and as a result his honesty to the point of near madness,
combined with his hysterically funny tone and brilliant timing, show
why he is one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy.
If there is any justice in the world, and no doubt both the 40 and the
16 year old Richards would tell you there was not, then this show will
be sold out every night.
Graeme Strachan
The Darkling Plain
Bloody Lovely Productions
Underbelly
****
The war in Afghanistan has been a staple of the Fringe's critical and
sardonic view for several years now, but in a twist on the usual discourse,
Bloody Lovely productions have instead turned the conflict into a clever
pastiche of early wartime movies, complete with dickie officers, plucky
young lads eager for the front and everyone quite sure that it'll be
all over by Christmas. Taking inspiration from Noël Coward's Brief
Encounter, this witty play shows the outbreak of an American war
on terror, and the effect it has on the family of Major Carruthers,
including his gung-ho war-mad son, cynical daughter and patient Women's
Institute-obsessed wife, and then the effects on them all as war takes
grip on Britain.
Managing to tie in most of the modern controversies of the recent unpleasantness
- friendly-fire, supply problems and political motivations behind military
action - this play also has a bittersweet quality, as the burgeoning
romance between two of the young men on the front line makes itself
plain in a manner both hysterical and tragic. On the surface there is
a brilliant comedy at work here, brimming with good ideas and full of
exuberance on the part of the skilled cast; but underneath there is
also a very clear and cutting anti-war message which is summed up with
beautiful simplicity in the heartbreaking closing moments, which are
as timeless and true in any era.
Graeme Strachan
Next
page - - - Index
|
