I’ve managed to get to nine theatrical performances as part of Midsumma this year, which is more than I’ve managed in the past… and although I’ve enjoyed all of them on one level or another, none have wowed me quite like Justin Sider’s Dickless.
Perhaps there’s an element of novelty: I’ve seen drag kings perform in a few places, but this is the first feature show I’ve seen from any drag king. And he did the one thing I love to see drag artists doing more than anything else: their own vocals! But in essence, the wow factor here is, quite simply, balance.
On face value, Justin Sider’s show sits neatly into the farce category… it is light and hilarious, and features a contiguous plot with no extraneous filler or diversion. He maintains a consistent character who is likeable and instantly engaging, and he draws the audience into the farcical scenario—of a competitive lap dancer who misplaces his penis—with witty and relatable humour that is at once crass and wonderful. No small achievement there. But the beauty of this is that it packs (if you’ll pardon the pun) into this farcical story a simple and digestible moral: that it is ok to be dickless.
The resulting affirmation, delivered with a little pathos and lashings of hilarity, is absolutely uplifting in every way.
Sadly, it appears the show has finished its current run, so if this is the first you’ve heard of it, you’re too late… the last performances I can find are in Albany WA… which, frankly, may be worth the four day drive!
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Tags: drag king, Justin Sider, The Butterfly Club, Theatre
It felt like we were a rather select group gathering in the lower section of Gippsland’s newest theatre for Become The One. This was the first professional drama to be staged at Traralgon’s remarkable new theatre (I’m quite sure my inhalation on entering was audible backstage), and it was definitely a worthy piece to be so honoured. What a shame the local community didn’t jump at the chance to see it in droves, because Become The One is a great story for all audiences, not just the rainbow community!
This play really does stand on the masterful writing of Adam Fawcett, who has crafted two beautifully rich characters and an engaging plot. They’re brought to life by Chris Asimos and Mason Gasowski, who at once seem to embody their characters’ respective stereotypes without ever allowing them to be reduced to nothing more than that stereotype; a remarkable achievement in itself! They both brilliantly play the script’s undulations with impeccable pathos and timing.
It was disappointing, in this context, that the scene changes slowed that pace. I don’t think the story warranted so many costume changes… but the scenes themselves certainly rewarded our patience.
Become The One is billed as a romantic comedy, and I suppose it is not unusual for romantic comedies to get quite serious. But I was surprised when the drama built to a particularly strong crescendo quite early in the piece. This would usually tilt the balance a little too much towards melodrama, but I did feel the characters had been established well enough to carry even quite a lengthy silence.
This has been the most engaging piece of theatre I’ve had the privilege to see this year, and I hope they see great success as the tour continues.
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Tags: Adam Fawcett, Become the One, Chris Asimos, Lab Kelpie, Mason Gasowski
I have a confession to make… I was never able to follow the plot of King Lear.
Maybe it’s because I wasn’t old enough before, but I certainly followed this engaging and innovative production by the talented folks at Groundwork Youth Theatre. I actually suspect it has less to do with my advancing years, and more to do with their commitment to storytelling.
A simple set, very well employed; a lighting design that utilised neon paint and UV lights*; and most importantly, perhaps, the hypnotic sounds of Billie Eilish truly made this production shine.
But what really made this performance was Ella McCubbin’s performance of Goneril. Her authority was unquestionable, and she left no doubt in the audience’s minds about who was running the show. She was admirably supported by the whole cast, but especially by Andrew Veale’s Lear, and Cassie Lenne’s Cordelia.
There were, perhaps, some technical hitches, and a little of the momentum was lost in what looked like missed technical cues. These left the impeccable cast hanging more than once, and it was a shame they had not been ironed out in time.
But nothing could undermine the slick design and the deft excision of Shakespeare’s excess verbiage.
A monumental achievement by Groundwork Youth Theatre.
