Archive for category Charlotte Monk-Chipman
The Seagull Effect
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Seagull Effect, Zoo on August 28, 2011
DANCE
****
The Seagull Effect
Zoo Roxy
There is nothing Idle about the theatre company ‘Idle Motion’. ‘The Seagull Effect’ is a thoroughly eclectic collaboration of mediums in a dynamic piece of theatre which transforms the ordinary topic of weather into something extraordinary. Inspired by the freak hurricane in Britain 1987, this undeniably exciting company draw from countless creative perspectives and verbatim accounts, as they brave the elements with this resultant success.
But naturally, this silver lining isn’t without it’s cloud, the concept is overly complicated, overcast with far too many metaphorical strands and philosophical messages, mapping fate against the geological weather predictions, but the spectacle makes up for this pretentious front.
The storyline of two separated lovers reunited by the storm, felt awkwardly worked in, with nagging sentimentality. It was the main tale which was plucked from the chaos, and although the couple’s story explored another layer to the web of dramatic forms, the emotional intensity of their relationship revealed a gaping hole in the piece; their acting ability. Clearly, they made better artistic innovators than actors, as their chemistry wasn’t quite believable, and although I warmed to Kate Stanley’s characterisation of the woman, I found Alex Kearley-Shiers performance as the Man awkward and poorly acted.
The use of projection onto many different objects was thrilling and really slick, I loved the use of the multi-functional white umbrellas, and whenever they used multi-media projection, I felt it was incredibly effective through each artistic inflection.
The piece is a clear example of style over substance, but it works. The vast array of multi-media titivations constantly delivered really clever moments and as a result the show was thoroughly entertaining. The piece’s ambition cannot be faulted, but it attempted to metaphorical-ize the concept of the human body and emotions in harmonious sync with nature, which remained in dis-equilibrium in the eye of the storm.
Cluedo
Posted by Martin in Augustine's, Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Cluedo on August 27, 2011
MUSICALS
**
Cluedo
Augustine’s
‘Professor Plum’ in the library with the spanner? ‘Reverend Green’ in the study with the revolver? ‘Poot Productions’ manage to distort the notion of whodunnit, into who cares?! Unfortunately Cluedo the musical really is as bad as it sounds. As a great fan of this classic board game, I had high hopes for a musical adaptation, but the real scene wasn’t the intelligent parody I had hoped for. At first I thought that the show might be so awful it was brilliant, but this is too great a complement, and the cast were not talented enough to pull it off.
Using awkward follow spots, the lighting also flunked, with poor technical operation but at least this was in keeping with all the other elements. The script wasn’t great, although I did appreciate the brief homage to Chicago’s ‘cell block tango’, and the theme song was unfortunately catchy. But the singing was distinctly average and needed elaborate ‘jazz hands’ choreography to really make it entertaining. It certainly needed to be infinitely cheesier for it to be satirical. A noteworthy performance was given by the archetypal bawdy maid ‘Mrs White’ though, and her performance stood out but admittedly, this was not too difficult given the casts aptitude.
The show only established hilarity in accidental moments, such as Colonel Mustard’s moustache slipping off his lip and onto his chin, which I met with suppressed giggling and streaming eyes, and this was a welcome mishap and I thank the actors’ sweaty lip for this. Such blunders were irrationally funny compared with the show itself, so that when a gunshot failed to sound but someone died, I lapsed into hysteria yet again. True to its roots, this show is murder, and rather than a thrilling original musical, a cup of tea and a dusty old board game is guaranteed to be more entertaining.
A Day in November
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Day in November, Zoo on August 27, 2011
THEATRE
**
A Day in November
Zoo Southside
A show based on a senile old man playing hide the cucumber, sounds far more entertaining than the actual product, but innuendo aside, sadly this puppet show (supposedly for adults) was dull sentimental bore. Performed by Rumen Gavanozov of Theatre Atelie 313, the puppet is beautifully crafted as an elderly philosophical figure with a tendency to become distracted by his missing cucumbers and a touch Narcoleptic; which was extensively dragged out. The snoring gag is never funny, even when a puppet does it and perhaps less so. It tried so hard to be funny, but it was painfully drab.
