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Fringe 2009 Reviews (100)
Mother Courage and her Children
Sharad Pawar International School
Written by Bertolt Brecht
Space @ Venue 45
**
Having taken the principles of Brecht quite literally, the company
all sit at the rear of the stage, leaving their chairs to play their
scenes. The problem with this is that it gives the production an air
of being a school play. The meandering plot doesn't help the fact that
the play is over-long and not the most interesting to begin with. The
young cast try to fill out the narrative by having a news-report style
narration throughout and a pair of accomplished dance routines but even
these never quite overcome the plodding story.
Despite this, it is a good attempt from such a young cast and special
mention must go to Mohini Gupta whose vocal work shines out, especially
in an impromptu rendition of Zombie by The Cranberries. We can
only hope that the company pick a more accessible play next time round
or, at the very least, one that they can keep the audience from becoming
listless halfway through.
Graeme Strachan
Boy in Darkness
Curious Directive
The Zoo
****
This is a coming-of-age story about a boy who decides to run away from
home. But this is no ordinary boy – this is Titus Groann, heir
to the great gothic kingdom of Gormenghast. Titus decides to flee the
overpowering culture fed by rite and ritual, which is kept in balance
by the ruling class within the castle and their subjects outside. But
in his exploration of the other world he enters, he finds that things
are not at all what he expected.
Curious Directive's adaptation of Mervyn Peake's Boy in Darkness
goes way beyond a mere stage adaptation. It brings Titus Groan and the
world he lives in to life . More importantly, the company succeeds in
eerily juxtaposing that world onto ours, while leaving it cleverly open-ended,
for we are never quite sure whether Titus' journey is an internal one
of self-discovery or an external one of adventure and exploration.
For the audience, it has the potential of being both simultaneously.
It is rare to find theatrical performance which has a transformative
mythic power to it – this is precisely what this show is all about.
It takes the audience on a voyage which continues outside the theatre
in the darkness. I urge people to allow some extra time to follow this
through, for this is where the real adventure starts.
This is so nearly a 5-star show, the only hitch being that the cast
had some problems projecting well enough to compete with ambient noise.
I'm sure that in subsequent runs / productions, they will be able to
overcome this communication barrier. Their commitment, however, is total.
Interactive and innovative theatre. I can't praise this highly enough.
Leon Conrad
Beachy Head
Analogue/The New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich/Escalator East to Edinburgh
Pleasance Dome
*****
A man decides to fling himself off the cliff at Beachy Head. Two documentary
film-makers who are filming the lighthouse there happen to catch his
last moments.
Depicting suicide on stage is easy, compared to the challenge of depicting
the huge rollercoaster of emotions and sensations that people left behind
are forced to confront.
How do you depict absence, loss, loneliness, and the constant questioning,
"Why?"
Plagued by questions of their own, the film-makers wonder what they
should do about it … delete it? Use it? Share it with the relatives
left behind? They decide on a course of action and the story continues,
with the audience following the narrative while also being given some
insight into the issues surrounding suicides.
If this all sounds really dark, it is to Analogue's credit that they
manage to create an enlightening and – (dare I say it?) yes, entertaining
– theatrical experience which addressses these points.
Avoiding the trap of constantly rewinding to go over the same set of
actions again and again, Analogue draw inspiration from documentary,
film and theatre, weaving live and pre-recorded video footage through
theatrical narrative to form a sensitive and highly-polished theatrical
commentary on a subject which affects a large number of people, but
is not addressed very often.
The lighting effects are inspired. The staging is inventive and versatile.
This is high-quality, hard-hitting theatre that puts the audience at
the centre of the action in the very first scene. Theatre well worth
staying alive to watch.
Leon Conrad
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