*Yes, I can be distracted by shiny things
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Tags: Abby Collins, Andrew Veale, Cassie Lenne, Chanel Fixter, Charlie Austin, Dane Nicholls, Ella Grace, Ella McCubbin, Groundwork Youth Theatre, Hannah Van Deventer, Kate Coulthard, King Lear, Lauren MacKrell, Lauren Pearce, Lucy Donahoe, Sarah Mitchell, Shakespeare, Stella Ramage, Theatre, William Shakespeare
Stumbling out of another theatre, again physically shaken by the performance I’ve just witnessed, I am awestruck by the ability of creatives to breathe new life into one of the oldest and most frequently redone stories in the canon. But this one was something extra special.
Plonked gently into lad culture, using the images of rugby to speed the story along, our gay pair of star-cross’d lovers shine brilliantly in this show. The cast is condensed to six, the dialogue is abridged but rarely altered: and yet the story rarely diverts significantly from the original.
Curious Pheasant’s Romeo and Juliet successfully stands up to an intellectual scrutiny without becoming a mere academic exercise. The emotion is raw and gutteral, the performances robust and delicately nuanced, and even this middle aged English teacher felt like he was watching the story for the first time, despite knowing essentially what was coming next.
And what it achieves is to show all love as equal. Humane folk care about Juliet and Romeo as much regardless of their gender, and it is specifically a toxic masculinity that gets in the way. Words that ring with familiarity are reinvigorated in this context: that rose, by any other name, really does smell as sweet.
And so, quietly I stepped out of the Bijou into the hustle and noise of Edinburgh’s festive streets, somewhat deafened to the hubbub and still lost in the tragedy. Hoping, maybe, that better days are coming.
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Tags: Adam Lay, Alex Bird, Bevan Thomson, Bijou, Curious Pheasant, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, Fringe, Hampshire, Romeo and Juliet, Ronan Cullen, rugby, Sam Rowland, Shakespeare, toxic masculinity, Troy Chessman
I have been impressed with quite a few performances so far this Fringe, but the most impressive skill an actor can possess is the ability to elicit a gut reaction to a scenario that is beyond the ken of most audients. And Alex Gwyther left me barely able to stand up and walk out of the theatre.
In Ripped, Gwyther portrays a male rape victim masking his trauma by taking action to fulfill a gender stereotype; a stereotype he struggles to define throughout. Gwyther also embodies the victim’s associates, and just keeping the plot clear is a challenge that he rises to with the deftest of hands.
On one level, I want to praise Gwyther’s technical prowess: he is skilled and professional in every way. But the technical skill he demonstrates, regardless of how worthy it is of praise, pales into insignificance against the creative choices he has made in developing the monologue.
This is a story that balances the need to energise and engage with an edifying glimpse into the morass of toxic masculinity. That is a remarkable achievement, and I cannot describe how impressed I am with Gwyther’s achievement.
At the end of this performance, I applauded with the rest of the audience, but I could barely move, and had to take a moment gathering my thoughts before I could leave. That is the mark of a stellar performance.
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Tags: Alex Gwyther, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, male rape, Max Lindsay, monologue, Ripped, toxic masculinity, Underbelly
Vulvarine, wowing audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe
There is a subtle difference, I think, between efforts to bring about gender equality by political action, and efforts to shift or reinforce gender equality as a paradigm and a goal. The former was needed in the last few centuries, but the latter will be needed much longer.
Fat Rascal Theatre’s Vulvarine, currently wowing audiences at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, is one of the most enjoyable examples of musical theatre to stand up to the challenge of building the gender equality paradigm.
The story centres on Bryony Buckle, a nerdy office worker with a crush on another nerdy office worker and a cough. After accepting a new medication from a misogynistic doctor, she is struck by lightning and becomes a superhero. You can guess what this hero’s name becomes…
The greatest strength of this production is how effortlessly it engages the audience, with slapstick humour and a light-hearted, whimsical air it screams along at a cracking pace, with barely enough time for the audience to draw a breath between guffaws. And the deeply important messages it delivers come with a depth or pathos rare for any musical, let alone such a comic one.