Both puppet and puppeteer were cute though, and the Bulgarian puppeteer was naturally charming but with very weak material. For a one-man operated puppet, i suppose it was operated with reasponable skill, but he grappled with illusionism with no precision to the eye line, no attempt to make the puppet breath, and no fixed point or sense of gravity (the three basic principals in puppeteering). The unfocused stance of the puppet was even more important to the piece, as the crux of the show sent the puppet flying, but there was no contrast, and perhaps the puppets engineering was overambitious for a one-man show.
The cleverest aspect of the show however, was his no-handed puppetry; where he subtly nudged the table to make the puppets head bob to create the impression of speech, but sadly, this was its only redeeming feature. Thematically centred on old age and decay, unfortunately the show seems to extend this to an impression of a disappointing digression of the artform, but in reality this is not the case, as this show isn’t a patch on some of the other puppetry shows at the fringe.
Pool (No Water)
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Pool (No Water), Zoo on August 27, 2011
THEATRE
***
Pool (No Water)
Zoo Roxy
I didn’t really enjoy this show. With a cast of 3, Bell Jar Productions; a student company from Reading University attempt to create a ‘raw, evocative and challenging piece’ but i remained impervious to the cause. The narrative explores the crippling injuries of a woman who jumps into an empty pool and her 3 closest friends’ involvements, emotional discontent and resentment for her ‘tragic fate’. The show is an adaptation of Mark Ravenhill’s play punctuated by spurts of physical movement and layered voices, but the triple ensemble lacked synchronicity and needed to be much tighter, if they were to create the illusion of being united in their guilt.
Ravenhill’s script is shocking, and deliberately violent, but the direction was a puerile interpretation. There was no depth to the characterisation, the actors just kept shouting their lines, so the aggressive tone of the performance, paradoxically eclipsed the aggressive emotional centre of the play. They patronised the anger of the script through a deafening display of fury as they performed with unnecessary, unrelenting volume which i found most disagreeable. I was not enthralled by anything they said whilst shouting, nor when they spoke with more appropriate decibels. Even the music and voiceover was excessively loud, and it came to a point where i considered how much more enjoyable i would have found the show if my hearing was impaired, as the spectacle was certainly more effective that the show’s aural capacity.
The acting was at a low standard, but there were at least some really nice fleeting moments of physicality, and it was clearly well rehearsed. The show’ quality did pick up a bit, but its creativity undulated drastically. At the approximate mid-point of the show, they screamed unanimously, and then began to push each other, fighting over centre stage; so these horribly familiar moments affirmed that this was Emma Chapman’s directing debut, as if torn from the pages of a student’s guide to acting and directing handbook.
Debris
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Debris, Zoo on August 27, 2011
THEATRE
***
Debris
Zoo Roxy
Performed on alternate days with PlayON’s other fringe show ‘Stacy’ as part of their ‘Lost Ones Season’; Debris by Dennis Kelly is an ‘in-yer-face’ drama exploring the perverse lives of Brother and Sister Michael and Michelle, in a shattered family with unrelenting torment and underpinned with natal obsession. Both children are fixated on their birth right with morose intent and understandable angst, which has been ingrained in their ‘detrimental childhood’.
The two actors; Lily Knight and Will Hughes are aesthetically a good sibling-ly match and in an intensely personal play, the duo are a complementary partnership. The two maintained character throughout as the play alternated monologues so their stage presence was strong. And notably, Knight played a very endearing innocence as the sister, which was quite beautiful to watch her capture a child-like softness to her wide-eyed stare, if slightly off-putting. Sadly, this attention slipped slightly in her own monologues, and i felt this was the case for the pair of them; that unusually, they shone when the other was speaking. They were incredibly engaging as physical performers, but struggled to convey the same strength of character in their speech. Nevertheless, they maintained solid performances.
For the aforementioned reasons, I wasn’t really convinced by the vulnerability of their characters. Despite their troubled lives, their characterisation was unusually gutsy from the start. This was most notably captured by Hughes’ brazen eye contact with the audience in such an intimate space as we entered the room. This was perhaps ill-befitting to the plays content, but an interesting interpretation either directorial or scriptural. They adopted a surprisingly strong disposition, when i felt they needed to be more spiritually broken, instead they came across as twitchy and socially awkward, but needed greater depth. They captured the child-like nature well, but didn’t quite connect with the degenerate lifestyle, so that as an audience member, i could not quite suspend my disbelief far enough.
