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The Author by Tim Crouch, Traverse Theatre, August 29th: **coming to the North Wall, Oxford: Friday 24th - Saturday 25th September, 8.00pm** This is a review of The Author, a play that took place in the Traverse Theatre in August 2010; however, wherever the play may tour it is in fact set at the Royal Court Theatre. A man in the auditorium looks closer at a review he pulls out of his bag of an earlier production of the show, and it is blank, for there are no words as strictly speaking there is no play. Lift music is played as the audience sits facing each other waiting for something to happen and after a short time two people walk out. It turns out that the review the man is looking at is of one of the writer’s previous plays and some of the actors from this show sit amongst us and chat. On this occasion one audience member genuinely builds up her part and derails some of the threads of an argument the cast of the previous play have begun to spin. This is of no consequence. The acorns of ideas this seemingly-innocent group discussion plants grow sturdily into sinister shapes in the mind soon enough. A crime has been committed, arguably in the name of theatre. With a subtle twist at the end, this is revealed and the audience is left alone, literally wondering how to respond. Some applaud and some stay silent in the absence of a curtain call. The big question still up in the air appears to be: does the catharsis experienced in the room mean the crime is forgiven? Mellow music has been played during pauses in the discussion, there has been darkness and a song but then an usher opens the door and it is time to go for The Author has left the building. In the lobby area later the audience recognise each other and do not leave straight away, clinging to the same conversation topics. Post-show discussion revolves around making sense of what we have just seen inside the theatre, but there do not seem to be any words to describe it. Lita Doolan (DI Reviewer), 19/09/10 Shakespeare for Breakfast, C theatre, August 2010 Milling around the invigorating C venue with a strong coffee and the promise of a croissant is a great way to start the day, especially when the show included in the price of breakfast has more pep than the hot drink. This year, King Lear is given a makeover, literally, with botox sculpted jaw lines and a look-a-like Gok Wan to hand. Perky pop songs are given a Shakespearean nod with lyrics such as, ‘turn around mad eyes’ and there is some gutsy rapping to make it ‘accessible for kids’. Bite sized chunks of funny and frantic reality TV inspired scenes follow the demise of Lear (Richard Foster-King) as the players interact with the audience. Amy Cooke-Hodgson makes a hilarious Michael Aspel in the ingenious ‘This is your life’ scene as the strands are pulled together in one of the clearest explanations of the plot I have seen. Jessica Fostekew’s direction certainly cuts to the chase and opens with some banter turning to fighting from those two ‘peas in a peascod’, the sisters Goneril (Cooke-Hodgson) and Regan (Nicola Davis). Emily Swatton plays a delightfully daffy Cordelia with Barney McElholm and Nathan James Plant being more than equal to the action packed roles of Edmund and Gloucester respectively. The fact there is oodles of classically trained talent on stage allows the frivolity of this devised piece to hold depth. The dazzling glitter signs of the ‘Who wants to be a million-heir?’ quiz defines the play’s premise as Cordelia is the only daughter who falls for the father’s trick question about how much she loves him. From this the show takes on the full plot of a mammoth play and leaves you fizzing from the dancing in sequins, the fast quips and the infectious close harmony singing. Lita Doolan (DI Reviewer), 15/09/10 Bliss by Olivier Choiniere (translated by Caryl Churchill). Southampton University Students’ Union Theatre Group at C aquila – Roman Eagle Lodge. Olivier Choiniere’s surreal story outlines how devotion to a megastar can break the bubble of every day life with devastating consequences. The set is a collage of trashy magazines depicting the mind of an obsessive fan. Celine Dion takes us on a journey from her last arena gig to making a late night purchase at a Wal Mart. This is all told through the Oracle, a cashier who works at the store and shares her insights with fellow cashiers during their lunch break. C venues deserve rapturous applause for offering a suitable stage for Southampton University Students’ Union Theatre Group to present this Catherine wheel of a play. The writing is so intensely clever and personal, narrating a plot that is ever spiralling out of control with scenes of a violently challenging nature. It is a special delight to spot