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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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1998 Fringe Reviews 5
Between the Lines Between the Lines is described as a "romantic musical comedy", which I confess I found a little off-putting. It is redolent of the sub-Coward staple diet of the more conservative amateur companies and that would have been enough for me to give it a miss, given the huge number of shows on offer at the Fringe. However the name Ayckbourn in the credits, even though he was the lyricist rather than the writer, made me think twice. I'm glad I did. This three-handed backstage musical is a real joy. The plot is very simple: a musician/composer (Stephen), an actress (Jenny) and an actor (Roger) rehearse and perform a musical. As they do so, the relationship between Jenny, the less experienced of the two performers, and Roger develops. There are eleven musical numbers, all of them tuneful and well performed as solos,duets or trios. The dialogue is sharp and consistently amusing, and the minor characters - played by Elizabeth Hill (Jenny) and Richard Shelton (Roger) - are nicely judged parodies. This was a thoroughly professional production in every way: the writing, the music and the performances are all of a very high standard and although the play could not be described as being at the cutting edge of theatre, this is no bad thing. There is an important place, even at events like the Fringe, for the traditional well-made, well-performed play. Between the Lines fills that spot admirably. Macbeth I have seen more bad productions of Macbeth than of any other Shakespeare play - I'm talking professional as well as amateur here - so I approach any version with trepidation. However, this production takes an unusual approach and I felt that, as a reviewer, I really should see it. It's a promenade production, beginning in Greyfriars Kirkyard and travelling through the closes and wynds of the Royal Mile, ending back at Greyfriars. The company is made up of professional actors from the US and Scotland. I made the right decision: this is a dramatic experience not to be missed. The constantly changing setting creates a unique atmosphere which adds enormously to the enjoyment of the play. It would, of course, have been even more effective if it had been played in semi-darkness, but you can't have everything and this company is doing so many shows (eight!) that they are working to a very tight schedule. And anyway, I can see huge problems in moving from place to place and making sure their audience can see properly at a later time. Any outdoor production must strike a balance between the need for subtlety in performance and projection to compensate for the difficult acoustics of the various settings, especially when the actors are on the move, leading the audience who follow behind them. The Frantic Redhead actors got the balance right. Joshua Wolf Coleman as Macbeth has a superb voice. It is full and rich, and he projects well, and, if he is a tad declamatory, it suits both the character and the style of performance. In Elizabeth Huffman, however, we had one of the best Lady Macbeths I have ever seen. Sensuous, passionate and hard as nails at the outset, we see the deterioration to the broken, haunted woman of the play's end unfold before our eyes. There are many good things in this production, but especially worthy of mention is Scottish actor James Yule, playing a multitude of parts, including one of the witches and a magnificent Porter (although it has to be said that that particular part is a gift to any actor!). Thank goodness I decided to ignore my instinct to avoid this production! I would have missed one of the highlights of this year's Fringe. Fall for Me Fall for Me is based - a little loosely - on A Midsummer Night's Dream and is set in Central Park in the summer of 1967, the "summer of love". Instead of fairies, we have aliens from galactic space, instead of rude mechanicals we have a rock band, and the lovers consist of two hippies, a Vietnam veteran and his sister. The love potion is an aerosol spray invented by the Titania-figure, an inter-galactic fashion queen, whilst the ass's head becomes an enormous erect penis with a red light in its tip! It's fun and the music has an authentic sixties feel, but for me it became a little too much of a farce at the end with the characters chasing each other around the theatre. The ending of Dream is very satisfying, with all the characters restored to the way they should be, but the ending of Fall for Me is a litle too rushed and does not satisfy to anything like the same extent. It's well done, yes, but the weakness is in the script. The idea is good but, frankly, it needs more work. Next page - - - Index |
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