Performances are exceptional. There are five performers, and I lost count of characters at some point, but although Allie Munroe is spectacularly perfect in her depiction of Bryony Buckle, each one is a consummate professional worthy of the highest praise Edinburgh can offer.
My one objection is that I thought I was the only playwright to ever use High Wycombe in a play!
I don’t know if many misogynists would be persuaded by this work, but it reinforces messages of gender equality in a light hearted and positive way, building the culture of gender equality as paradigm, rather than movement.
But most importantly, this is musical theatre at its finest: engaging, witty and pointed.
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Tags: Allie Munro, Daniel Foxx, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, Fat Rascal Theatre, Gilded Balloon, James Ringer-Beck, Jamie Mawson, Jed Berry, Katie Wells, Patter Hoose, Robyn Grant, Steffan Rizzi, Vulvarine
In the light of the civil rights movements of the last five decades, the various ways to interpret the facts of Oscar Wilde’s life seem almost kaleidoscopic. Even in the two decades since David Hare wrote The Judas Kiss, our perspectives on queer rights have moved so dramatically that material of this age frequently jars current sensibilities. Perhaps because of its subject matter, but probably more because of Hare’s focus on the people he was writing about, the play doesn’t suffer from any such awkwardness.
The first act is encountered in a single scene in which Wilde has the opportunity to flee England and escape arrest for gross indecency. Those who hold influence over him try to persuade him in different directions before it is too late, and the wordy dialogue presents a number of reasons for him to stay or to go. Whether Wilde allowed the police to arrest him in a misguided belief that he would never be incarcerated, or in a rather premature expression of gay pride, his courageous foolhardiness shines through brilliantly.
And it is this courageous foolhardiness that I find most inspiring about the Oscar Wilde presented in this production.
David Hare’s heavily verbose script is lightened by inspired direction from Karina Hudson (with the support of Alexandra Pelvin). Despite the weight of words Hare burdens the actors with, each of the three central characters shine through with a life and vivacity that is rare with such a piece.
What is perhaps most surprising is to see the conflicts that currently play out within the queer community about how we engage with the societies we live in, playing out in a story twelve decades old. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
For me at least, this was a deeply moving production of a carefully constructed play. It honours Wilde’s memory while also recognising his humanity, and you can’t ask for more than that.
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Tags: Alexandra Pelvin, Anna Senior, Arran McKenna, Benjamin Balte Russell, Chris Baldock, Chris Ellyard, Cole Hilder, David Hare, Karina Hudson, Liam Jackson, Meaghan Stewart, Oscar Wilde, Patrick Galen-Mules, The Judas Kiss, Zoe Swan
Blood, as Stoppard’s tragedian says, is compulsory.
The auditorium at the Playhouse goes dark for a moment before the curtain shoots into the fly tower and two women wearing white are flooded with blinding white light in front of a white backdrop and a white stage. The audience gasps as their eyes react to the onslaught and giggle a little while they wait for something to happen…
The rest of this post is published on Australian Stage.
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Tags: Canberra Theatre Centre, Harley Stumm, James Brown, Liam Kennedy, Mish Grigor, Natalie Rose, Oedipus, Oedipus Schmoedipus, Playhouse, POST, Shelly Lauman, Zoe Coombs
Canberra’s sunsets are a little short for Shakespeare, but the timing was pretty damn near perfect for Shakespeare by the Lakes’ debut tonight.
A bright and committed team of enthusiasts have brought back Canberra’s outdoor performances of Shakespeare, and they should be commended for the way in which they galvanised the community and pulled together such a great performance.
The costumes are reminiscent of Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 film, and Izaac Beach’s Claudio is, astonishingly, even more cloying than Robert Sean Leonard’s from that same film. Lexi Sekuless is the standout, I feel: one of the most beautifully balanced Beatrices I’ve ever encountered, and she’s matched brilliantly by Duncan Driver’s Benedick.
