Edinburgh Fringe 2011
Low Down
One Fine Day is a 90 minute monologue depicting one mans struggle against being wrongfully accused of a crime that never actually took place. Over the course of the 90 minutes the audience bear witness to a man whom quite literally fights adversity before their eyes. First produced by Bill Kenwright in 1995; One Fine Day twists and turns like a rollercoaster before arriving at its humbling conclusion.
Review
This monologue presents a real challenge to performer and creative team alike. The writing takes the character across a whole variety of locations and depicts a whole host of environments and scenarios, all of which are critical to the success of the telling the story, and doing the writing justice. This production achieves precisely that, the direction is intelligent and the performance from Jake Addley is captivating. The direction allows the action to shift focus from scene to scene with fluidity and ease. At times the scene change are a little predictable, however do exactly what is required of them and allow the audience to move along with the plot.
It is clear to see that the hardest job of all here falls to the single actor who finds himself having to hold an audience on his every-word for 90 minutes without the support of any other performers. This, as others will agree with, is both an actors dream and worst nightmare. I can only imagine Addley has been dreaming of playing this role for months. His sensitivity to the character, the way he finds both the vocal and physical details to capture each and every moment like a polaroid photograph is exceptional. He demonstrates an impeccable skill-set with regards to textual analysis and performance and is able to negotiate the work with intellectual and theatrical prowess, fitting to the most practiced performer.
One Fine Day is a true masterclass in storytelling and performing a solo show. Once the show has gone down, in true Edinburghian style Jake Addley returned to the space to get the show out in preparation for the next. The audience of 8 had thoroughly enjoyed the show, and were asked to spread the word. I got up from my seat, thanked him and rushed out of the venue. As for his request to spread the word, that is exactly what I did.