and enjoy a rarely performed play you feel passionately about and this was one of my magic fringe moments. Whilst the text is beautifully slippery, simultaneously describing two parallel lives that become intertwined, one central character (Oracle) carries a linear story. The excellent Irene Babille impeccably performs Oracle within the ensemble. Jonny Baynham gives equal measure of contempt and superiority to his Manager role as the hierarchy of staff is clearly punched out. Top of the shop is Olivia Whyte, exuding an arresting image on stage worthy of the sharpest cosmetic sales assistant. Chloe Green greets the audience personally as if we are customers and precisely executes this role as per the style of a faceless corporation. Harriet Collins clad in a supermarket overall plays the cello on stage and draws emotion from the words with a rich tone that echoes the loneliness of too much time spent in a vast supermarket. Edinburgh Fringe offers an unrivalled chance to chew over challenging work with its directors which I was grateful for. Ritu Arya and Jilna Shukla explain their fearless approach to the play and inspire a robust style in interpreting this self-reflexive tale through the quality of ensemble playing. The cast mingle, interact and are seated next to the audience through out. As the mirror that is held up to reality is broken, parts of the play are delivered around the audience. One of the strengths of C venues is notably the power and popularity of their site-specific work and it is enlightening to see performing groups using unique venues to their full dramatic potential. Aquila is latin for eagle and it’s great to see Roman Eagle Lodge, the original home of the Edinburgh Fringe, spread its wings under the imaginative C logo. Lita Doolan (DI Reviewer), 29/08/10 The Invisible Atom, Hill Street Theatre, 9pm This is a confusing, complex play, expanding in scope from the physics of subatomic particles to a critique of global capitalism just as the central character's world collapses to a single point in time. We delve inside the life of the symbolically named Atom (“As in the bomb, not the apple”) and see as his material success and familial fulfilment turn into a paranoid identity crisis, until he's seeing the collapse of civilisation under every quark. It's an unquestionably brilliant performance from Anthony Black, who excels at establishing character and mood just by shifting his accent and glasses. Barely straying from a single spot on the stage, he fleshes out an entire world and dozens of different personae before our eyes. Yet the whole effect is slightly underwhelming, the emotional beats falling flat- perhaps because the script is just a little too clever for its own good. Atom's girlfriend is a physicist, his estranged father a billionaire with investments in atomic research, even his cabdriver a former dirty bomb maker. It's all too pat, and this constructed feeling punctures the suspension of disbelief. A fantastic performance undermined by the play. Odyssey. Pleasance Dome, 3pm One man, without props, costumes or any effects beyond a few simple lighting changes illustrates one of the greatest stories in Western civilisation. Sounded like a tall order. I shouldn't have worried. George Mann doesn't need props or special effects: his entire body becomes the stage for Odysseus's journey, as well as the cast and scenery. His outspread arms are the creaking ship; his hands describe the stringing of a bow, the draw of a string, the flight of an arrow, and the exploding wound it leaves, all in a few seconds. His movement is fluid and beautiful, skilfully using a mixture of stylised movements with a few cinematic touches to instantly establish each location and character- thus we get the ever-moving, whispering gods, and stately Calypso of the extraordinarily erect nipples. This is a funny show, but it's also by turns thrilling and moving, as George Mann brilliantly illustrates Odysseus's longing, Penelope's joy, and Poseidon's rage, often within moments of each other. Highly recommended. How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse: Reloaded. Zoo Southside, 7.45pm The dead are coming- a plague of walking corpses, wanting nothing more than to sink their teeth into living flesh and share their undead curse. That's the opinion of the School of Survival, anyway, and this seminar will tell you how to cope when it happens- or, more accurately, tell you exactly why you'll be amongst those to die. As the hour went on, more and more of the audience were eliminated, for reasons as diverse as being lefthanded (“How the hell will you kill a zombie with a right-handed tin opener?”) to being a vegetarian (no energy to run away). There were some brilliantly funny bits, courtesy of the bizarre membership of