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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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1998 Fringe Reviews 1Lifts Lifts is playing from 6th to 22nd August. The composer and book co-writer, Leighton James House, is musically self-taught and, for the last five years since he was 15, has been writing music. The lyricist and other co-writer is Matthew Knowles. An author suffering from writer's block is trapped in a lift on his way to see his publisher who is pressing for his latest novel. The lift stops between floors and he meets a Spirit who shows him a real-life story which he can turn into a novel. The story is played out before us, with interventions by the Spirit to ensure a happy ending. There is, of course, a final twist: the story is part of the Spirit's life - she had caused the problems - and, by solving them, she releases herself from the spirit world and the writer replaces her as the Spirit of the Lift. The musical style is Sondheim, but I have to confess that I found it a bit dull at times. The performances were of a good standard, certainly, but the choreography was repetitive, as, to a large extent, was the music. But really the story was, for me, the great weakness of the piece. It had a "manufactured" feel: events didn't flow naturally, but rather were manipulated. Frankly, I couldn't suspend my disbelief! On the other hand, this should be seen as a positive beginning. Both House and Knowles are still very young, and, given time, will develop their craft. Keep an eye on them in the future: they hve real potential. Richard III The ESC has been known since its start for "different" interpretations of Shakespeare, but Richard III as a toddler in a romper suit with a plastic sword and a bouncy castle? Now that is really weird! The funny thing is, it works! We tend to forget, in our reverence for Shakespeare, that the history plays are not tragedies. They are, in the main, chronicles, but chronicles with a propaganda point to make, and nowhere is this more true than in Richard III. In fact, here the propaganda is so important that the play, quite frankly, becomes melodrama. Is there a blacker villain anywhere than Richard, that "foul, bunch-backed toad"? Even William Corder who so wickedly murdered poor innocent Maria Marten at the Red Barn pales into insignificance in comparison! This ESC production forces us to re-evaluate our response to the play. Director Malachi Bogdanov had pared it down to the essentials: it lasts for an hour and a half (which means many scenes and speeches have been drastically shortened or even disappear altogether - the "foul bunch-backed toad" has vanished, sadly), and the play is performed by five actors (plus a huge range of dolls and teddy bears!). But the language hasn't changed: it's still pure Shakespeare. At first it is very disorientating, hearing this poetic language from "little children" (for the actors establish the nursery setting very quickly indeed), but we soon become used to it until the incongruity of it all hits us at various points, having an effect not dissimilar to Brechtian alienation. But if that sense of alienation were all that the interpretation produced, then the production would, to be honest, be nothing more than a bit of gimmickry. No, this production lays bare the appalling selfishness of all the characters by letting us see their behaviour in terms of childish tantrums. And yes, we do laugh. I have never before seen a production of Richard III which provoked laughter (except for bad acting!), but this one does, quite frequently. However the laughter does not detract: if anything, it reinforces the bleakness of the view of human nature with which it presents us. And here Bogdanov does, I think, go beyond what Shakespeare intended: the Tudor victory at Bosworth Field is not a new start, with hope for the future. It is just more of the same - another selfish little child has taken over. I was worried that I was going to hate this production, because I love the play. But I didn't! It's going on tour after Edinburgh,and as soon as I get the venues and dates from the company I'll out them online. If it comes (as they say) to a theatre near you, see it. It's worth it! Toilets AxC was due to present this play at the Leicester Comedy Festival but it was banned by Oadby and Wigston Borough Council, not because someone from the Council had seen it and thought is was offensive, but because they felt the title was inappropriate! A cue here, I think, for a long diatribe on censorship, but I shall resist the temptation and merely express the opinion that yet another local council has illustrated why the whole system of local government is held in such contempt by the British people. Toilets is actually an anagram of T. S. Eliot, whose poetry is quoted (and parodied) extensively in this 45 minute piece which is set in a toilet. But this isn't an excuse for the sort of toilet humour that so delights little boys: the toilet is in a community centre and here we see a number of characters coming and going, showing us something of their lives. It's amusing and has some clever ideas. As the play progresses we see how the lives of the seemingly unconnected characters intersect. It has elements of farce as well as some wickedly funny parodies of Eliot's poetry. Very definitely a "feel good" production! Tamagotchi Heaven Kara Miller, the author of Tamagotchi Heaven, made her first impact as a writer at last year's Fringe with Undine which went on the be a Radio 4 Monday Play and "Pick of the Week" for Time Out, the Telegraph and the Mail. The 23 year old writer returns this year with a new play based on the cyberpet craze. Tamagotchi Heaven is about one of life's failures, Emily, a 29 year old secretary, who is unable to sustain any relationships, not just with men but even with her own flatmates. Just, in fact, the sort of sad person for whom a cyberpet has an appeal! We see the failure of her love-life and the deterioration in her relations with others, leading to her dependency on her cyberpet (at one point she even masturbates with it), but she can't even sustain this relationship. It's sad but funny, and superbly performed by the cast of three. Amanda Drew as Emily is particularly successful at portraying the complexity of the character. This was a beautifully judged performance, ably supported by Syan Blake as flatmate Janice, and Russell Bond as Tama the Tamaguchi was an absolute delight! Other parts (people outside the flat to whom Emily speaks on the phone, including the man she really fancies) were shown on film, an idea which could have backfired but which, thanks to the quality of the acting, worked well. No Sex in Paradise No Sex in Paradise is something of an oddball, even for the Edinburgh Fringe. It's a play, certainly, and is performed by a company specifically formed to present it, but it doesn't fit with the rest of the Fringe's offerings. For a start, all of the actors are amateur and the vast majority have never set foot on a stage before. Second, more than half of the cast only began rehearsals three days before the first performance. Third, the reason for the show is not theatrical at all. According to producer/director/writer Osa-Omorogbe, the play is a celebration of the mixed cultures of the British Isles. Cast members are drawn from a mixture of ethnic groups - African, Asian, English and Scottish - and support for the project came from the Edinburgh Africa Centre and the Black Community Development Project, as well as from the Tyne and Wear Racial Equality Council. To review this show in theatrical terms would be grossly unfair. What one can say is that it succeeded in its aim of getting people from a variety of cultures to work together to produce a piece which celebrates multi-ethnicity. The audience enjoyed it: sitting in front of me was a group made up of people from Africa, India, Islamic Africa and South America, and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves!
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