|
American Football - Act
Provocateur International
venue: C
http://www.actprovocateur.net
20 08 06
The sort of show that can be open to misinterpretation and if you fail
to read between the lines you may find it gratuitously offensive but
I do not think it is. Reading between the lines in this instance is
to have some understanding of the anomie of American culture, maybe
some knowledge of 'fighting bodies of men' and the fierce pride surrounding
military and unit subcultures such as the USMC here portrayed. The
show operates at a number of different levels with themes including
the latter day corruption of purpose of the armed forces and a 'grunts'
eye view of it all from the front line. Enlisting has long been the
brunt of many a lampoon and no less so in this production. A parody
of the issues surrounding the Iraq war, it features out of context
sound and image bites to show the absurdity of TV coverage and the
unfairness of circumstance. Its all dished up with lashings of everything
from US mall culture, cheerleaders, to military stereotypes not a million
miles from the truth. With a love story from the battlefield between
grunt and USA educated bourka-babe that goes tragically and hilariously
wrong, the show features many tableau and iconic images from the media's
coverage of events that are stark and resonant. Beheadings, human heads
used as footballs, the abuse of prisoners in US jails with instantly
published photos on the internet, these are all mercilessly parodied.
This show holds up a mirror to the times bringing iconic imagery from
TV to the theatre where it is more shocking for not being at a safe
and sanitary distance. Its a darkly funny, crass and hard hitting parody,
worth checking out.
Apollo/Dionysus - The
Dead
venue: C cubed
see http://www.thedead.org.uk
12 08 06
A thought provoking production that gives further insights into the
psychology, origins and motives behind the God Dionysus. Summoned up
in the thoughts of an older child seeking to make choices and gain
enlightenment at the Oracle, the Gods Dionysus and Apollo appear openly,
to discourse naked. They speak at length on the nature of their archetypes
and the necessity for mortals to construct their own characters and
reality. Some things are held to be true from witnessing this exposition
at the Oracle. What mortals make of their choices will by necessity
be the right ones for them. To emulate the Gods is to court destruction.
Dionysus overdoing it has more to do with his own story, after all
he was torn from Semele and born of the thigh of Zeus, so for good
reasons then do the Maenads worship the divinity of Dionysus and distract
him. Also, 'mortals' are to maintain their internal childlike natures
and a temporary escape from their duties and the drudgery of the intellect
and the rational, is to be provided by the fruits of the vine, wearing
crowns of ivy and taking part in the revels.
Breasts and Burgers! - Richard Franklin Productions
venue: Smirnoff Underbelly
The Bacchae - Moving
Parts
Venue: Diverse Attractions
see: http://www.movingparts.co.uk
11 08 06
This production probably fits better at the level of community or theatre
education than in front of a critical and perhaps more sophisticated
fringe audience. It was good in parts, mostly those of the bacchae
who brought life to the production. Overall it remained unpolished
and clumsy in its delivery and execution of the narrative. This is
a great story which relies on its staging to render human and understandable
an otherwise bleak and spiteful tale. In this instance it unfolded
a little too mechanically, there was some stumbling over lines and
some devices, e.g., having the messengers mimic tv newsreaders, seemed
quite wrong headed. Nevertheless it was a typical fringe experience
and deserves some recognition for overcoming what must have been some
very trying obstacles in its making. You could certainly smell the
fear on entering the performance space.
The Cabaret of Menace -
Cambridge University ADC
venue: C too
See: http://www.cabaretofmenace.com
17 08 06
A lovely opening to this show with lots of mime type m-e-n-a-c-e from
the fabulously good looking, louche and decadent seeming cast, engaging
the audience with some exaggerated posing and very dark posturing.
