Thanks to the eerie magic of the Wayback Machine, FringeReview’s maiden year of reviewing has not been lost to posterity. Our first web site was home made by yours truly who knew bugger all about web design. It was a one page web site with reviews in alphabetical order. I knew not what hyperlinks were!
Anyway, for those old enough to remember, and those young enough with nothing better to do, here are our first reviews from the year 2006…
|
Alvin Ungloved The Lowdown The Review Between songs he gave anecdotes from his long and eventful career, these were fresh and funny and genuinely moving. Most impressive was his energy and commitment, this never once felt like nostalgic cabaret. Alvin also belatedly reveals himself to be a very fine guitarist.
|
|
Played: Underbelly Rating: **** Reviewed by G.P. 25th Aug 2006
And Even My Goldfish An intriguing if sometimes disjointed piece on relationships The Review What confused me at the start was the seemingly random mixture of mime, voiceover and dance, but this soon came to provide the charm of the piece. The hugely tall central character had elements of Mr Bean in his goofy mannerisms, however his size allowed for some wonderful pieces of physicality with the shorter members of the cast. The deterioration of the main characters’ relationship was mirrored with beautifully choreographed dances by other cast members, which served to highlight the struggles of love. All in all this unusual style of theatre worked incredibly well, and this young and talented company is worthy of your fringe pennies. Played: C-Central Studios Rating: *** Reviewed by A.B. 16 Aug 2006 |
| ASAP Stopped Clock A fine four-hander, full of energy from a talented cast The Lowdown A fairytale about love & loss set in Liverpool. Paul & Sam (out-of-towners) meet Amy & Anna (scouse sisters) and fall in love. When a tragic accident rips two of them away, how will the remaining couple cope? The Review There is so much to commend this fast-paced, energetic comedy of relationships. Most of the audience in this sell-out show gave it a standing ovation and clapped and cheered at various stages. You might not be blamed for thinking you’d stumbled into cult show. And cult show this might become. The mostly under thirties audience loved the story, of two man and two women (sisters) and their journey through fun, laughter, pain, love and loss. The writing is crisp, with some classic lines, terrific banter and interaction, the pacing is good, the scenes are one moment funny, the next touching and serious. The story itself doesn’t particularly break new ground, but it is engaging nonetheless. The cast know how to sing and the few songs only add to the whole heart-warming nature of the piece. All of the cast are strong in a play that will put a smile on your face and a tear in your eye. The show plays late (about 10.10pm) and makes for an ideal night out after a meal. It’s a positive, feel-good play that is full of heart, humour and a terrific sense of life and how to survive and enjoy it. Rating: **** Reviewed by P.L. . 13th August 2006
|
|
Bat Boy – The Musical The Review Taking stories from the supermarket tabloid “Weekly World News” as their However, before you start thinking that you’re into “Dukes Of Hazzard” To give more details away would be to spoil the fun. Suffice it to say that
|
|
Rating: **** Reviewed by D.D. 21st August 2006 |
| Bedbound Whoever Fights Monsters Dark humour, the pain of living when hopes are dashed The Lowdown The Review We are witness to the telling of their life stories; he as a furniture salesman, she before her Polio confined her to her bed. Claustrophobic pieces such as this can become unwatchable unless they are engaging. This is a play where the walls have closed in, not just physically represented by the cramped living space, but also the symbolic walls that have closed in on two lives built around a bedridden state. The bed represents lost opportunity, regret. We can all become metaphorically bedridden and, these days, many people are. The script keeps the attention but also dares us to look away or close our ears. Yet we are drawn in by the monologue and dialogue in this well crafted piece. The actors are to be commended on their ability to hold us still; I sensed no fidgeting as the audience were held by the emerging story. Writing and acting can do this when the pauses really are as important as the spoken words. Young actors