the School- their grizzled survivalist confiding to us that he once gave a kangaroo gonorrhoea was a favourite- but the real fun came from the slightly mad friendliness of the perfomers and their charismatic leader, Dr. Dale. However, at times this show walked an uneasy line between exploring the comic potential of the dead rising and descending into a geeky discussion of the minutiae (“Can an animal become a zombie?”). When asked in the first few minutes who didn't know anything about zombies, only two people stuck up their hands*- and were instantly consigned to the dead list. There's no room for amateurs in the zombie apocalypse. But if you know your Romero from your Brooks, this is the ideal show for you. *Hi, Mum and Dad! Alwyn Collinson (DI Staff), 24/08/10 The Penny Dreadfuls vs. Pappy's: All Business (Pleasance One, 6.00pm and 7.20pm, respectively) Six actors. Two shows. One venue. More sketches than I can count. The Penny Dreadfuls and Pappy's (or the sketch group formerly known as Pappy's Fun Club, if you've seen them in years past) appear in Pleasance One after the other, and you can step naturally from the exit for one show into the queue for the other. Fans of sketch comedy, therefore, shouldn't miss this chance to compare two groups, both masters of the art, both surprisingly different. The performers encourage this pseudo-rivalry, anyway: Pappy's introduced themselves as “The Penny Brilliants”, while a few technical issues prompted one of the Dreadfuls to announce “If anyone would like a refund, just ask at the box office for Pappy's, that's P-A-P-P-Y-S.” The Dreadfuls may have abandoned their Victorian theme, but there's still a certain Gothic sensibility to the sketches; they're elaborate, baroque, slightly grotesque (in a good way), pulling the audience into a bizarre, twisted world of runaway orphans, wrestlers with PTSD, and perverted pirates. The whole show is slick, surreal and very funny, with a couple of running jokes to hold it all together. It's a bit like watching Mitchell & Webb on LSD. I thought the extended Twilight pastiche went on a little too long, but I can't deny the appeal of a mummy attempting to seduce a teenage girl with “Come. Let me embalm you. I'll pull your brain out through your nose and place each of your organs in separate jars.” By contrast, Pappy's, under the title “All Business” have a distincly softer more coherent take on sketch comedy, with the loose conceit of needing to drum up investors. Here, the sketches take a backseat to the performers themselves, who keep up a constant stream of knowing banter with each other. “Hello, I'm a different character” and a stream of shudder-inducing puns send us hurtling from one low-budget sketch or musical number to the next, and the infinite variety of uses to which you can put a cardboard box and a couple of blowup dolls is thoroughly explored. Light, whimsical, and charmingly oldschool, Pappy's is like Morecambe and Wise and Bowser the audience-humping dog (don't ask, just go see). So which would I recommend? Well, it's a cop-out to say “They're both great, but in different ways”- so I won't. The Penny Dreadfuls are brilliant, dark and clever- and they'll doubtless be finding their way to a speaker or screen near you soon. Pappy's, on the other hand, is sidesplittingly funny and, as they point out “wouldn't work on television”. Both shows are funny- but I think Pappy's is more fun. Alwyn Collinson (DI Staff), 19/08/10 Daily Info @ the Fringe... Lashings of Ginger Beer I went to see this group having heard about them via word of mouth. I was hugely disappointed. The songs may have been funny but the majority of performers really can not sing and it can be quite painful at times watching them attempt notes they should not be singing. The dance was also poorly executed. To me it would seems a basic requirement that any performers who want to put on a cabaret should be able to sing and dance and too many of this group can do neither. They may have the right sentiments but that is no good if they can not carry off the performance. Don't waste your time, give this one a miss. Jo Henson (Unverified), 18/08/10 Josie Long: BE HONOURABLE - Just the Tonic @ the Caves; 7.40pm Daily Info @ The Fringe... Seated in a dank vault* and being verbally assaulted by a Kentish nail technician-cum-astronaut was not what I expected from the notoriously fluffy Josie Long. Better known for her lovingly handmade programmes than for aggressive ridicule, Josie (best Fringe newcomer of 2006) can't keep up this persona for long. Soon the chavvy loony with her pragmatic approach to hecklers (“I've got a knife, fuck off.”), freshly returned from “up space”, melts into the charmingly friendly Josie, and we're onto the meat of this open, refreshingly optimistic and