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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2009 Reviews (95)Escape Society has decomposed. The Earth is in demise. The human race must look to a new future and a new home. The programme implies that this 'escape' to a new home will take at least an hour. However, just as the play is about to begin we are informed that it will only take 40 minutes. Disappointingly only 30 minutes later the human race has already had its day and crawls away to meet oblivion in half the advertised time. In that slot a battered television set and a couple of wooden crates invite the audience to join a slow and rationed move towards 'the end'. Despite a great performance from Nick Kay (Winston) the play fails to capture the audience. Much of the story remains untold and many aspects are unclear. The performance jumps between a foreign space and time to the present with no clear distinction and as a result the implications of the word 'home' become extremely confused. It is not clear if the earth is still regarded as home or if the new settlement project is now home. This may well be intentional but it certainly makes the story difficult to follow. Relationships are another aspect which remain under developed. Winston left his life behind when he was called to join the new home project, yet no information is revealed about this. Fleeting comments are made which should have been expanded in order to allow the audience to identify with the hardship. As a result the relationships of the present become skewed and it is unclear whether or not Winston is having difficulty connecting to Donna because of his past relations or because of the current situation. Despite the flaws, the performance does begin to poke at the issues surrounding corporate influence and the use of the media and propaganda. The idea is fascinating and the play has potential. However this performance was disappointingly short and confusing. Allison Vale Amateur Transplants - In Theatre Taking the stage with their trademark combination of wry comments and amusing parody, the Amateur Transplants make it plain why they are as good at filling venues as they are at thinking up clever alternate lyrics for popular songs. The humour was, as usual, as black and harsh as you'd expect from Medical professionals, with unapologetic digs at Michael Jackson, witty gags about paedophiles and the usual arrays of catchy snippets. The only problem is that the gig does feel short even at an hour long and the lack of much interaction with the crowd or each other means that the show lacks spontaneity. Despite this, if you have even a smattering of medical knowledge you'll be chuckling all the way home; everyone else will have to put up with a smirk. Graeme Strachan Killing Me Softly
Killing Me Softly is the second contemporary solo show in verse seen in a couple of days, following Gloria Williams' Monday. Richard Fry also performs his own work but it is rather rougher, as he sometimes struggles for rhymes or scansion. Even so, the writing of such a play is a great feat. It takes place as our hero awaits the return of his wife from hospital. He is joined by all of their friends and delivers the kind of speech normally associated with a Best Man, ribald and overly frank. What he reveals is a tale of love and horror, which commences in childhood. The trio at its centre are the protagonist, pretty but snooty Sylvia who will eventually become his wife, and her contemporary, his brother Ricky. An apparent love story, illustrated with 80s hits often delivered in karaoke form, becomes something darker after a joyride. Even tragedy cannot still the course of true love but there is still a twist in the tail, although the motivations behind it are not too clear. Killing Me Softly is fun and funny at times and is perfectly passable but it might have benefitted from a little more writing time before public presentation. Philip Fisher |
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