I didn’t really feel emotionally effected by it, and was more tormented by the white noise from the TV’s incorporated in the set (used effectively with footage of birthing imagery), but which began to give me a headache. Hughes did give a very strong performance whilst recounting the story of the baby found amongst a pile of rubbish, and his immediate emotional and physical attachment to the child was touching to watch and disturbing in equal measure, but he lacked the subtlety and delicate quality which Knight exuded, and remained slightly too frantic. Overall this was a solid show, but lacked the poignancy which it had clear potential to achieve.
Stacy
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Stacy, Zoo on August 27, 2011
THEATRE
****
Stacy
Zoo Roxy
Produced by ‘PlayON’; ‘Stacy’ by Jack Thorne is a one-man show where Nick Mcquillin plays Rob; a young man who sailed through childhood as a self-proclaimed ‘beautiful child’ but is now grappling with adulthood. In an incredibly entertaining tangential confession, aided by a slideshow of projected images always reverting back to his obsession with his best friend Stacy, his monologue is effortlessly delivered with a superb comic patter.
His bumbling persona is entertaining and amusing rather than irritating, and even when the script delves into incredibly dark territory, his delivery is faultlessly alluring and he brings an honest naivety to what could easily have been conceited profligacy. But Mcquillin could hold his own without the projected images, which seemed like a timid directorial decision and an unnecessary distraction to his engaging performance. The images added to the comedy, and provided faces to the characters rob described, when this could easily have been left to the audience’s imagination through Mcquillin’s innate talent for conveying a believable recollection of the stories he told.
The graphic details which the script divulges were delivered with a subtle air of bitter-sweet internal struggle, at face value incredibly amusing, yet there was a sinister undertone gradually emerging. However, this never peaked and he seemed to lack an emotional intensity at the crux of the show. This was his only limitation as an actor and at this crucial point I struggled to believe in his performance, but I fear this was a detriment of the direction; that his abrupt exit from the stage gave way to the glorified slideshow which rapidly recapped all the shows images closing the piece in a slightly awkward contrived fashion. I felt his presence on stage needed to linger for just a fraction longer, as he was incredibly capable of holding the audience.
2401 Objects
Posted by Martin in 2401 Objects, Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Pleasance on August 27, 2011
THEATRE
****
2401 Objects
Pleasance Courtyard
‘Analogue’ Theatre Companysensitively convey the real-life story of how a man becomes a scientific artefact. Inspired by the life, death, and legacy of patient HM; Henry Molaison, this fascinating performanceis creatively crafted, balancing style and substance to deliver a truly moving and impressive piece of theatre by an exciting company.
It is not weighed down by complicated neuroscience, and as the scenes are played out, intertwining memories with Henry’s (what I took to be Present tense) in a hospital with an incredibly patient nurse, the narrative itself becomes slightly unclear. We bear witness to really touching moments and superb acting, but most notably the chemistry between the cast, which keeps the shows momentum and drives the piece forward.
The beauty of the piece is secured by the clever use of the set and its slick scene changes; with a giant revolving and sliding gauze screen and their simple use of physicality to collapse into the floor as the screen passes over them. Only at the end, where Henry’s brain ‘was cut into 2401 objects’ is the title’s significance chillingly revealed,and how the set itself is a perverse engorged replica of the brain slicer used to dissect Henry’s cranium. It isn’t until this final crucial moment, that the entire performance takes shape, and the piece’s brilliance is revealed through a powerful and moving climax.
The Infant
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Infant, Pleasance on August 27, 2011
THEATRE
**
The InfantPleasance Courtyard
‘Les EnfantsTerribles Theatre’ have created a diluted political satire which dissipates under the circular absurdist cat and mouse exchange between the ludicrous interrogators Castogan and Samedi , and their pathetic husband and wife prisoners, as they attempt to get to the bottom of the issue at hand. The problem being an uninteresting issue; a drawing by a 4 year old which fails to be witty, and they soon exhaust the comedy, and my interest in the plot.
The piece has a strong opening whilst the audience enter but sadly, this rapidly declines when they begin to perform. If, like me, you’re not a huge fan of clowns, then the beginning stage picture is incredibly sinister, with a fantastic set; under a ceiling of rows of dimly lit naked light bulbs, and a chilling masked clown with sunken dark eyes sitting motionless on the stage. The music and soundscape consists of a low ominous wind noise, whistling, tapping and twinkly circus-like music subtly layered and the effect is slightly terrifying. But then, as the mask is removed and a drippy actor is revealed, followed by his equally uninspiring wife, tweedledum and tweedledee, the performance loses its potential for hilarious dark comedy. The script had clear moments of brilliance, but the characterisation of the manic double act stuck to a hyperbolic level, and the interrogators were neither menacing, nor witty.