very funny show. We get to dive into her life from the inside, starting with her weird choice of father figures (Billy Bragg, 'Nye' Bevan and a gay Coloradan man who photographed all his breakfasts for a year. Seriously, go look and them. They're ace! How can one man eat so many eggs?). Frequently, her observations from her own life seem eerily familiar; whether it's the mood swings she gets when dieting (“turns out that extra ten pounds housed all my joie de vivre”) or the experience of living under Labour (“like spending time with a dear friend who has horribly betrayed you”). Complemented by a book of sketches and a talent for mimicry, Josie keeps up a cracking pace as we rattle through dozens of tangents, digressions, anecdotes and jokes. On ordering porridge in a Goan beachfront café: “I've never felt so much like a cultural imperialist in my life - albeit one who wouldn't be hungry for the next four and a half hours.” But this show has a much more serious point to make than “Isn't my mind kind of weird?”. And although she wraps the razorblade of meaning in the warm candyfloss of comedy, Josie's theme is refreshingly upfront- in fact, it's in the title. Be Honourable is aimed squarely at cultured cynicism, over-seriousness and the idea that “I can't make a difference”. We get some very polite ranting about the Conservatives (if you voted for them, “You're wrong; probably a very nice person, but wrong.”), but this isn't preaching to the choir or letting politics get in the way of the message. It's about trying to move on from just “Being good” and “Doing nice” to actually “Doing good”. That might raise hackles or eyebrows coming from someone less friendly or earnest, but Josie has built up a store of goodwill with the audience, and she keeps things light, funny, and unusually thoughtful. This show will make you want to make a stranger a cup of tea. And it's bloody funny, too. *At Edinburgh, performers have to take what they can get in terms of venue. As the photocopied programme points out, however, it is by far the biggest of the Caves (the aforementioned dank vaults). Alwyn Collinson (DI Staff), 18/08/10 I am so impressed. For me, the Fringe is about new work and innovation. 'My name is Richard' fulfills both criteria. The young cast bursts onto the stage making the audience a bit wary that they won't be able to sustain the level of energy. However, not only do they sustain it but increase it in a dizzying crescendo, beautifully supported by the wonderful score. It is easy to balk at actors attempting to portray youth and disabilities like aspergers but the company pulls off both with subtlety and a dedication which does justice to the simple but heavily nuanced script. bid (Unverified), 12/08/10 FEEDING THE TROLL - The Vault Venue Dates: 11-14 August 2010. Time: 13:05 Battersea Park students? In Edinburgh? That was enough to pique my interest and I'm glad I went. Feeding The Troll is set in a dystopic future where there are two groups of people: those that work, and those that have babies. Those who work (Careeri-Femmes) have no time to have children and so it falls to the kids, Trolls as they call themselves, Femmies and Mascies as they are known to the world, to do it for them. The tag line is especially poignant when you hold it up against the rising teenage pregnancy rates. This play neither judges nor condones, it's simply a tale of a group of young kids wanting to find their place in the world, same as every other teenager. The main character Rox (superbly played by a young girl called Jen) leads the Trollies but isn't quite sure that this is what she wants for her life. She is supported by a cast who obviously get on outside of school, as the relationships and ease they have with each other shone through in strong performances which made me and my mother laugh, cry and jump. And we're tough nuts to crack! They're tucked away in The Vault, a lovely little space they make the most of. Unfortunately "tucked away" is right and the play isn't getting the recognition it deserves. We were a small audience but the cast didn't let that stop them. When a character was delivering their aside to the audience they actually talked to us, not at us, and that made the play all the more powerful and moving. Feeding the Troll- what we're told not to do on the internet. But this isn't the internet, it's the Fringe, and this was a brilliant show from those students of Battersea Park. Jen (Unverified), 10/08/10 There is a performance at St. John's Church called 'Tenchi Shinmei' by a Japanese Drum Group called Tokara. I went to see this show yesterday, and I tell you truthfully, it is probably the best drumming performance I have ever seen since I began coming to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2008. Anyone who