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Fringe 2008 Reviews (96)
In Conflict
By Douglas C Wager, from the book by Yvonne Latty
Temple Theatres
Assembly Rooms.
**
In Conflict is yet another Verbatim work, in this case portraying
the lives of a cross section of ordinary soldiers who have served in
Iraq.
Douglas C Wager, who has adapted and directed a play based on a journalistic
book by Yvonne Latty, clearly believes that the words speak for themselves
and while, to an extent, they do, that is not enough to make a drama.
Except for filmed comments from Ms Latty and brief physical displays
in between speeches, for 100 minutes a series of soldiers relate their
experiences one after another through the voices of actors.
While one feels great sympathy for this group, many of whom came back
traumatised and some maimed, by the end, there is a feeling of "bring
the next one on to the conveyor belt". What In Conflict
badly needs is some editing and a sense of direction, which all of the
best Verbatim Theatre pieces share.
Philip Fisher
Coral's Red Dance &
Kimho Ip's Music
Coral Lee & Kaleidophone
InvASIAN Festival
clubWEST@quincentenary Hall, Royal College of Surgeons
****
A great many of our European artistic movements have been influenced
by the Silk Route. The hammered dulcimer is one of them. Probably originating
as a stringed instrument in Persia, it was adapted in many countries,
through many local influences, in China and Hungary, before reaching
the UK in its present form. Kimho Ip plays Chinese and western classical
music together with a double bass player. It is a fine example of interculturality
at work, and a fine example of the ways our arts have been interrelated
over the ages. It is most of all a fine example of the ways in which
artists are defying national boundaries and collaborating on ventures
that produce new and exciting fusions of east and west, old and new.
Coral Lee's scintillating dance fills the second part of the bill exploring
in movement all the significations of the colour red. Colours are not
universal in meaning. In the West, the colour can mean danger, revolution
and evil, in the East it can be soft and tender, firm and gentle. Red
is a dynamic blend of Chinese movement, an ethnic grace, and contemporary
dance. The costumes are silky and lush, shimmering white and vibrant
red, the lighting serves to sharpen contours and give added definition.
The music blends with the dance, supports and heightens the moods, the
passions and the anxieties. Video projection extends the space. The
dance itself is bold and entrancing, lyrical and spiritual, and the
four dancers give the impression of a rich and sensual femininity. It
would have been shown to better effect in a larger space. The piece
deserves to have a full and proper stage in which to soar.
Jackie Fletcher
Now Is the Hour
Crossroads Theatre
Hill Street Theatre
*****
The Laconia incident during World War 2, where a U-boat torpedoed the
liner, is well known, if mainly for the historical repercussions regarding
the rescue of survivors it created in its wake. Crossroads Theatre have
chosen to focus on one of the lesser known sides to the story, that
of the devastatingly sad true story of the men and women who escaped
on a lifeboat and became separated from the mass of survivors before
the rescue attempts were made by the German navy.
In one of the most interesting ways to stage a play I've seen so far
this festival, the stage is covered in a shimmering silver surface whilst
the cast situate themselves in the segments of a real lifeboat, which
is split and re-arranged continually throughout to show both the passage
of time and to emphasise the action on-board. The cast are magnificent
in the way they tell the harrowing perils of the survivors' while they
begin to starve and perish to the elements. Using simple tricks and
stagecraft to show the effects of sunburn and dehydration, the real
emotional impact is in the subtleties between the actors in the small
movements and looks. More powerful still are the ghosts of the dead
cast, returning to claim each further lost soul from the boat, and the
gutting moments of delirium and flashback that broke the eerie stillness
with poignant reflection that cut close to the heart and encompass so
brilliantly the human loss that took place. A truly classic play that
deserves to be seen more than once.
Graeme Strachan
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