Unfortunately it too quickly descended into the pastiche cleverness
of literary posing probably inspired by Brideshead Revisited. The wonderful
menace of the first five minutes dissipated and the show slipped into
a cabaret of pretentious literary triviality. The audience however
were largely sympathetic to their cause and laughed in appreciation
at appropriate moments. However the sketches despite their immaculate
literary pedigrees were more tv sitcom level than cabaret. Luckily
the seats were soft and probably some of the most comfortable of all
the temporary venues this year. There was a fabulously visual ending
to match the start but it was a relief to get out into the night to
find a cold beer. This theatre group is too conditioned by its academic
origins to seek meaningful and intelligent literary material when it
can communicate far more meaning and be vastly more entertaining with
a more basic and minimalist style. They can be far more riveting with
a dark look than a quirky or cutting comment and should work on 'less'
being 'more' and perhaps desist from their far too self-conscious and
precious, literary 'cleverness.'
The Decameron Project
- Clemson University
Venue: C
See: http://www.clemson.edu/brooks
pr: clemsonews.clemson.edu/WWW_releases/2006/May/Decameron.html
pix: Image_pages
11 08 06
An enjoyable depiction of the darkness of 1348 as a mixed group of
Florentines (played by some talented young Americans) try to escape
the Black Death by fleeing into the countryside. They try to keep their
spirits up by telling stories, some dark, some darkly funny and most
quite bawdy. There is an interesting account of the trials and tribulations
of a gardener ministering to the needs of some nuns in a convent. Another
of a rather novel way in which a pious woman consigns the devil to
hell. All played out as stories within a story and with some very dark
goings on at the country estate in which they take refuge on their
journey. The play is stolen somewhat towards the end by its youngest
cast member. This troupes drama project will win you over totally as
will their hose. Their own story as told in their press releases is
also worth a peek. No nudity at all as billed, but with some explicit
tumbling.
Embedded - Syracuse University Drama Department
venue: Quaker Meeting House
Hillary Agonistes - Frantic
Redhead Productions & Playwrights' Arena
venue: C
see: http://www.franticredhead.com
20 08 06
It is rather disconcerting to see how decision making may actually
be made in the Oval Office. An insightful look at the virtual reality
most Americans inhabit while proxy forces attempt to shape the world
and our view of it on behalf of even more shadowy vested interests.
An amusing parody of a 'what if' situation, were some of the ideas
depicted in this show not actually part of many Americans belief systems!
Its a bit worrying when the 'Angel of Death' actually appears to President
Hillary Clinton in 2009; when it later becomes 'Chelsea' we wonder
about Hillary's state of mind. US fundamentalist Christians may be
outraged or take it as a confirmation of their eccentric beliefs. Ultimately
validating these ideas would involve them all vanishing into thin air;
whatever happens, their freedom of speech will remain secure. This
show is as much about the spiritual and intellectual emptiness of the
American heartland in a more thoughtful and complicated world. It contains
some appealing ideas about the end of the age of reason and the post
epistemological present. This show may go on to be a great musical
or larger theatrical production, its themes demand it. Subversively
restating the founding principles of the American Constitution, dark
forces about which we know nothing, will hate this production. Its
definitely a show that raises the intellectual ante at the Edinburgh
fringe. Set in a country devoid of an intellectual world view based
on value free education, any propagandist or religious view may be
in with a chance. Not a vision of the world free thinking people would
want to rush towards. I blinked and missed the end punchline in the
final onstage dramatics but it was fun getting there. A show with a
message and quite gripping, the playwright Nick Salamone plays multiple
parts, so go see it!
The House of Bernarda Alba - Dang Nabbit Theatre
Collective
Venue: Quaker Meeting House
Iliad, Fall of Troy - Live
Wire Theatre
Venue: Venue 45
12 08 06
If your notion of the classics involves received pronunciation and
a gilded public school type cast, you will not be disappointed. This
production captures the multitudinous nature of this thickly populated
classical tome without losing the audience. There is a good use of
underlying music which though piped in sets the moods wonderfully without
being intrusive or distracting. There are some good action sequences
around the swordplay. However these fabulously beautiful and handsome
cast members look and seem as if they would be more appreciative of
a Pimms no 1 cup at Glyndebourne than laying siege to ancient Troy.