Theo Leonard and Lizzie Sankey acted beyond their years and were convincing in their emotional commitment and intensity. Director Ellie Dowall is to be commended for keeping the set and the staging simple in a piece that is complex and could be over-done/. It isn’t overdone and we are drawn into the space though Leonard’s high-energy, characterisation leaps across the stage and creates a person who is both comical and fearful. This contrasts impressively with Sankey’s stillness – much of her own impact comes from some nicely done eye and facial theatre. Leonard’s acting is almost too much of a one-man show at times and he is too young to be fully believable as a father figure. Yet overall, this is a very laudable rendition of a play that is full of darkness and requires the actors to hold the stage well. They succeed. Rating: **** Reviewed by P.L. 12th August 2006
Bite Size The Lowdown The Review What I like about this show, and what gets it the strong star-rating is choice of material, the playfulness of offering such a wide variety of well-written work. This isn’t radical theatre and that is not to criticise it; this is theatre that mixes different styles and genres of acting and short play-writing, and the group pulls it off. There is a very poignant short piece in which a disappointing one night stand turns into a short exploration of memory and how we remember the good and the bad in our lives. Another piece, surrealist in quality, is a dialogue between two women (I won’t spoil what happens) and there is some lovely interplay and timing between the two characters with a neat twist at the end. It’s the sheer variety that pulls it all off in the end. There is monologue, dialogue, music, some very funny comedy dancing of two mothers struggling through life’s routine, there is comedy, drama – it’s all there, and it is that variety that gives Bite Size its unique take on the Fringe. I enjoyed the mix of pieces from the opening tragicomic monologue about about a kleptomaniac, to the end-piece about which was an hilarious satire on the film industry. Sadly I was only able to see one of the “menus” on offer. However, if this half is anything to go by, I would strongly recommend you go to see both. And I suppose the format is repeatable with new plays, so watch out for more Bite-Size in the future. Go see this gem at Roman Eagle Lodge. Rating: *****
The Review Of course, this may not appeal to the emotionally-barren reviews that one sometimes meets at Festivals who love to trash anything with a warm heart. This is powerful storytelling but it is also a performance with heart. We smile with Bonnie and also share her reactions to the shadowy side of a town whose love of playfulness can also create pain as well as pleasure. The show isn’t too long, the story is real, fun, sad, inspiring, and mostly enjoyable. Go and see it. I mean, GO AND SEE IT. SIX STARS IF I COULD. Rating: *****
Cabin Fever
The Review As a two person show, the potential for the other part is under-realised, the young boss spending much of the play bound and gagged, but Frost is a real tour de force. The play is written by Jim Sweeney, a comic turned writer who clearly understands the world he writes about. Frost’s energy stops this show turning into a grumpy-old-men rant. Rating: *** Played:The Gilded Balloon Teviot Reviewed by G.P 25th August 2006
Clamp’d A fast-moving and funny two-hander Well worth an hour
Tom kidnaps Gerry. So far, so cat and mouse. But Tom is a decorated Falklands veteran, while Gerry’s a traffic warden – and who’s going to miss one of those? A tale of duty, guilt and parking regulations. The Review Hidden in the undiscovered reaches of Edinburgh is this enjoyable short play in ClubWEST. A simple but engaging enough idea draws you in immediately – the kidnapping of a traffic warden in search of fifteen minutes of fame. The two characters work well together and there’s a sense of Hancock and James about them. The traffic warden is a prisoner, clamped himself by an angry and unfulfilled captor. It goes on from there with a neat twist at the end. You’ll enjoy this show is you like a simple story delivered through very competent character acting. You’ll want to know what happens in the end. You’ll like and dislike each character but you’ll laugh at both. A simple set, the director has left the piece to express itself through the enjoyable interplay between captor and captured! Another hidden find worth seeing. See more of Clamp’d on TV here. Rating: **** Played: ClubWEST @ Edinburgh Theosophical Society Reviewed by P.L. 13th August 2006
