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Fringe 2009 Reviews (13)
Apocalypse Wow!
Dougie Hastings
Laughing Horse - The Argyle
**
There are stranger ideas to base a comedy one-man piece around than
retiring Prime Minister William Hamstead's final speech to the press
after a long and frankly bizarre tenancy as the leader of the British
parliament. Filling it with a mixture of politicalese and modern lingo
enough to ensure that the blurring of plausability and satire, at least
for a while.
The show follows the practiced platitudes of a Prime Minister who admits
to having accidentally bombed hospitals, annexed France and installed
an actor as an almost literal puppet president in America. Dougie Hastings
makes a fair effort in this capacity but the overall effect is a tad
schizophrenic as the comedy dots all over the place in no clear system.
Which is a shame as the few moments of real comedy genius are brillliant,
but are sadly let down by a lot of obvious humour and scatty unpredictable
oddness throughout.
Graeme Strachan
A-Team The Musical
Script & lyrics by Gareth Kane; Music by Jethro Linley
Gilded Balloon Teviot
***
Popular eighties action series The A-Team is affectionately
sent up in this comic musical version written by Gareth Kane, who also
plays the team's leader Hannibal Smith.
The rather thin plot concerns a dispute between pet shop owner Tawnia
Roberts and local gangster Action Jackson who has sent his boys round
to collect protection money. Miss Roberts sends for the A-Team to help
her out, which involves a plane flight, car chase, guns and bombs and
an amazing armoured construction from scraps lying around the shop,
just like in the original series, but of course no one dies.
The show is fast-moving, colourful and good fun, but the humour rarely
rises above the level of pantomime and falls into some of the usual
traps of parody such as monologues from characters about what they usually
do week after week instead of just getting on and doing it and letting
the audience just see it for themselves. The songs have some quite funny
lyrics, including one set to the TV programme's theme tune, but it could
be disputed whether this is truly a musical.
Of the four heroes, Vincent Jerome as BA Baracus, despite being too
skinny, is the most authentic, getting the voice and the face just right,
with a pretty good attempt by Matthew Ashcroft at sweet but mad Murdock.
Paul Hampton as Face and Gareth Kane as Hannibal pick up some of the
gestures of the originals but don't really look much like them.
There is a great performance from Ruth Bratt as Tawnia with some great
and very funny singing, a good comedy characterisation and some great
ad-libbing through a technical problem with the sound during the reviewed
performance. John Dorney's Action Jackson is quite intimidating and
gives a very physical performance of a rap song. Other parts are played
by Matt Addis and Miles Eagling, the latter also playing keyboard.
There are some nice touches, such as the two-dimensional props painted
on hardboard and the small cars for the chases, but the show is fun
with a few laughs but not particularly memorable.
David Chadderton
Breakfast with Burns
With John Cairney
Henderson's Vegetarian Restaurant
***
Impressively sprightly 79 year old actor John Cairney weaves an entertaining
tale of both Robert Burns and the poet's influence on the performer's
life. Losing a role in a film, a much younger Cairney saw a poster in
a station and returned home with an idea for a production of a one-man
show as one of Scotland's most famous sons. Combining Burn's poetry
with Cairney's anecdotes of touring, we travel from Ayrshire, to Edinburgh,
Dumfriesshire, Glasgow and even America. Cairney sets up a guileless
rapport with his audience, flirting, charming and shaking hands with
the crowd of mature spectators, delighting many. Alongside a light breakfast
from this fabulous, famous Edinburgh restaurant, this makes for a very
pleasant morning.
Sacha Voit
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