Using the simple and effective set, for swift transactions, the pace didn’t drag, but as the plot was repetitive, and the characters un-engaging, I did regret my presence in the audience.
Cutting the Cord
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Cutting the Cord, Underbelly on August 27, 2011
THEATRE
****
Cutting the Cord
Underbelly
‘Cutting the Cord’ is a one-woman spectacle by ‘Flying Eye’ Theatre Company. Sachi; a petite, wildly animated Japanese woman creates a simple, poetic and at times moving piece of experimental theatre which gently explores the topic of immigration and the emotional void between cities on reflection of her autobiographical journey from Tokyo to London and back again.
As the title might suggest, the piece explores the severance from one’s place of birth and the journey for a new sense of belonging. This poetic metaphor of being uprooted is playfully travelled in the show, as Sachi tenderly and comically presents a very watchable story which completely draws the audience in.
Beginning with a little audience participation, Sachi and her equally charming musician lure the audience onto the stage, and the first 15 minutes are unintimidating but theatrically, less exciting. However, It does have the double effect of disorientating the conventions of theatre, and familiarising the audience with each other and the space. This clever transference of the thematic centre and emotional pull of Sachi’s story shows how the concept of the piece was conveyed successfully through her heart-warming character, making this experimental piece relatable and endearing to its audience, where total theatre usually fails.
Thirsty
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Pleasance, Thirsty on August 24, 2011
THEATRE
***
Thirsty
Pleasance Courtyard
From the company ‘The Paper Birds’, ‘Thirsty’ tackles the topic of Britain’s love affair with booze, performed by Kylie Walsh and Jemma McDonell, and it is perhaps experimental theatre at its best, but it is a deeply flawed performance nonetheless.
Despite early testimonies that they will not be telling the stories of young women on hedonistic nights out, represented by the recurring red stiletto heel trope comically pulled from toilet bowls, inevitably they do. As such, they limit their target audience to a much younger crowd, and although I found the show relatable, I happen to fit the demographic as a female University student. Perhaps because they draw from their own life experience, or because the verbatim testimonies they received for their research on their ‘drunken hotline’ limited the direction of the devised piece, the performance is steeped with irony, and the huge female centre is an inherent and inescapable bias.
Beautifully staged with a clever set like a cross-section of unusually clean public toilets, there are 3 cubicles; one which is permanently occupied by musician Shane Durrant, leaving 2 others which become an adult playground for the performers. With friendship as the moral centre, even this sat in an alcohol bain-marie, laying the foundations of their friendship, showing still more irony. The aural composition incorporates tinkly melancholic tunes with a strong club base, which cleverly tips the balance towards a despondent air surrounding the stories, but I was unconvinced.
They almost glamorized binge drinking as they never quite left the realm of the frivolous, I felt that they only just scratched the surface, and never ventured into the devastating effects of alcoholism. They were however engaging and relaxed performers, yet I was apathetic to their characters, and although the show is not intoxicating, the performance was absorbing and exuberant. It gave a colourful portrayal of a nation with alcohol so steeped in our culture, even if through a narrow lens.
Shutterland
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Shutterland, Zoo on August 24, 2011
DANCE
*****
Shutterland
Zoo
As Lecoq-trained performers, this 4 strong all-male cast of ‘Rhum and Clay’ deliver exceptional clowning, physically dynamic images, and a wonderful aesthetic which is only strengthened when they remove their gas masks to reveal further pleasures; as incredibly attractive men, each tall dark and handsome, it seems they can do no wrong. They begin by exploring the darkness with torches, groping the space with slow and controlled movements, subtly lit by the glow of torchlights. The effect is immediately enigmatic, and with a restrained music score like the whirring undertones of a generator, this prefigures the sinister sci-fi landscape that is ‘Shutterland’.
The company embrace the strange, channelling absurdist perspectives of a heightened reality and a physical embodiment of paranoia through a performance which explores an exciting and creative subversive treatment of surveillance in society. It is darkly humorous, pacey and satirical of CCTV; bearing social, historical and political resonance which is at times chilling, and always beautiful. There are some stunning moments, creating really dynamic stage pictures, such as the simple coup de théâtre where video cassette tape exploding from a man’s chest is poised in mid-air by gas masked military enforcers.