Odysseus appears throughout in a very nice, light suit that would not
seem out of place in some English 'shire umpiring cricket as opposed
to some ancient battlefield. It is perhaps for those reasons the production
works rather well and succeeds in capturing and making accessible the
darker aspects of human nature in the narrative. There are after all,
'forces at work which we know nothing about, be careful' as someone
once said. Perhaps in a performance area bounded by seating on three
sides it would have been nice to see the production play to the whole
of the house occasionally. The last word is with Odysseus, 'there were
no heroes!,' he says and there were not.
Killing Time - Hint of Lime
Productions
venue :: C Chambers St
see links :: http://www.hint-of-lime.com/
category :: Theatre
Fri 25 Aug 06 20.15
This show was recommended to me by the C venues marketing staff as
being darkly suitable for inclusion in the Nightnews review schedule.
Based on a thriller by Richard Stockwell and directed by Jacqui Garbett,
Killing Time starts when a not so chance meeting in a supermarket sets
off an unusual encounter between a 'touchy' man and a woman at the
centre of a tangled web of business interests. The woman is Claudia
Christian (Commander Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5 fame) who received
a best actress nomination for her part in this play from the Stage
this year. The grey haired audience was definitely there for a psychological
thriller so when the 'touchy' lead man admits to being an ex con, the
fun can truly be said to begin. She wants to leave, he wants her to
stay, it gets a little fraught, she is made to stay. They get to know
each other 'better.' He's an 'armed robber,' she is 'abused by her
husband' and by an even more convoluted and unlikely twisted chain
of events that are made quite plausible, we learn that he is 'stalking'
her husband and wants him dead. He wants to recruit her to his cause;
she is totally up for it! Its a story where people who betray each
other get killed, again and again! Ricks story about the husband is
very dark, as are the multiple double crosses that bring the action
to its final climax. Claudia Christian and George Calil as Rick will
have you on the edge of your seat throughout. The show could benefit
from slightly higher production values otherwise its a very good example
of its dark genre indeed.
A letter that never reached
Russia - First Theatre
venue :: C Cubed
see links :: http://www.first-theatre.com
category :: Theatre
Mon 28 Aug 06 17.45
This young Cambridge University derived company caught my eye with
their high quality publicity material. However as I had never read
this particular oeuvre by Nabokov of darker 'Lolita' fame, I took the
precaution of taking along someone who was familiar with the work.
To say that they were less than impressed may be an understatement
but there was definitely some distance between the show's intentions
and what was actually communicated to the audience and neither reading,
nor being knowledgeable about the Nabokov work, seemed to bridge the
gap. This was unfortunate as the show boasted choreographers, composers,
actors, directors and designers presenting their narrative interpretation
in mime, dance, physical theatre and puppetry. Unfortunately, from
my point of view I felt that it rather degenerated into a bit of a
fourth form girls school panto in parts, especially when they pranced
about rather heavily of foot! It was certainly a well intentioned production
and there was no doubting the sincerity of the cast. The action on
stage often had me quite lost as far as making sense of it all was
concerned, however the cast had tap danced their way into my affections
by the end of the show and the appearance of the erm, elves. Overall,
this production was only dark in an obscure sort of way....
Little Red Riding Hood
- Boy Who Cried Theatre funded by The Princes Trust
venue :: C Cubed
see links :: http://www.boywhocried.com/
category :: Theatre
Thu 24 Aug 06 20.05
A well attended show with a versatile young cast that swap roles, sing,
mime and dance their way through the fifty-five dark minutes of this
shows existence. Their narrative interpretation is entertaining and
puts a new spin on an old fairy-tale. The whole production is about
a magical transportation into something rich and darkly humorous as
it progresses to grandma's murder by Mr Wolf the forest axe murderer
and sex pervert. Of course the story does not end there and Little
Red Riding Hood's revenge is as grim as it is gothic, methodical and
terrible. The cast brings real emotion to the tale and may well make
it even darker and more twisted than you may remember from the original
version of your childhood. We are all in the forest now and if any
of us had to live through even half of the events in this story, we
would be in the hands of PTSD counsellors; so its great fun throughout!
