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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2010 Reviews (4)A Slacker's Guide to Western Theatre At Bedlam, a large, young cast takes viewers through the whole of the theatrical canon in just 50 minutes. Since they cover the period from the apes to In-Yer-Face and beyond in that brief period, there is not much time for any particular genre. Even so, a surprisingly large variety are acknowledged in a style that owes much to Reduced Shakespeare. The comedy is of mixed quality, sometimes very funny but not as funny as the lady in front of me seemed to think, since she roared with laughter throughout. She must have been the director or too easily pleased. The show seems designed for youngsters and much of the material is well-known. The cast are enthusiastic and play well as an ensemble. It seems that A Slacker's Guide to Western Theatre is sponsored by TIE and therefore seems destined for schools outings, presumably with a considerably smaller cast, and should do well in that milieu. Therefore, if you want a gentle morning outing or need a quick overview of Western Theatre, possibly before deciding whether to do a GCSE in drama, go for it. Philip Fisher Double Booked If you like Bridget Jones but think that she is a bit young really, this could be the show for you. For an hour, Ginny Davis becomes Ruth Rich, a remarkably ordinary middle class housewife. Her problems are so small as to be laughable and you might. Her three children (15-21) are challenging in minor ways, hubby ignores her and Ruth has a crush on her son's randy English teacher, but then so does every other mother. If you can identify with Ruth Rich, then go and see a nicely delivered but highly predictable monologue and prepare to cackle with joyous recognition. Otherwise, have a lie in. Philip Fisher Five Guys Named Moe Five Guys Named Moe will undoubtedly prove to be the slickest show on the Fringe but then it must have a budget greater than that of many whole venues. It was originally the brainchild of star Clarke Peters, who in 1990 decided to build a jukebox musical around the jazz, blues and jive songs of Louis Jordan. The musical did well enough to transfer to the West End, where it won an Olivier; and for a year, Broadway. Almost two decades on, Peters has decided to repeat the formula and, with the backing of Cameron Mackintosh, this revival seems destined to fill a West End house for a good long time. The book, such as it is, sees a lonely drunkard (Peters) holed up in a motel after his girl has evicted him. In a maudlin moment, he dives headfirst into a fantasy that sorts out his love life forever. The Jon Bausor set and Philip Gladwell lighting are both exceptional, the former based around a record player, complete with revolve and the latter dazzling with its ballroom evocations. This is the setting for a nightclub where our anti-hero Nomax receives a lesson in love from the titular quintet, a kind of cross between agony aunts and elder brothers. For around 1¾ breathless hours, along with Clarke Peters, the contrasting singers provide solos and group renditions of Louis Jordan's greatest hits, accompanied by choreography from Paul J. Medford that will win awards. The boys have it all with colourful clothing, great voices, unbounded energy and some superb, bittersweet songs. Each is a star in the making and they get excellent backing from the five-piece band. The highlights of Paulette Randall's production are probably the most familiar songs, 'Choo Choo Ch'Boogie', 'Is You Is or Is You Ain't Ma' Baby' and the title song but better than any of these in terms of presentation is 'Safe, Sane and Single', while the tap-danced 'Reet Petite and Gone' is also something special. If you like this kind of music, Five Guys will make your toes tap and hands clap. If you don't, the result will probably be the same, so good natured is this production. Philip Fisher Fair Trade Fair Trade comes with the imprimatur of Emma Thompson and is selling out a big theatre. That is down to much more than benefit of the Nanny McPhee star’s name. This is a gritty but compelling drama that has already won friends at Latitude before heading north. Director Lotte Wakeham has opted for a simple staging, creating a square playing space that is rarely adorned with anything more than a few scraps of material or some cardboard boxes. This is the setting for an old story that should not be around in these enlightened times. At the start we are introduced to Albanian Elena, played by co-writer Anna Holbek and Samai from Darfur, Sarah Amankwah. Life in their respective home countries is hard so the bright lights of London sound attractive. However, friendly gestures come at a high cost, as the pair become victims of white slavers. The remainder of the hour shows the awful lives that they are forced to lead and the trap that they can never escape. This can make for hard viewing, although the writers wisely opt for symbolism rather than realism when depicting the enormities that men visit upon these innocents. In some ways, the worst problems come when they eventually throw themselves on the mercy of the authorities. This story may not be new but since it is based on real experiences. As such, Fair Trade is an important work that might have the ultimate impact of changing political policy by drawing attention to a problem that we would all like to ignore. We can only hope that it does. If you want to know more about what is going on behind the scenes, follow ensemble member Christopher Dingli’s BTG blog about his experiences. Philip Fisher
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