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Fringe 2009 Reviews (57)
God
By Woody Allen
Pleasance Dome
***
UCLU Runaground are pretty much guaranteed a sell-out run. They have
all of the right ingredients
- a cast of a dozen plus creatives, all of whom will have proud family
and friends eager to buy tickets,
- a small, cramped theatre (with seats at the back from which you
cannot see most of the action) and
- a barely-known play written by a cult-status film icon.
Woody Allen has penned a metatheatrical, existential comedy that contains
many of his trademark concerns.
It features an ancient Greek playwright and actor, Hepatitis and Diabetes,
struggling to come up with a winning formula for a play plus a load
of extraneous characters stepping in from New York, circa 1975.
The cast, led by the talented Natalie Simpson as Diabetes, is of distinctly
mixed ability but draws a good number of laughs in their Woody glasses,
thanks to an intermittently inspired script.
The mix of theatrical in-jokes and introspection works well in a packed
45 minutes, ensuring that the audience will go home (or to the next
show) happy.
Philip Fisher
Almost 10
By Raphaele Moussafir
Pleasance Courtyard
***
Rachel, the character portrayed by the adept Caroline Horton in Almost
10, is a nine-year-old female version of Adrian Mole. As such, she
will either amuse with her sweetly precocious behaviour or alternatively
irritate like Just William's bête noir Violet Elizabeth
Bott.
The play, which has already been a hit on the European mainland, is
redeemed by Caroline Horton's expert portrayal of a spoilt little girl
and a really unexpected final five minutes that gives Daniel Goldman's
production unexpected depth.
Philip Fisher
Dandelion's Story
MODL Theatre (South Korea)
C Chambers Street
****
MODL has proved to be one of the companies worth following and hunting
out. Dandelion Story is their children's production - although
not strictly for children.
The Dandelion's Story examines the concept that "nothing
God made is useless" as told in this children's story originally
titled Doggy Poo by Jung-Saen Kwon and adapted and directed by
Jung-Sook Kim. Don't let the poo put you off.
This lovely bit of doggy poo, played exquisitelly by Yoo-Jin Seol,
encounters a clod of earth (Jae-Hweon Lee), a Hen and two Chicks (Hyo-Joo
Song and Jung-Eun Kwak), the sun and wind and a sparrow, an old man,
and finally a dandelion seed, providing Poo with the perfect usefulness.
With little dialogue, children who might find some of the accents a
little difficult will miss nothing of the story.
This is theatre at its best. Although it doesn't quite live up to their
breathtaking A Love In Dream which is a must-see reprised this
year at the C Venue, it is children's theatre fit for adults. It is
flawlessly directed and performed with sets and costumes that are sublime.
Catherine Lamm
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