Lolita - Act Provocateur
International
Venue: C cubed
See http://www.actprovocateur.net
19 08 06
A production in which the audience can be as riveting and interesting
to watch as the play! I found Humbert Humbert faintly disturbing in
this frank portrayal of one man's obsession. The show is actually quite
funny in parts and has a strong voyeuristic element which the cast
seemed to enjoy playing up to. Maybe the proximity of the action in
a small theatre space made for some embarrassment and squirming among
the onlookers as the action onstage was quite explicit for its taboo
theme. However despite its clumsy, unsubtle and uncomfortable opening,
the production grows on you and you may begin to sympathise with the
characters and enjoy the show as it develops. It represents a reworking
of the original novel with a more moral ending, so don't expect this
dramatised version to be true to the original story. Some of the more
recent music tunes featured seemed anachronistic in parts and it worked
better with musical allusions to an earlier period in time. A more
assertive and knowing Lolita than Nabokov may have intended but one
more consistent and in tune with teen culture and sexuality now; as
in fact it was when the book was first published, as recently as 1955.
Taylor Mac - Paul Lucas
Productions
venue :: Smirnoff Baby Belly
see links :: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q1-K1ht984
http://www.paullucasproductions.com/taylor_mac
http://www.taylormac.net/
category :: Theatre
unseen :: sold out :: no press tickets available from the agent
Not even I could get into this show, that's how popular and highly
spoken of, Taylor Mac became at the 2006 Edfringe. Still, you can get
plenty of previews at Youtube and I caught one of his numbers at his
special guest appearance at the Midnight Carousel press launch. Certainly
an artist you may want to see in the future...
Unrated
Macbeth re-arisen - White
Whale Theatre
venue :: Hill Street theatre
see links :: http://www.whitewhaletheatre.com/
Preview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLM5Y0VElPc
category :: Theatre
Mon 28 Aug 06 22.40
Something wicked this way comes and with some vengeance in this amazing
Shakespearean sham, lampoon and generally spoof production delivered
with the utmost seriousness and in deadpan style. Surely the line,
'Beware the Ides of March' is from some other WS play, you may rightly
think!? There was sustained laughter throughout the show mostly from
members of the audience who enjoyed literary allusions and could spot
a humorous turn of phrase or word that was most certainly unknown in
Elizabethan times but was nevertheless delivered in a spoof pentameter
that convincingly drew the unwary in. It is a bit rough on MacDuff
to have to slay Macbeth a second time and this was the only show this
year that I saw anyone walk out of, if only to use the toilet because
of its length, nearly 2 hours. Lady Macbeth is amazingly dark and this
show includes the most iconic use of a chainsaw in a period piece you
will ever see as well as the most realistic severed hand ever, scuttling
across the stage in an amazing feat of special effects trickery! This
show sold the largest number of tickets at the Hill Street theatre
venue and is said to have had a bit of a cult following around the
festival this year. In addition producer Kelly Farrow, was given a
special award for Best Producer on the closing night of the Festival.
This was the last show I saw this year at the festival and it was well
worth its weight in gold bats...
Maddon'ER - Calm Productions
and The Gate...
venue: Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House
see: http://www.rocketvenues.org/rocket_2006/
category: Theatre
17 08 06
A two girl production that starts very well as they offer you a drink
as you go into the small theatre space allocated to this show. It was
very hot and packed out the night I attended, mostly with youth theatre
players taking time off. This audience enjoyed the show tremendously
as it tackles the theme of growing up head on. Its essentially a social
commentary starting in the 80's by thirteen year old Lesley who craves
sex but never quite gets any. Her mom is 'right on' and totally supportive,
so much so that Lesley blames her for all the wrong choices she makes
as she grows up through the 80's, 90's and beyond. The whole thing
juxtaposes Madonna's music releases and marketing ploys with key points
in Lesley's progress through life. Continuity between the fast pace,
furious monologues, funny action and costume changes are provided by
a Madonna look alike dancing energetically to her tracks. Its in the
genre of 'chick flick' and 'chick-lit,' its ironic, witty and will
win you over totally. A great show, especially if you are a chick or
love Madonna and very worthy of a visit.
