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Fringe 2011 Reviews (36)
Private Peaceful
By Michael Morpurgo
Scamp Theatre
Udderbelly
***
This show has become an Edinburgh Fringe institution and, as a result,
is now playing in the large Udderbelly. That takes away some of the
intimacy but obviously increases the box office.
The solo show follows the short life of the eponymous Tommy in the
trenches of World War I, rather like the hero of Morpurgo's other stage
hit, War Horse.
We first meet Tommo Peaceful on his West Country farm in idyllic childhood,
devoted to his brothers after the early death of his father under a
falling tree.
Quickly though, he falls for pretty Molly, though she eventually marries
Tommo's elder brother Charlie, in rather an unseemly hurry.
When war arrives, the youngsters enlist at the same time, though Tommo
is far underage and they remain together through the horrors until the
play's finale.
Simon Reade directs Leon Williams, whose acting and storytelling both
seem geared to younger audience members.
This is an ever popular book and stage play that will continue to enchant
and quietly spread its author's pacifist message.
Philip Fisher
Release
Icon Theatre
Pleasance King Dome
****
At a time when prison sentencing and rehabilitation are facing hugely
controversial reforms it is timely that Release should focus on the
fate of three ex-prisoners who face the pressures of coping with life
on the other side of the prison gates.
The three accomplished actors give stellar high energy and gritty performances.
It is strikingly staged with a dynamic soundscape and impressive projections
and lighting.
Their struggle to stay 'straight' is heart-rendering with friends wanting
to tempt Kyle back into drug dealing. Becky is desperate to find work
but becoming more frustrated by the constant rejections when prospective
employers find out about her prison sentence and Hitesh has cut himself
off from his family in Bangalore and is determined to complete his master's
degree.
This was fine, assured acting from a cast who multi-role with confidence.
It is a moving, forceful production strongly directed by Nancy Hirst.
Robin Strapp
Fit For Purpose
By Catherine O'Shea
The Pleasance and End Child Detention
Pleasance Courtyard
***
The plight of asylum seekers is a contentious issue and particularly
for the many children who are detained in interment centres. Aruna,
beautifully played by Antoinette Tagoe, is a Somali mother who has brought
her 13-year-old daughter Kaeli (Zeni Sekabanja) to the UK.
Their journey to escape the horrors of war, rape and slavery was torturous,
nearly dying when their boat capsizes near Italy and finally being incarcerated
by the UK Border Agency to the notorious Yarl's Wood detention centre.
Most of the officers are not sympathetic to their predicament and treat
them atrociously with a regime of control and constraint resulting in
a five-week hunger strike.
A local women's group tries to help them in their quest to stay in
the country by providing translators and legal advice.
There were some fine individual performances in this moving poignant
story that raised many questions on our treatment of asylum seekers.
Robin Strapp
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