Some scenes went on a bit and seemed repetitive, yet the show is highly original with fluid physicality and this repetitiveness didn’t seem to matter, as they were constantly creating something beautiful and interesting to watch. I will certainly be following the company on facebook, not least to beautify my newsfeed, but this is an exciting company with limitless potential, and you can expect great things from these men.
One Under
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, One Under, Pleasance on August 23, 2011
THEATRE
**
One Under
Pleasance Courtyard
With a cast of only 4 the characters were equally limited and in a devised show inspired by the real-life testimonies of commuters on the London Underground, I was expecting a mosaic of intertwining lives mapped out by the network of underground passages. The blurb is far more poetic and moving than the performance itself reading; ‘deep into the silence of the carriage, where bodies brush against each other, dreams abound, and – for a few fragile moments – lives intersect in strange and surprising ways’. I feel this statement is slightly generous of the performance’s breadth which only focuses on 4 individuals united by the shared experience of a train halted by some(one under) the train.
Agreed, the environment and concept was familiar, and ought to strike a note with anyone who travels on the underground, but it isn’t a life-changing show and at times felt a bit like stating the obvious without interpreting the activity with much artistic or comic reflection. They attempted to give voice to the unsaid thoughts trapped below ground by commuters travelling across London, but at the risk of undermining the lives of the original thinkers; I didn’t care for the majority of their stories, with a couple of exceptions. A sob story was re-enacted depicting an insecure plain Jane type woman which didn’t spark any sympathy for her self-loathing attitude as the actor playing her was clearly an attractive woman herself, so it was hardly heart-warming. Similarly one actor gave off an air of an inadvertent Sloane-Ranger, ill-fitting to her character. With only a small cast of 4, and a gender imbalance, I felt its limitations and the male actor felt almost tokenised, which is a deep shame as he seemed to be the best actor.
The show was well written around real life testimonies, but although it captured the mundane of the underground, I don’t particularly want or need to see this onstage if it isn’t going to be manipulated particularly creatively. Otherwise it simply transfers one dull experience to another, and instead of the charge on an Oystercard, it hits you on the cost of a ticket, except with ‘One Under’ there is no journey. I too began to feel trapped in a carriage, willing the performance to reach its destination, but it seemed to lack any sense of an objective, and I fear this was accidental rather than a clever transference.
It is by no means a train wreck of a show, but I certainly felt the standstill of the halted underground train in the emotional impact of the show, and I failed to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Flynch Looking
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Flynch Looking, Zoo on August 23, 2011
DANCE
****
Flynch Looking
Zoo
As a Lecoq trained company, their work clearly derived from a physical centre, with great attention to the body in the space, giving the actors incredibly engaging stage presence and focus. Having billed itself under the Dance and Physical Theatre genre, however, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of movement driven scenes. Using caricatured personalities, they portray the story of a socially awkward, perhaps even mildly autistic Flynch in the aftermath of his break up with a girlfriend he can’t stop loving. His journey leads him to a seaside hotel, where the play is set, and through surrealist scenes of escapism and dream-like states, they creatively paint a very funny perspective of the title characters circumstances and emotions.
Flynch is a very endearing character, beautifully played by Ben Teare, with a great balance between the goony hilarity and an inductive sympathy, sensitively done. In a plot where the everyday is heightened, they have created a simplistic, low-budget show that is easy and beautiful to watch. They imaginatively utilise minimal props in an incredibly effective way, most memorably creating a TV with an open suitcase and a flickering torch, so that there are glimpses of artistic genius.
‘Clout’ has great potential, but ironically it lacks clout. It is a gentle interpretation of one man’s tragedy, descending into a dream-like surrealism, but although it is visually quite beautiful, it isn’t stunning, and needs grounding. They seem pre-occupied with conveying the narrative, as it is largely dialogue centred and perhaps overly wordy, but poetic, so that when they break out into a comical dance routine, this moment seems out of place amongst the other scenes.
Bane 1, 2 & 3
Posted by Martin in Bane, Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Pleasance on August 22, 2011
THEATRE
****
Bane 1, 2 & 3Pleasance Dome
A non-descript audience member is overheard pronouncing ‘I’d pay to see it again, and I’d pay so much more’; so luckily for her, this comment followed part 1 of the Bane trilogy, which is proving massively popular. Evidentially Joe Bone leaves his audience begging for more, so with 3 different shows following the title character Bruce Bane; ‘a hired hand that gets the job done’, pursued by Nemesis Shelby, Joe Bone is onto a winner. I watched the trilogy in a linear fashion and was thoroughly entertained 3 nights in a row, but I would dispute Bone’s testament that they can be watched in any order.