I especially appreciate the way in which the space is used. In front of Tuggeranong Town Park’s rather sad little stage, the performers engage the audience with direct address, entering the performance space through the audience and even extending in amongst the picnic rugs at times. It’s an authentic and relatable way to treat the bard we so often revere but rarely embrace.
I did have some sympathy for the poor sound technicians: the wind picked up in the afternoon and the performers’ mics told us all about it. It was at times difficult to hear the voices, especially when, to minimise the problem, the operators turned the mics off and back on as required, frequently suffering a lag in reconnection.
It is a big decision in this context whether to amplify or not. The use of microphones, even when there’s no need to compensate for wind, kills a lot of expression, and it is difficult to recover. But in an outdoor space like this, amplification is sadly necessary. It doesn’t help that the ACT Government, despite investing substantially in outdoor performance venues, couldn’t even be bothered applying the technology perfected by the Greeks 2,500 years ago. A simple amphitheatre would eliminate the need for soul-crushing PA systems, but we’re stuck with flat auditoria like a people who have no access to the wisdom of ancient civilisations! /rant
Despite this difficulty, a talented cast certainly made the most of the the deftly-trimmed script, and gave an appreciative audience a show worthy of the investment made by the show’s sponsors. I hope to be enjoying Shakespeare by the Lakes for many years to come.
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Tags: Anneke van der Velde, Chintarmanya Vivian, Duncan Driver, Emily Ridge, Emma Sekuless, Helen McFarlane, Izaac Beach, Jerry Hearn, Jo Richards, John Lombard, Jonathan Lee, Lakespeare, Lexi Sekuless, Madeline Woods, Much Ado About Nothing, Neil McLeod, Paul Leverenz, Rob de Fries, Shakespeare, Shakespeare by the Lakes, Sunny Amoreena, Taimus Werner-Gibbings, Tasman McClymont-Griffiths, TW Gibbings
Much of the publicity for Michael and Phillip are Getting Married in the Morning points to the December 2017 changes to the Marriage Act, which occurred between the writing of the play and its staging. Obviously the script was updated to reflect the changes, so I don’t think there really was a need to point them out. The publicity also bills it as a celebration of love, and although it does live up to this, there did seem to be some disagreement between the writer (who seems to have written a comedy) and the director (who seems to have directed a melodrama).
I don’t know how much it has diverted from the original plot, but the play centres on two men who are getting married in the near future (the title did leave me a little confused about the time line). Like all good romantic comedies, this central objective faces three major catastrophes: the interference of Michael’s best friend, the scheming of a pregnant bride-to-be who wants to marry Phillip instead and the re-appearance of Michael’s estranged and remorseful father.
The plot works. It chugs along nicely from one problem to another, emulating the best farces. The characters are relatable, even some of the minor ones, and they deliver pathos along with their humour. However, the direction has left the script without the energy it needed to get lift off. The delivery was slow, the comic timing almost always lagged and the business of moving from one setting to another brought any energy that was built thudding back down onto the stage floor.
Bayne Bradshaw and Ryan Stewart, playing Michael and Phillip respectively, portrayed their characters well, and though they were rarely on stage together, they had a great chemistry that made me wish they’d played opposite each other for more of the play. Anna Reardon was likewise admirable as Michael’s friend Tally, and fought valiantly to attempt to resurrect the play’s energy, but it was to no avail. Even the talent I could see in Bethany Griffiths, whose role as the bride is one of the most amusing elements in the script, wasn’t enough to build the energy needed to get the audience laughing.
Michael and Phillip are Getting Married in the Morning should be a romp. The script is, despite a few unnecessary scenes, essentially ready to have us all rolling in the aisles, but this production had me checking my watch and tapping to see if it had stopped. Tighter direction and better comic timing would have saved it.