Clint Westwood Just you, me and the mountain goat. Clint’s suburban dream of becoming a cowboy has come true. Songs and stories of roundups, rustlers and the 7.36 from Victoria. A set of songs Dolly Parton would be proud of. Terrific music, high-quality comedy from a witty and full-bloodied musician-comedian; much to enjoy here in a show that can be touching as well as immensely entertaining The Review Armed with his guitar and ukulele and with the occasional support of a mountain goat Anthony “Lou” Macari is terrific as the singing cowboy Clint Westwood. Whether telling us about his slightly dubious relationship with his sister /cousin, Jolene, or singing about a lovesick plumber, this is top notch character comedy. What makes it so enjoyable is Macari’s warm, charismatic stage presence and an excellent set of songs. More spunk than Clint Eastwood. More balls than Vivienne Westwood!! Don those cowboy boots and go see it, god-dammit! Rating: ***** Played:The Gilded Balloon Teviot Reviewed by M.K. 15th August 2006
Count Arthur Strong The Lowdown The Review Rating: ***** Reviewed by S.G 7th August 2006
Diamond Johnny-Ray The Lowdown One of two plays (also Played is Miss Dis’Grace showing at the Roman Eagle Lodge, we took in Diamond Johnny-Ray, a story a boy and his search for an elusive father. It’s a tale of growing up, of seeking acceptance and feeling rejection, of drag queens and the army. The Review Who is Rigger Ron really? Where’s my dad? This is a thoroughly engaging performance that takes in coming of age, the pain and joys of family life, stealing, sex, drugs and “falsies” – this is about a son growing up and trying “tear away” from being a tear-away. One-person shows can often fall flat and not hold a story together. Travis Oliver keeps our attention all the way through, he holds the stage and delivers a moving story that is full of gritty reality and much humour. Oliver moves around the stage, plays family, friends and a few enemies in a tale that spans the age of growing up. I have never experienced a life like Johnnie-Ray yet felt drawn in and interested in how it would all turn out. There are a few twists and turns in the story and once or twice I was struggling a little so connect all the pieces of the story. It doesn’t get a bit too complex in places. But it all comes together so movingly at the end that the journey is worth it. This is a performance of excellent timing and it isn’t overplayed which gives it the realism that is supported by well-written monologue. The characters are often outrageous yet also believable. We cheered Johnny-Rae at the end – and we were cheering the character AND the performer. One-man shows built around a life story don’t come much more impressive than this. Rating: **** Played Roman Eagle Lodge Theatre Reviewed by P.L. 13th August 2006
Fish Story The Lowdown “…an uproarious, biting and true-ish tale of the dangerously bored and the extraordinarily deceitful. ‘One of the most energetic, inventive, riotously funny companies around, delivering dazzlingly original, anarchic takes on modern living” The Review An incredibly brave performance from Fringe favourites, People Can Run, seems at first a departure for them, but in fact steps firmly in the direction hinted at by the ending of last year’s hit, Aruba. Exploring the implications of assuming a fantasist’s false reality, these extraordinary performers dare to create huge and bizarre characters trapped in a Becketian wasteland somewhere near the the M25 where they await the mysterious Mr Fish. Beset with paranoia and half-remembered dreams of another world in which people have names, jobs and reward cards, we begin to question which reality is preferable. Ballsy, bizarre and brilliant. Played: The Pleasance Courtyard Rating: ***** Reviewed by L.H. 15th August 2006
Greedy The Lowdown The Review It’s refreshing to see a few performers the wrong side of thirty showing the skills they have acquired. There was more to the sketches than just good ideas, they were all well performed, and demanded great versatility from the performers, all of whom had to sing, dance, and show great movement skills. The disparate parts were cleverly brought together by great music and lighting. In an overcrowded category, greedy shows how it’s done.