The Midnight Carousel - C
presents...
venue: C central
See: http://www.midnightcarousel.net
11 08 06
A night of polysexual philandering on stage as Dusty Limits provides
the continuity for a host of cabaret, burlesque, stand up comedians
and more burlesque. A showcase night at which C Venues press starlet
Laura Davis assembles an audience as bewitching as the cast of the
show. Offerings are mostly from C venues with the occasional star making
a brief touch down. A night which would be far more enjoyable in a
less claustrophobic venue. One preferably without a massive pillar
in front of the stage and with a better stocked bar. The battle weary
fringe audience endured the discomfort, bonded in the mutual appreciation
of naughtiness and enjoyed it nonetheless. A night with a fringe buzz
where you may spot an act you may want to see in its entirety. This
last being he true value of fringe variety nights. You will flit into
the night happy by the end of the show.
Normal by Anthony Neilsen
- Schadenfreude Productions
venue :: C, Chambers St
see links :: http://www.sfprod.co.uk/
http://www.cvenues.com/festival/show.php?id=1250
category :: Theatre
Thu 24 Aug 06 22.55
This is a vivid and atmospheric production about the Dusseldorf Ripper
and serial killer Peter Kurten, executed in 1931 in the closing years
of Weimar Germany. Its also about his young, naive defence lawyer Justus,
appointed to defend a hopeless cause, not least because Kurten was
intent on his own execution! Kurten is believed to have killed up to
60 victims but his transgressions whilst on earth numbered far more
than these and covered a very full and interesting spectrum, from petty
vices and the grosser immoralities to dreadful depravities, sickening
perversions and some very wicked manipulation. The coolness of the
darkened C +3 venue, itself quite high up and remote from the festival
crowds, leant an extra chill to the proceedings. There is still an
element of dark humour in this show which maybe lies in the grim retelling
of Kurten's early formative experiences. There was little modesty sharing
a one room apartment with his parents as well as 13 brothers and sisters!
Maybe that's why he arranged the drowning of two fellow 8 year olds
at the park. Soon he branched out to make friends with the local dog-catcher
and slaughterer and by his teens he discovered the joy of having sex
with animals as he slaughtered them also! Sex with mothers and daughters
together always seemed somehow spicier and a good starting point for
a catalogue of horror crimes far too nasty, if banal and unfortunate
for the victims, to recount here in full. Though it must be said that
when any are described in detail its always with a certain emotive
poignancy that makes the weight of all the others seem darker still.
There is a wonderful flashback sequence with a strobe to make a scene
seem more like a silent movie which succeeds terribly well against
what is a minimalist set. Kurtens lusts had no limits, his deranged
crimes were systematic and terrible. There were no crimes of passion,
it was all premeditated stuff, including the taunting of the local
constabulary. Kurten gets his defence lawyer to have sex with his wife
then progresses towards the denouement, the annihilation of self and
his final discharge. No one mourned the passing of a man who once cut
off the head of a sleeping swan to drink its blood. Before long 'normal'
men would be carrying out many of his crimes on behalf of the State.
A grim, nasty and very dark tale indeed and well worth its weight in
gold bats.
The Open Couple by Dario
Fo and Franca Rama - OneOfEach
venue :: Sweet Grassmarket Apex hotel
see links :: http://www.opencouple.com dead link
category :: Theatre
Fri 25 Aug 06 14.40
A fantastic show by a, 'small yet genuinely international theatre group,
with members from Lebanon, Chile, Greece and Peru,' which is how they
describe themselves. The 'Open Couple' is a brilliant production, its
moral being, if you like to screw around, don't get married or do it
from within a relationship, because open relationships will take their
toll of even a reasonable persons psyche. This is a very funny show
which is well acted and draws you in completely. The intimate space
of an Apex Hotel suite probably assists in breaking down any barriers
between the action in the stage area and the audience. There are plenty
of mixed messages and double binds in this story of how one man's dream
is one woman's nightmare and once the roles are reversed there is enough
nightmare for everyone. Its a show that graphically illustrates how
messy playing around can get and how much misery and vengeance can
be unleashed in a married relationship. There is a nice use of musical
accompaniment, gunshot and some very funny, direct appeals to the audience
by the warring parties. Its both compelling and amusing, to watch this
couple bicker and take the piss out of each other for a whole 70 minutes.