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Tags: Anna Reardon, Bayne Bradshaw, Ben Campbell, Bethany Griffiths, Bluestone Arts Space, Fred the Alien, gay, Hayden Gridley, Jeffrey Bryant-Jones, LGBT, LGBTIQ, Michael and Phillip are getting Married in the Morning, Midsumma, Phillip Hunting, Ryan Stewart, Wayne Stellini
First show back in Canberra, and I’m impressed. In a performance that would be right at home as part of the Edinburgh Fringe (oh, how I miss Fringe!), Canberra Youth Theatre present a series of stories that evoke a sense of what it means to be one’s self in the way we relate to others.
The stories all centre on adolescents exploring the way they understand and present themselves. It’s an important theme in adolescence, but it is something we grapple with all through life, so the production has a broader appeal than I think was necessarily intended from reading the program. It is apparent from the quality of the end result that all contributors have put a lot into this production.
The one thing I’m less than impressed with is the use of snippets. This is a frequent result from group-devised theatre, as it allows a relatively purist way of including a large number of participants and a wide range of ideas without bending them. But I always find works that provide snippets of stories involving many characters less satisfying than plays with a contiguous plot arc and deeper characters.
In this instance, it is a relatively small gripe. The lighting and sound design does bring a range of experiences of the one theme together, and the play flows well from one plot to the next. It helps that these young people are natural performers experiencing the benefit of working with CYT’s excellent tutors. And it helps, too, that its theme and the plots chosen bear out a commitment to honesty.
The program says that the creators sought to avoid “the fake teen angst stereotype”, and they certainly achieved this. At every juncture, I found myself invested in the characters’ lives, and empathising with the angst they were expressing. The balance achieved to establish an angst that doesn’t feel forced is a worthy accomplishment, and the writer, director and performers should be proud of it.
Honestly, I’d have been grateful just to have an hour feeling like I’m back in Edinburgh’s dank, dark theatrical spaces; Canberra Youth Theatre delivered this and more.
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Tags: Amelia Gilling, Amy McAllister, Anna Wilford, Canberra Youth Theatre, Charlotte Palmer, Elektra Spencer, Emily Sheehan, Erin Pierlot, Ethan Hamill, Isobel Mills, Jack Hubner, Jamie Winbank, Jayden Beattie, Jess Baker, Jett Aplin, Ketura Budd, Kiah Zeller, Mark Zatschler, Mel-Annie Turner-Carlin, Stephen Crossley, Ted Stewart, Versions of Us
A little more theatrical than cabaret, but a little more cabaret than theatre, Royal Vauxhall straddles the divide exceptionally well, and presented beautifully in the pub it was named after.
Telling the story of the night in 1988 when Princess Diana went to a gay bar in drag with Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett (no, I’d never heard of him either), Royal Vauxhall is named after the pub where it happened. Though the troupe
is touring the show, I was lucky enough to be in London while it was being performed at the very same Royal Vauxhall Tavern, which was rather a special moment.
Desmond O’Connor’s book is spot on for this kind of environment. Though it might be a little less interactive than most cabarets, it nonetheless allows for a real engagement with the audience that we rarely see in musical theatre. The music is loud and engaging, and there aren’t too many sappy moments to leave a pub audience bored.
And the material is just as well suited. The piece is truly hilarious and was well appreciated by the audience.
Sarah-Louise Young plays Diana, and she is charming and engaging throughout. Reuben R Kaye’s Freddie Mercury keeps the audience and the action on track, and is clearly a master of cabaret. And Stuart Saint is invariably relatable as Kenny Everett.
The show is set to tour the UK, but if they make it to Australia, I imagine there will be a receptive audience for them there too (wink, wink; nudge, nudge).
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Tags: AIDS, Desmond O'Connor, Diana, Freddie Mercury, gay, Kenny Everett, Lady Di, London, paparazzi, Princess Diana, Queen, Reuben R Kaye, Royal Vauxhall, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, Russell Lucas, Sarah-Louise Young, Stuart Saint
Having recently produced a show that attempted to draw a bow through LGBTIQ history, I am familiar with the difficulty of having to eschew particular bits of history to get a story across. Outlaws to In-Laws navigates this dilemma quite well, I think.
