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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2009 Reviews (14)Blind Mirth Blind Mirth are on par with the better improvisational comedy troupes at the Fringe, with the added advantage that the show is free. Though every iteration of a given improv show is by definition unique, there's not much differentiation between the different acts on offer: everyone knows the usual games by now, and all most troupes can do is pick which to play and which to steer clear from, relying on their wits alone to lift them above the crowd. Blind Mirth do play the usual games, but manage to find extra opportunities for improvisation within the nuts and bolts of the format; improvising stories in order to inspire more than usually interesting audience suggestions, and taking audience suggestions for causes of death when a player is eliminated. These innovations would work even better with clearer delivery and a firmer hand from the compere. It's also unexpected and heartening, in this endemically male-dominated field, to find a troupe in which men are in the minority. Matt Boothman The Event John Clancy is globe-hopping, as this play opens almost simultaneously in the New York and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. While the laid-back Matt Oberg (reviewed at Barrow Street in January) continues to perform back at home, Clancy's number one collaborator, the more intense and quirkier David Calvitto, plays a guy called Dave in the intimate Drawing Room. The Event is a top-class piece of writing about the theatre that will give its audiences more information about the nature of acting and directing in one hour than they could learn in many more poring over Stanislavsky, Brecht or some inferior expert. That is because it is a hands-on demonstration of the techniques that actors and directors use, delivered with rare perceptive wit. From the opening, we are shown the tricks by which "A Man" manipulates "Strangers in a room" like a magician revealing his sleight of hand, while risking banishment from the Magic Circle. Frequently, it is hard to know whether the person delivering the monologue is an actor, Dave Calvitto or a character with the same name. Indeed, when he dries up embarrassingly, you ache for the poor fellow. It has to be said that this effect was enhanced at the performance under review by the actor's nervousness and battle with his unruly tongue. Gradually and imperceptibly, the subject matter widens out until you realise that the stage has become a metaphor with which to explore technological advance, globalisation and even our very purpose. As such, this is a satisfying and deep but also extremely funny piece of theatre that comes highly recommended. Philip Fisher E for Apple/Something Blue An extremely young cast tackle the daunting subject of two patients dying of cancer in the first of two pieces presented together. Such an overwhelming subject is difficult to handle by even the most experienced cast, and here the miscasting leaves the under-developed writing exposed. The second piece does everything to detract any merit from the first, just by being programmed together. An ill-conceived character of a destructive maid of honour tries to sabotage the wedding of an equally incredible doormat of a bride to be. Aiming hard for comedy but missing the wall, let alone the dart board, this pieces falls painfully short. Sacha Voit |
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