crave.txt

http://www.nightnews.net/fringe2008.htm#crave

Crave by Sarah Kane - 3Bugs Fringe Theatre
venue :: Sweet ECA
see links :: http://students.bugs.bham.ac.uk/fringe/
http://www.sweet-uk.net/edinburgh/2008/shows/full/cravebysarahkane.htm 
+ download
category :: Theatre
Reviewed date :: 24 08 08

Review: 'Crave' by Sarah Kane ran at the fringe while one of her 
other works, '4.48 Psychosis was part of the EIF programme this 
year. Sarah Kane's international influence and acclaim is a tribute
to her work which has often been less well received in her home 
country. An English playwright, her short life was darkened by 
depression and she finally ended it by her own hand in 1999. This
production of 'Crave' by 3Bugs is as much a tribute by students 
at Birmingham University (where she took her MA in playwriting) 
as it is 'classic fringe material.' The show was certainly well 
attended the afternoon that I saw it and there was an expectant 
frisson among the audience. A sound bite looped in the background
as we waited for the show to start, '..don't you understand? I've
got important things to do!' Eventually the cast wiggled and crawled
into the studio and onstage to 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' Rose
Bryant, Katherine Lunney, Daniel Marchese Robinson and Danny 
Wilkins, though young were well suited to the play and its 
disjointed narratives. They delivered the particularly strong 
writing to great effect, giving the youthful insecurities of the
content convincing emotional expression. The approach is to make
a montage of dialogues that could as well be from four characters
or from two couples. It could just as much be four people with four
voices; A M, B and C - there are no names and any roles or 
relationships are to be implied. It's pretty much up to the 
individual in the audience to extract or impose an interpretation
of this aspect of the writing. There is also a strong physical 
theatre aspect to this production, the cast can move about as 
violently as the content runs through violent emotions. Whether
its about transmitting messages, sex, abuse, rape, pissing on 
the carpet, love, devotion, betrayal, breakdown, life, 
relationships, love, obsession, more sex, affairs, despair - 
the cast get some real empathy going in the studio. There is 
an occasional shorter narrative in the greater whole, sound 
effects punctuate the action and when the whole cast scream 
together, the effect is quite chilling! The performances are 
all quite compelling, totally magnetic and the cast must run 
through the full range of every human emotion in this fraught,
high energy, play. At some point there is a lot of pink jelly 
on the stage, I am not sure if it’s meant to be blood, it may 
as well be. A version of 'Hurt' plays, mixed in with 'Wish upon
a star,' they fade in and out! The show ends with the cast 
lying in even more pink jelly; it has that sickly sweet smell
of additives. Director Daniel Pitt and his fellow producer 
Daniel Marchese Robinson have done a very professional job 
on this show which maintained the close attention of the audience
throughout. There is also a live accompaniment performed by Paul 
Williams, with music composed by Paul Williams and Daniel 
Marchese Robinson, all interspersed with some other, rather
well chosen, musical sound bites. Sarah Kane's work which 
is as compelling and relevant today as when it was written
is completely complemented by this awesome 3Bugs production.
4 silver bats

by John C vassallo