dotty.txt

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http://www.nightnews.net/fringe2007.htm#dotl
Title: The Dying of the Light
3 gold bats
http://www.wotlarx.com/

26 08 07 - Billed as probably the oldest cast at the Fringe, the 
'Dying of the Light' is a metaphor for growing old and is inspired 
by Dylan Thomas's plea to his dying father 'Do not go gentle into 
that good night.' With a sub text about the age related issues of 
social exclusion, this semi pro cast does grim justice to the sad 
events that envelop a thoughtful group of elderly pensioners who 
are caught up in a local protest against petty officials. The
narrative is interspersed with sudden changes in mood and tempo,
with an occasional classical music sound accompaniment. The 
narrative about their day of protest is scattered with references
about the indignities of ageing. Some of their reminiscences are 
far from rosy, they have had hard lives are stubborn and have 
nothing left to lose. Told in flashbacks, the protest got out of
hand and one of the pensioners has burnt herself alive and died 
in the local hospital. As each tries to make sense of the act in
their own limited terms, its wider meaning if any, is lost and 
undermined. Some of the ladies attention is always digressing 
distractedly, is this a coping mechanism for the horror of the 
situation? Is the ambiguity and confusion around the death a 
smokescreen by the more alert ones to comfort and protect their 
friends? Both are plausible in this ambling psychological drama. 
The 'Dying of the Light' is the third play by award winning novelist
and poet David Pattison. It will test your patience as well as your
affinity for older members of the community who are not without a 
powerful though latent voice.

By John Vassallo