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Fringe 2008 Reviews (87)
Wyrd Sisters
Arkyl Theatre Company
Mayfield Salisbury Church
**
Given that the Stephen Briggs adaptations of Terry Pratchett's Discworld
are fairly well handled retoolings of the original novels, it ought
to be difficult to go far wrong with them. However, as this production
goes to show, simply re-iterating the script verbatim and hoping for
the best doesn't quite work. Although the cast are by no means bad,
they never raise the material above the level of mediocre. While the
jokes are inherent to the material, it still needs timing and pacing
to make them work and, more often than not, the punchlines were a few
seconds too late or early, but despite these problems the production
is still entertaining if uninspiring.
Graeme Strachan
€migrants
By Slawomir Mrozek
Wiczy Theatre
Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House
***
Only in Edinburgh can one see two shows in caravans within a week.
€migrants actually takes place in a cramped motor home. There
this Polish company works hard, providing four performances of over
an hour each every day.
Pray for a thin audience. At the production reviewed, nine people crammed
on to the tiny bench seats with difficulty - and then the final pair
arrived to squash the others.
There, we share the New Year's Eve celebrations of two economic migrants.
AA, played by Kristian Wieczynski, is an intellectual who has traveled
to the UK to escape from problems at home, while Radoslaw Smuzny as
the ordinary XX is there to raise money for his family.
Put two slobby men together in a space smaller than the average bathroom
and they will inevitably fight, get jealous and once the alcohol flows,
become maudlin.
There is some great comedy along the way, as the men fight and talk
about their lives both at home and on tour as well as sharing a bizarre
celebratory meal.
This production, which mixes comedy with pathos, works really well
in such an unusual theatre and it would be good to think that the Wiczy
Theatre might tour it more widely.
Philip Fisher
Darning Jilly
Royal Holloway Theatre
C soco
**(*)
It's unfortunate that, because of the author's tragic young death and
the raw and horrific subject matter, the inevitable comparisons and
parallels with Sarah Kane have already been made, which is both unhelpful
and of little relevance to this production but such a shadow does exist
and makes reviewing this piece all the more problematic.
You see, at its cental premise this is actually quite a basic plot
with a fairly uninspiring narrative, which only becomes apparent later
through the circuitous route the piece takes in getting to the point.
Its stylised look and the physical action of the piece is unfortunately
its own undoing as it means that, for a great deal of the first half,
the play seems to be trying to keep the subject matter hidden from the
audience, and while a healthy curiosity is always good in such cases,
the impenetrability of the style means that by the time the true story
is apparent the play is almost halfway through.
The plot revolves around the institutionalisation of a young girl convicted
of the gruesome murders of a string of rent-boys and her conversations
with her mother, friends and psychiatrist all filtered through her warped
mind. The problem is that the supporting characters are starkly drawn
with little attempt to give them realistic motivations and the main
character is so chronically deranged that it's difficult to maintain
an interest. Adding in an almost as incomprehensible close and there
remains only a thoroughly abstract piece of performed consciousness
that is fascinatingly written, and well performed but ultimately remains
unsatisfying.
Graeme Strachan
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