Great as entertainment or as relationship counselling, its both genuinely
moving and hilarious in parts.
Rabbit - Something Else
Productions
venue :: C Cubed
see links :: none found
Photo below from Edinburgh
fringe photographer
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5277/1320/1600/82970029rabbit1.jpg
category :: Theatre
Fri 25 Aug 06 12.25
Twelve twenty five p.m. is a bit early for me to be hearing references
to fellatio from onstage and I was not quite sure what this show was
all about for at least half of the performance. The earlier parts involved
a pathetic junkie staggering about, an overactive girl and more girls
dotted around the performance space in 'Playboy Bunny' type outfits,
so far so good. It then took me more than a few moments to adjust to
the junkie's 'wigger' type intonations and then work out that he was
in fact a hip-hop artist! By this stage, the small child sitting next
to me did not seem terribly impressed and I was worrying that I had
in fact been enticed into this show by posh, silly girls, in bunny
costumes.. However when 'hip-hop' and 'rap' were equated with the 'noise
of traffic,' I began to warm to the show and foolishly allowed it to
draw me in a little. It seemed to be a 'war of the generations' type
of production to which the early afternoon audience seemed quite receptive.
The audience did in fact all look like they were, well actually 'parents,'
and the few I overheard chatting were, which probably explains it.
With the serious sub-plot of the fathers impending and untimely demise
from an incurable disease, the show progressed until at least two of
the cast were down to their underwear. A presumably radio controlled
box would occasionally rattle, suggesting the presence of an incarcerated
rabbit, but this was to stop, not long after the administration of
a lethal injection of heroin! The high point for me was when the by
now, tipsy mother character made a pass at the daughters boyfriend
(the hip-hop artist) but that was only because she looked so good in
bra, panties and an apron. An intelligent, young and good looking British
amateur cast, goes badly wrong by adapting a play by Australian Brendan
Cowell, only to discover that the USA is not the only country from
which we are divided by a common language and culture. If you know
anything about Aussie 'shock-jocks' this show, the plot and the father
character will have instantly made sense to you. I had to wait till
I found that detail buried at the back of the program afterwards, for
all of the erm other disparate pieces, to finally fall into place.
Playhouse Creatures - Dang Nabbit Theatre Collective
venue: Quaker Meeting House
category: Theatre
Provocative Cinema - Act
Provocateur International in association with C film
venue: C cubed
http://www.actprovocateur.net
21 08 06
Categorised as theatre presumably because it showcases more of the
work and members of Act Provocateur Int. Theatre. I was alone in this
C cubed venue, the Masonic temple off the Lawnmarket for this screening.
A couple came in for a while but the shorts failed to keep their interest
and they left but I quite enjoyed them. The first film was about a
Goth girl with a split personality and serves as a warning about going
off with strange and unknown gothic sexual partners. 'Automata' had
a nice compilation of images. 'Here Today,' a Purple Sky film shows
how much narrative its possible to get into about a minute of film.
'The World in Her Eyes' makes the point, would you go with that girl
or person, if you could see every one of her past sexual partners in
her eyes? An interesting screening and a good advertisement for Act
Provocateur International.
Tits & Blood - The General's
Players, Washington and Lee University
Venue: Greyfriars Kirk House
see: http://theatre.wlu.edu/
13 08 06
Any allusions about 'Tits and Blood' in this show's publicity is a
lie. Twenty minutes into this show and I couldn't see what it was about.