|
|
Played: Underbelly Rating: **** Reviewed by G.P. 25th Aug 2006 |
| Hysteria Inspector Sands and Stamping Ground Theatre (United Kingdom) A not–to-be-missed piece of theatre and manic hilarity from a fine theatre company The Lowdown A man and a woman are on the most awkward dinner date of their lives in this piece of surreal, powerful theatre – “The world is ending. And it’s happening at table 9.” The Review It is all here: a gripping sense of fear, paranoia, laughter, and an almost manic interchange of personalities and human interaction. I am delighted to see such creativity and boldness put into a production by a UK-based theatre company. Stamping Ground’s style is truly expressive, the piece is cleverly lit, and the whole piece really does converge around some of the latent hysteria endemic in these over-analytical times But this is also effortless comedy, almost charming in parts, sometimes a little too staccato in its transitions, but always engaging and often disturbing. But the piece has a hilarity that borders on hysteria at time! I love this kind of work for its sheer competence at creating all the right ingredients of comedy and theatre – blatant expression, humour and playfulness with language and movement. Fine work. Rating: ***** Played: Aurora Nova Reviewed by S.G. 8th August 2006
Improbable Frequency The Lowdown “It’s 1941. Europe is at war and espionage is the front line. As the rest of the world gets on with the small matter of the Second World War, Dublin’s lights burn flagrantly and Europe’s intellectual elite has come to play. But suspicious messages on a radio requests-show have drawn the attention of M15 and a diffident young code-breaker is dispatched to Dublin to determine which side neutral Ireland is really on. “ The Review The Songs are terrific in a show that is rather too long but still breathtaking in the wit of the script, the versatility of the performers and the sheer energy of the production. The set is outrageous (I won’t spoil it any more for you). You have to go with this show or you might find yourself feeling detached from it, I went with it. Another production full of heart, loaded to the hilt with words, music and activity, it has moments that are breathtaking, foot-tapping, laugh aloud, intense – it is a full performance and deserves to huge applause from its audience. Rating: **** Reviewed by S.G 8th August 2006
Lizzie Roper in Peccadillo Circus The Lowdown The Review |
|
This was my first experience of both Lizzie Roper and “verbatim” theatre and neither disappointed. If I understand correctly, the essential feature of “verbatim” is that the actors or actor are literally listening to the recorded voices of real life people through headphones live on stage. They are then repeating what they hear to the audience. If one of the intentions of this is so that the actor creates a realistic characterisation of the person then Lizzie Roper fulfils this requirement superbly. For this show she has interviewed a number of people about their sex lives and wow! I obviously don’t get out enough because some of what they say is, as my grandma might have said, a little racy! Roper portrays six different characters of varying ages and sexual inclinations and they are all beautifully defined and wonderfully believeable. Roper is also an accomplished stand-up and this comes out clearly in her performance. This is an extremely funny show. It also contained my favourite joke so far on the fringe! Great stuff! |
| Rating: **** Played: Gilded Balloon Teviot Reviewed by M.K 17th August 2006
Love Labours Won The Lowdown The Review This is a tale of love lost and love won, in classic style with enough irony and satire to keep you smiling and engaged. It’s a genuinely enjoyable hour for fans of Shakespeare and also lovers of theatre that laughs at itself with charm, panache and no short amount of competence. The cast work hard and also seem to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. I feel that the cast is a bit young for the piece and the verse is so good that the performance is sometimes too much verse and rhyming couplets and not enough sheer theatre. But that’s how good the script is. These are fine actors, but this show requires some more experienced performers to really deliver the piece. That’s the only quibble – the show appears a little too much like a student production and it isn’t.. These are talented and impressive actors. But the text is rich and requires one or two of the cast to be a bit older, with a little more depth and life experience. But nevertheless, this show was all the ingredients of a marvelous hour of entertainment. As a writer, Smith is one to watch. As a show, you’ll thoroughly enjoy yourselves. Rating: ****