has a chance to see this should really make the time to go. Terence (Unverified), 10/08/10 MY NAME IS RICHARD - C Too Venue (Kerfuffle) Dates: 9-30 August 2010. Time: 19:55 I had the pleasure of seeing the new musical play My Name Is Richard last night at C Too. It was wonderfully refreshing to see a cast of talented actors and singers performing a new work, as opposed to yet another scaled-down revival of a classic old musical. The writing was fresh, and the story enthralling. The newly written score brings a fresh sound to the stage - not your standard Musical Theatre tongue-in-cheek songs, but rather more gritty and real. The staging is well thought out, and well suited to this style of venue. The show is accompanied proficiently by a 4-piece live band, and the whole show is carried of with a flawless professional air. Altogether, a very enjoyable evening out. Stu Morley (Unverified), 08/08/10 Oh, it's that Most Wonderful Time of the Year again, when every aspiring thesp, comic, street performer and associated vagrant treks north to the fair city of Edinburgh. The rest of the country breathes a sigh of relief, and all the Scots go on holiday. Wait!! That isn't what I meant to say at all. I meant to say that the Fringe is a fantastic opportunity to see a tremendous range of comedy, drama, and general unclassifiable brilliance. The only problem you'll have is deciding which shows to see (well, that and mime-dodging). So we've put together all our reviews of the Oxford shows which are heading off to Edinburgh, to give you a tiny glimpse into the world of possibilites that is The Fringe. From the North Wall Arts Centre's Edinburgh or Bust series, My Name is Sue presents a solo comedy performance featuring, in no particular order, a dysfunctional family, a singing Welsh prophetess, and the End of the World. What Would Helen Mirren Do? is one woman's take on the ills of modern Britain, as channelled through the role model of the titular actress. Meanwhile, Charity Shop Cabaret offers a "cute, quirky comedy show... like a soothing, Radio Two-scented balm you can smoothe over your Festival-fatigued brain". If you like to laugh (you twisted freak), you owe it to yourself to go and see the Oxford Imps, stars of stage and grubby pub alike. They're performing throughout the entire run of the Fringe, so you really have no excuse not to attend - especially if you've never caught their termtime improv performances at the Wheatsheaf. You won't see a funnier, more anarchic show on the Fringe. Unless, of course, it's from the Oxford Revue, the Imps' partners in thoughtcrime; just as anarchic, but more preplanned (think rebellion, not riot). In their own words, "Fist a midget!". Quite. If you hunger for a smorgasbord of student drama (and really, what churlish soul wouldn't?) a veritable buffet is on offer in our reviews of Wait Until Dark, Sparkleshark and Night Heron, a selection of plays produced by Oxford student drama company (collective? conspiracy?) Bookstacks. Their thespian feast encompasses everything from the sugary desserts of childrens' theatre to the dark, bubbling broth of psychological thriller. Moving away from student offerings (and tortured gastronomic metaphors), comes a pair of productions that shoot to opposite ends of the seriousness spectrum: comedy nostalgiafest Everything I Know I Learned from TV and satanic Muscovite drama The Master and Margarita. If you're happy to scroll down (the page, not the show), we also have a review of Morgan & West, Time Travelling Magicians on our Oxfringe page. Also, there's feminist burleque, which has nothing to do with Germaine Greer in a corset (and, indeed, may be the diametrical opposite of that concept). Lashings of Ginger Beer promises thought-provoking discussions of equality in cabaret form. Alternatively, Out of the Blue offers an all male a cappella choir made up of Oxford University and Brookes students, which is "about a million times more fun than that sounds". Or so I've been reliably informed. Finally, the CIAO! Ark (see right) has been moved from Oxford to the Pleasance Courtyard in Edinburgh. The Ark, constructed in consultation with Oxford schoolchildren, is a renewable-energy-powered performance space which will be hosting children's theatre and educating people about the possibilities of a carbon neutral future. Green as nettle soup. All in all then, Oxford has a good presence at Edinburgh in 2010. And, of course, this selection barely grazes the surface of the Biggest Arts Festival in the World (there were over 3000 shows last year). Hopefully you've found this guide to what Oxford has to offer at the Fringe to be funny, or, failing that, informative. Go forth and enjoy! Alwyn Collinson (DI Staff), 02/08/10 |
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