Edinburgh Fringe 2009
East 10th Street: Self Portrait with Empty House
Edgar Oliver
Venue: Traverse
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
This one-man show sees Edgar Oliver, a well known figure in the
Review
‘East 10th Street’ is a simple show: New York actor Edgar Oliver tells us the story of the East Village tenement building he has spent most of his life in, and of the host of eccentric characters that have haunted it too. There’s no set, just lights from each corner of the stage, illuminating Oliver’s unassuming figure, simply clad in a black shirt and trousers.
But when he opens his mouth – well, anyone unfamiliar with his voice could be forgiven for thinking it was put on. But it becomes apparent this old-style luvvie ‘ac-torr’ is touchingly genuine. His deliciously deep and sonorous voice is fascinating to listen to, extravagantly rolling his ‘r’s, and seeming to savour each prolonged vowel sound.
The tales he tells match his delivery with their own eccentricity. He has a classic New Yorker’s obsession with their flat – but to be fair, his is more interesting than most. Moving into the house on East 10th Street in the 1970s seems to have been tantamount to moving into a mental asylum: downstairs an alcoholic ‘mulatto postman’ drank his vodka with milk (he suffered from ulcers) and waged a vicious war on the old woman who lived in the room next door, in a nest of rags she spent all day, every day washing. She was convinced Hitler stopped over in the house ‘on his way to
Oliver’s delivery is consistently entertaining, both funny and slightly eerie – moments of ponderous stillness contrast with his camply performative flurries, hands fluttering and flapping. Somewhat unnervingly, this is an autobiographical piece and these stories are surely true, although it’s all wrapped up in rather verbose language. A consummate performer, Oliver is able to hold the audience’s attention just standing still on an empty stage, which he seems to fill with that splendid voice. It’s impressive, but nonetheless a little limited. This is a performance which comes from the heart, capturing loneliness amongst the grotesqueries of his descriptions, but it is not the most dynamic fare on offer at the festival.