Mein Gutt A little gem of a one-man show, told from the heart, delivered from the gut! The Lowdown To the strains of Morrissey’s ‘You’re The One For Me Fatty’, Hefty sits surrounded by chicken legs and Guinness cans, reflecting on his past, and the history of the world in an enjoyable, moving and ultimately very funny show The Review Sometimes some of the most wroth-seeing shows on the Fringe are hidden in small venues that are letting their performers down with poor marketing (and sometimes simply obscure location). ClubWEST is Played to a few “finds” of which this show is one. In conversational style in this tiny venue, Doug Devaney has written and is performing in a tragicomic polemic on the nature of being “large”. Devaney’s style is informal as he delivers a classic piece of story-performance that never preaches, often humorously informs, and always interests. Devany has researched his material but also speaks from experience. The one-liners are funny, the story is well-crafted and the facts about corn flour have made me seriously consider a diet. This is a genuine show without ever becoming cheesy. Devaney knows how to write, and gives us a performance that has depth and laugh-aloud humour. The visual and verbal gags work and there are plenty of them, but they never get in the way of a thoroughly impressive one man show. Well worth a trip down the hill on the other side of Princes Street. Played: ClubWEST @ Edinburgh Theosophical Society Rating: **** Reviewed by A.W. 13th August 2006
Other People The Lowdown “ One sofa. Two friends. One girlfriend and only two tickets to the gig of the century. Hilarious exploration of male friendship in the vein of Seinfeld.” The Review The premise os this two-hander is simple; two flat-mates discuss thier lives and loves, from The Beatles to being a Human Statue. Writers Matt Gocene and Darren Richman have created beautifully observed childish arguments interspersed with top-notch humour and dry wit. Both Tom Filton (Jonathon) and Darren Richman (Michael) execute the script with a fine, natural comic style and pace. I knew I was in very capable hands when the opening seconds of the play had myself and the audience in stitches and subsequently for the next hour. This is a must see at this year’s Fringe. Played: C Central, North Bridge Rating: **** Reviewed by J.W. 21st August 2006
Petrol Jesus Nightmare #5 (In the Time of the Messiah) The Lowdown The Review James Cunningham plays Slomo, presenting a character of cold cleverness that shocks. A man of violent motive, and cunning. Aleksandar Mikic is also excellent is Buddy.; they are sometimes hard to listen to, mercenary in their approach to a war that few truly understand. The Middle Eastern conflict is such a complex set of issues that the play is necessarily selective in what is covered. The pleasure in killing is portrayed as part of this selectivity and perhaps some other aspects of the Middle Eastern puzzle are left out. For example, the fact that death is also for many a painful dilemma – to kill or be killed, to turn the other cheek or to seek revenge. This is no morality play; no, it is a depiction of certain folk in the midst of a hopeless conflict. Sharply written, brilliantly staged. Another must-see from this award-winning writer. Rating: **** Played: The Traverse Theatre Reviewed by I.P. 8th August 2006
The Garden The Lowdown History repeats itself for two war-torn survivors. Powerful drama with stunning multimedia, inspired by The Lost Gardens of Heligan. The Review A very beautiful, subtle, sublime performance featuring ingenious projection, crafty object manipulation, humour, charm, wit and skilled physical theatre. AN intelligent and thought-provoking study of post-traumatic stress disorder interweaving stories of World War One and the former Yugoslavia with a lost Cornish garden and a granny with a dictaphone. Wonderful. Don’t miss. Played: The Pleasance Dome Rating: *****
The Yellow Wallpaper The Lowdown The Review With imaginative choreography and direction, the director makes good use of the stage and voices; using echoing, and speaking simultaneously reaching a Although well staged and acted the venue itself lets productions down; with an oddly spaced venue, and badly placed pillars, you need to fight to get a good spot to watch. The company, Room 37, are a drama class from Cheltenham Ladies College. It is great to see awonderful story delivered with a professional style and a fresh approach. Played: Greyfriars Kirk house Reviewed by J.W. 25th August 2006
Tits and Blood The Lowdown The Review And then along comes this rejuvenating LaBute curiosity. You perhaps remember Neil LaBute’s extraordinary and unsettling movie In The Company Of Men. Tits and Blood, though, does not have a traditional narrative structure like a movie I don’t want to give much away, as have others. This is the European premiere of Tits and Blood. It comes in two parts. The student actors – the very capable General’s Players from Washington and Lee University – spend a good amount of time talking to the audience directly and, in so doing, dismantling the so-called ‘theatrical fourth wall’ that divides actors from audience. Note, some level of verbal audience participation is sought. Criticisms? I wanted more! Manipulative and uncomfortable and great stuff! Played: Greyfriars Kirk House. (Venue 131) till 20 August then 22 – 28 August at Augustine’s (Venue 152) Rating: ****