Some high school kid in mall clothes expended far too much of the audiences
time on an account of his sleazy internet date. When she shows up we
are 25 minutes into the show and its a relief to see another person
on the otherwise empty stage! There is an attempt to gain the audiences
sympathy for the 'date.' She may end up as 'tits and blood' and their
may be a 'wanted poster,' should the audience warn her? Some are coaxed
into crying out but she fails to respond (it was a lie as well) and
this part of the show is still far too long for an internet safety
ad. Thirty six minutes into the show and there is a welcome change
of pace and of characters on the still empty stage. There are four
stories about petty spitefulness which even if richly deserved will
only raise the faintest wry smile from anyone. More coaxing of the
audience, a vote on which story is the biggest lie. Well they all are
and for the denouement the cast mocks their pitifully small audience
for parting with their money to see this show, which has been surprise,
surprise, 'a pack of lies!' This last is possibly overdone and so its
with a clear conscience that we can relegate this production into the
obscurity it so richly deserves as part of some wealthy Americans arts
education. You will hope that in the years to come, that they all suffer
on the casting couch and end up as fluffers or doing tacky American
porn.
Under Ice - RAW in association
with Project Arts Centre, Dublin
venue :: C Chamber Street
see links :: http://www.falkrichter.com/
http://www.goethe.de/ins/ie/dub/acv/tut/2005/enindex.htm
category :: Theatre
Sun 27 Aug 06 18.30
This production explores the banality of technocratic alienation as
a myriad of salary-men around the world battle electronically to achieve
performance goals in organisations which increasingly regard them as
dispensable. This show was recommended to me by the producer of NORMAL,
as one of the most powerful and significant pieces of work on the Fringe
in 2006. Staged with some striking projected backdrops, the show opens
with a boardroom monologue from a besuited older executive. Under ice
is about adult coldness, anomie and distance; distance also perhaps
from one's childhood when everything seemed possible and such a banal
fate unimagined. The ice freezes time into slow motion and traps its
victims, who perceive the discomfiting experience of duration, in a
hostile executive environment - like the recurrent image of 'a dead
cat' frozen into the waters of an icy canal in the winter. Expect to
see 'suits' up on their hind legs spewing their corporate, MBA conditioned,
bullshit buzzwords but with the ironic sub-text that this meaningless
but deadly management claptrap deserves. Trapped by the cruel games
larger corporations play to keep their personnel in line, the execs
grapple with the impossible task of applying abstract management concepts
to human behaviour and keeping their identities intact under the burden
of an encroaching managerial false consciousness. The cold emptiness
of the intellectual landscape is contrasted with and compounded by
the iciness outdoors in this bleak portrayal of corporate totalitarianism.
The human costs of ruthless management accounting systems and the boardroom
executive's 'ultimate solution' of 'downsizing' underlie the grim realities
of this haunting, dark vision. A play by Falk Richter, translated by David
Tushingham, directed by Rachel West and originally presented as a double
bill 'The System,' in two parts, 'Electronic City' and 'Under Ice'
by the Project arts Centre and the Goethe-Institut Dublin.
Vocation of a Whore -
Teatro del Borgia
venue :: Zoo, Southside
see links :: http://www.teatrodeiborgia.org/
press release http://www.teatrodeiborgia.org/ediacom/press_releases/docs/tvoah.doc
category :: Theatre
Sat 26 Aug 06 21.30
Teatro dei Borgia presented their Edinburgh debut with the UK premiere
of VOCATION OF A WHORE, performed by Annika Strohm. "A sexy and
provocative contemporary European drama about fate, faith and sex," they
said. It starts with a pretty girl on a vespa, music and mime but much
before long we are drawn hypnotically into a surreal monologue about
the unlikely adventures of an ex-prostitute and wannabee housewife,
doing her last job for the mob! Giving up cock wasn't easy for her
and the delivery of this monologue translated into English, probably
from Italian, by a Norwegian actress could not be less difficult. As
such it probably contains the longest and funniest talk on a blowjob
in translation that you will ever hear. The fabulous Annika Strohm
mesmerised an appreciative audience for the full length of the show
with a very tall tale that would give Moira Finucane something to worry
about. With reflections on the evasive nature of perfection, a retired
prostitute and superheroine, a madam, a hit man and a drug dealer move
towards an absurd climax where happiness is not the least worst position.
Visually striking and sensually appealing sets make the whole experience
almost perfect.
|