Spanning seven decades, Outlaws to In-Laws tells seven unrelated stories about gay men living their lives. The premise is simple: the changes in the way we live can’t really be broached by a single plot arc, so let’s have several plots!
And the result is remarkable. Each play digs deeply into the heart of sex or romance or both, providing a glimpse of the impact of the political sphere on the personal across seven decades of queer history.
For me, two stories really stood out, and the first was Mister Tuesday. Delivering a plate of cucumber sandwiches to his lover, who only comes on Tuesdays, a man attempts to deepen the relationship, and failing, turns to blackmail. Set in the 1960s, the ploy has a particular impact, and the performances of both Jack Bence and Elliot Balchin are compelling.
The second stand out was Reward, set in the 1970s. A young man perseveres in attempting to strike up a conversation with another at a bus stop, and a romance develops. Jack Bence is hilarious in this piece, and holds his composure remarkably. Michael Duke, likewise, is engaging and believeable, and the two do a brilliant job with Jonathan Kemp’s brilliantly composed script.
This is a timely production that neatly captures the heart of this moment in our history, this moment where we really care about our history because it seems to have brought us somewhere. As such, Outlaws to In-Laws is a quintessentially theatrical production that truly matters.
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Tags: Alex Marlow, Elliott Balchin, gay, Jack Bence, Jonathan Harvey, Jonathan Kemp, Joshua Val Martin, LGBT, LGBTIQ, Mary Franklin, Matt Harris, Michael Duke, Myles Devontè, Patrick Wilde, Paul Carroll, Phillip Meeks, PJ McEvoy, Tim Lutkin, Topher Campbell
Desperately running out of time to take in everything the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has to offer, I stumbled late into Banshee’s to see Rob Cawsey. Apparently he’s a comedian.
A comedian he may be, but what I saw was a brilliant comic actor presenting slapstick comedy with a cohesive and engaging plot that elicited both laughter and a touch of empathy.
It’s a rare combination.
The story is his own: a big night out trying, increasingly desperately, to pick up. And throughout, there is this splendid balance between humour and despair. It is a great story presented brilliantly. Right up there with the best I’ve seen this Fringe.
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Tags: Banshee, Edinburgh Fringe, gay, Just Cruising, LGBT, LGBTIQ, Rob Cawsey
I
‘m not entirely certain that the glorification of intoxication is a public good, but I don’t think it can be argued that it’s not good for a laugh.
The premise for this piece is beautiful in its simplicity: perform one of Shakespeare’s works with a lead actor completely sloshed. To maintain the premise, a couple of audients are provided with instruments for calling for another drink for the actor, and an audient in the splash zone is put on bucket duty.
Though it may not please the purists, my immediate sensation was that this manner of presentation is possibly even truer to the style of performance in Elizabethan London than the present-day Globe. It’s bawdy and the audience are involved and don’t mind calling out.
But that’s probably where the argument for this as an authentic Shakespearean experience ends. It’s a laugh, and as far as great performances go, there’s little more than some quality improvisation to praise.
The play is shortened to one hour, which is an improvement, but does necessitate a certain amount of assumed knowledge of Shakespeare’s work.
In all, this is a great idea that’s good for one laugh, but I’m not likely to bother a second time.
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Tags: Briony Rawle, Leanna Wigginton, Magnficent Bastard Productions, Richard Hughes, Robbie Capaldi, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, shitfaced Shakespeare
Life is all about transitions. Moving from one stage of life to the next, sometimes gracefully, sometimes stumbling, and sometimes holding on for your life.
About a Goth explores such a transition as a young man grapples with understanding himself.
Delivered as a monologue, the plot is revealed as a series of events that would frustrate the heck out of any gay goth teen: an unhealthy obsession with a straight mate and Starbucks’ lack of Gothic options are compounded by his family’s obstinate refusal to reject him when he comes out. Selfish buggers.