Up The Gary The Lowdown One-man-show about a Gary Glitter tribute act. The Review The piece is written by performer Andrew Barron and Director Jessica Beck. Barron is touching and funny as the anti-hero, and genuinely thrilling when he dons the glitter. Production company Bad Penny have plans to tour the piece soon, it certainly deserves life after Edinburgh. Played: Underbelly Rating: ****
WitTank: Pop goes the iCulture The Lowdown The Review I sat there in the basement of the Roxy Art House, Blackout, Lights up; two actors wander on ‘Greenpeace?’ one says, ‘no, Help the Aged!’ the other says as he rips is shirt off revealing ‘help the aged’ and so the stage explodes in a wonderfully accurate West Side Story-esque battle complete with music and dance. The pace and style of this sketch show was perfect creating an almost TV like quality to it. Great one-liners, satire and bizarre , all manage to keep the audience gagging for more. It had a sense of Smack the Pony mixed with Big Train. All six actors are competent in their sketch show comedy; Played a littering tree, reenacting a car crash advert to recreating the seedy world of Postman Pat with ease. Look out for WitTank! Played: The Rocket Venue, Roxy Art House Rating: **** Reviewed by J.W. 25th August 2006
We also saw four shows that we have chosen not to publish reviews of. REVIEWS END 19:26 28th Aug 2006
And this was our reviews policy at the time… REVIEW PERSPECTIVE The biggest arts festivals become a sudden recruiting ground for a very large number of wannabe judges. I have spoken to some of them and watched others in action. Some do actually write the review in their head BEFORE seeing a show based on a love of the sheer power of it. Others simply have a fear of writing well and so pre-concoct reviews from a combination of borrowing from others’ clichés and choice phrases, combined with their own made-up clumsiness or use of stereotyping as a literary crutch. Trashing a show early in a festival is an easy thing for a poor reviewer to do. It gives them confidence and a “story to tell”. For some with even half a heart, it gets the “worst over with” at the start. Other reviewers like to bring work crashing down to earth (whether it is good or not) simply because it has warmth, which the particular “judger” fears for various reasons from their own biography. The disastrous combination for any theatre company or performer is the mix of a warm-hearted show (or indeed anything with a message) and a reviewer who is still trying to get surrogate revenge on his/her parents for “telling me what to do”. It is shocking and sad enough that the various so called quality newspapers and magazines recruit such pisspoor people in the first place, often from equally pisspoor amateur publications. But the big irony is that the very people who have often suffered at the hands of judgmental parents, lecturers or partners, now apply the same clumsy and heavy-handed destruction to shows which, by any COMMON SENSE view, are well put together, demonstrate creativity or talent. I have no personal axe to grind her and have made a fine living from the theatre work I am engaged with. I only care for the work and the warm and genuine response we get from our audiences. But the Darwinistic hatcheting that masquerades as “reviewing” is often cruel and massively harmful to well-intentioned and energetic people. A bad show is a bad show. But a good show at a festival can suffer the crime of being trashed on day one by talentless, pisspoor reviewing. It’s okay for someone not to like a show. It’s okay for someone to say why a show is badly written or directed, staged or performed. But it will never be okay for a pisspoor reviewer to pursue an agenda against an artist, to mock them out of clumsy cruelty, or to simply be allowed to NON-review a show because the newspaper or magazine is either corrupt or incompetent. Examples of pisspoor reviewing include: – a reviewer trashing a show when just about every audience member (representing a broad cross section of humanity often) adored it for COMMON SENSE reasons of it being well staged, written and delivered. The least the reviewer should so is report to future potential audiences what the majority reaction was. – a reviewer trashing a show not our of any review of the show’s quality but by allowing personal irritations to take the review over – a reviewer trying to be clever with the review at the expense of a review that allows future audiences to gain insight into the work. Often the pisspoor reviewer fails to be satirical or ironic, but is downright nasty and cruel for its own sake – a POOR review of a show simply because the reviewer “feels like it” or is trying to balance the number of poor reviews with the good ones for the day Paul Levy, Aug 2006 |
