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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 1997 Reviews (7)It's Uncanny ****The Weird Sisters The Weird Sisters are Alison Goldie (BBC2's Travel Show) and Kate Burlinson. And yes, it's another play about women's lives! But this one's different: for a start, it's funny whilst still making serious points. The two actresses play 28 parts between them, ranging from two young girls (who grow to be women in the course of the play) to a pair of shoes! Changes of character are signalled by donning masks, wigs or costumes, or even simply by a change in voice or posture. Their background in stand-up comedy is very apparent in their easy relationship with the audience, asking its opinions, chatting, and even holding a survey on blow-jobs! The play is about Jo and Steph, and the trials, tribulations and joys of growing up as women . Their lives are guided by two old witches, Crone Flossie (Goldie) and Crone Connie (Burlinson). The audience (me included) never stopped laughing, but the points about the problems which confront women were well made. A clever, virtuoso piece. Aurelius The Valiant Apprentice *** National Youth Music Theatre Aurelius was greeted with great enthusiasm by the audience on the day I was there, but the impression I got was that the majority of those present were families or friends of the performers. I confess that I, on the other hand, found the show a little disappointing. The programme notes say that this is not the definitive Aurelius: he, it says, will be chopped, changed, adjusted, re-ordered and fine-tuned over the coming months and years. I'm glad, for he needs to be. It's a sprawling show, more reminiscent of panto than anything else and, whilst that might be in keeping with the chap-book adventure on which the show is based, it does not make for theatre that holds your attention. I found mine wandering on a few occasions, and even though it was the ninetenth show I'd seen in seven days, that shouldn't really happen, especially since most of my professional theatre life nowadays is spent in YT work. Like all good youth theatre shows, it gives a large cast plenty of opportunity to show what they can do, and what this group can do is sing. They sing well, but their acting is less impressive. That's not true of all of them, of course: 17 year old James Hoare who plays Aurelius has plenty of potential and I was impressed by 14 year old Victoria Yeates, who has great stage presence and knows how to use it. But for the rest, I was very conscious all the time that these were kids acting, a feeling which I never had when watching Young Pleasance's The Lightning Man. One last criticism: the curtain went up to reveal the orchestra and immediately one musician began waving to people in the audience - and then went on to point out who she was waving at to one of her fellow musicians. In my companies that's a hanging offence! Lusty Juventus This piece is listed under Dance and Physical Theatre in the Fringe programme and so one comes prepared to apply different standards from those used in looking at pure theatre, or even physical theatre which has a strong voice element, such as the work of Steven Berkoff. But by any standards this is a no-no. Billed as an exploration of the effects indoctrination and guilt can have on the development of a personality, it uses words and quite basic movement. Unfortunately, at one hour and fifteen minutes it's three quarters of an hour too long. It's very repetitive, labouring its point, so that I, and other members of the audience near me, spent almost as much time looking at our watches as at the show. A sad end to my first week at the Fringe, but I suppose I have been very lucky really: only one show out of twenty which bored the hell out of me!
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