Clement Charles gives a stellar performance, full of energy and life throughout. It is beautifully written by Tom Wells, and explores this young person’s journey through a transition with empathy and humour and spirit.
So far, the best performance I’ve seen at the Fringe.
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Tags: About a Goth, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, gay, goth, Gritty Theatre, LGBT, LGBTIQ
From the moment she has an audience, it’s clear that Eva Von Schnippisch is not going to let anyone leave the room without getting a right belly laugh out.
She engages the audience in the action from the start, telling the story she has kept silent for 72 years, about how she worked with the Allies to infiltrate the relationship between Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. I was enthralled for the entire hour, which is an achievement in itself.
Stephanie Ware is a consummate performer, dealing with the viariables of live performance professionally, and with excellent humour. Her comic timing is impeccable, and her awareness of the audience remarkable.
Simply one of the best shows I’ve seen this Fringe.
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Tags: CC Blooms, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, Eva Von Schnippisch, Stephanie Ware
Cannonball starts well.
I’m impressed by the dialogue. I’m impressed by the actors. I’m impressed that it’s genuinely naturalistic and the media being projected is atmospheric and well coordinated.
Slowly, though, it unravels. Maybe I missed a thread somewhere, a vital piece of information that I needed to follow the plot. It started with two mates talking about girls, then one of them ends up with a girlfriend who becomes a wife and has a baby… and he slowly descends into a kind of depression, until the play peters out with us wondering whether he’ll take his own life or not.
By the end it’s feels terribly melodramatic without enough plot to carry the emotion. Which is a shame, given the promise the beginning held.
The quality of the performances don’t really decline, nor does the quality of dialogue, which is why I think it might be me who missed something. If you’re reading this, and you’ve seen it (as opposed to if you’re in it, or maybe even then!), let me know what you thought.
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Tags: Alberto Lais, Edinburgh Fringe, Edinurgh, Greenside, Ned Caderni
From the moment you walk in, Jess and Nick insist that you feel at home. Straddling the line between theatre and cabaret, this clever and well-written little piece explores the way we use words and how they can shape us and our interactions, so that welcome is highly strategic.
They insist it’s a play, but with a static set, audience engagement beginning before they kick off, and interjections on the way through, cabaret seems a more appropriate descriptor. The truth is it defies labels, but draws the audience into a conversation between two co-workers, chews up their sense of semantic signification, and spits it back at them unceremoniously.
Whether the use of audience involvement (yes they dragged me up the front) really works or not, I am unsure. On one hand, it stilts the third character: but at the same time, the irony of using someone unfamiliar with the material to deliver the most articulate assessment of the theme in a manner that is highly verbose and completely impenetrable, is a delicious irony. And I’m a big fan of irony.
If you happen to be fringeside, check them out.
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Tags: Jess, Nick May, Theatre Topikos, Wordplay
My first show at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe was this rather intense exploration of the relationship between Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. And after flying from San Francisco to Edinburgh and coming directly to the theatre, it’s an achievement not to be understated, that the play held my attention throughout.
The simple set being used for this fringe run works brilliantly, and provides excellent scope for the two performers to establish varied locations and times. Daniel Llewellyn-Williams, playing Sassoon, builds a strong presence in the early stages of the play, and transitions well to the rather more fragile Sassoon who reminisces at the end of the war. Iestyn Arwel, playing Owen, marks an inverse transition. It would be easy to dismiss the strength of his performance in the early stages, but the character is brilliantly established.
This is a strong piece exploring the relationship between two historical figures who were passionate about showing the horror, and not the glory of war. It is especially pertinent in the world’s current state, though it could perhaps draw a slightly longer bow into the present to ensure it doesn’t merely register as a history play.
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Tags: Daniel Llewellyn-Williams, edfringe, Edinburgh Fringe, Iestyn Arwel, Siegfried Sassoon, Stephen Macdonald, Tim Baker, Wilfred Owen
Foyer Talk 