As an epic storyteller, he relished every word and movement down to the smallest detail to create a cinematic parody using only his voice, physicality and a live guitar score. He was like the human embodiment of a cartoon character cross 1930’s gangster movie’s anti-hero. He delivers an unstoppable energy to the character of Bruce Bane and all his characters, like a camp ninja, creating a truly exciting experience for the audience. His manic charm is alluring as he flickers in and out of roles in film-noir homage, Joe Bone is a one man tour de force.
I could picture perfectly what he was enacting, so when playing charades I’d want Joe on my team! Bane would work as a radio play, and he would make the most engaging audiobook narrator, but as a piece of theatre, his physicality makes the show electrifying. He must have re-enacted hundreds of deaths, fired thousands of air bullets but he somehow manages to make each killing sudden and exciting. He makes walking on the spot entertaining, and nobody can pull off slow motion like he does. With familiar ticks and recurring witticisms that link the 3 parts together, he rewards his audience along the journey and they share in united audible in-breath as the plot takes a shocking turn at the end of part 3.
I found part one to be the best chapter, as it were, as the subsequent parts are less easy to follow, but the novelty of his performance never fades. Parts 2 and 3 are less explosive, but as the plot structure becomes more convoluted and as he delves under the skin of the characters, it becomes more emotionally engaging. Proving that he can inspire pathos with the simplest of glances as easily as he can raise a smile.
It is not often that the audience refuses to stop applauding to let the act speak after the show, and as he took his bow with immense modesty, the applause proved what a crowd pleaser Bane 1,2 and 3 are, and what a crowd he is drawing.
Motortown
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Motortown, Zoo on August 22, 2011
THEATRE
*****
Motortown
Zoo Roxy
Journeying after Danny; an ex-soldier on home turf, the play exposes the emotional torment and mental digression of a man isolated by an alien life outside of the war in a play which offers an incredibly raw, and controversial take on the devastating effects of war.
The cast as a whole club together in exceptional performances, creating such a harrowing piece of theatre whilst mastering the comedic elements with ease. Most noticeably, James Dartford and Tom Chapman are sublime as estranged brothers Danny and Lee respectively. They provide such depth to their characters with excellent chemistry, that even in the less ‘dramatic’ scenes; I was incredibly moved by the sincerity and intensity of their capabilities as actors. In such a powerful play by Simon Stephens, Dartford rises to the challenge of becoming Danny and excels as a powerful lead, drawing you into the complexity of his character and it is no easy feat to instil both sympathy and fear in an audience, but the emotional intensity on the stage was infectious. My skin crawled with goosebumps as a result of their natural and believable portrayals of a bleak and shocking plotline; a physical testament to the quality of the acting, and in moments of shear vulnerability; notably of actress Mia Hatfield as Jade, I had a lump in my throat watching the brutality.
Despite the disturbing nature of the play, Motortown is immensely entertaining, and the would-be depressing aurora is eclipsed by awe of the performers, and their stamina for producing stunning theatre on a daily basis at the festival. This is without a doubt one of the best low-key, high intensity performances at the fringe this year, and with excellent direction, ‘Motortown’ is near perfection.
Coffin Up
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Coffin Up, Pleasance on August 22, 2011
THEATRE
****
Coffin Up
Pleasance Dome
After watching ‘The Village Idiots’ perform, I am a mask theatre convert. ‘Coffin Up’ is incredibly witty and well executed; sporting a dark humour which surrounds the story of an undertaker whose business is slowly dying; whilst the population refuses to. This occupational hazard drives him to desperate measures to keep the bailiff away, with hilarious consequences. The show is full of surprises with great attention to detail, clever small touches and at times; positively violent moments in this silent black comedy which kept me laughing.
All 3 men were committed to the physicality of their many characters, making light work of the morbid theme and throwing themselves into the roles, and physically around the stage too. Most notably, the physicality of the undertaker; played by Daniel Quirke, was especially effective as a tall, skinny actor. He minced around the stage adopting a sinister stance and mannerisms very appropriate to the role, so that with the mask, he exuded a Tim Burton-esque presence.
The multi-functional set helped to keep the plot exciting and fast paced, also incorporating pleasant surprises keeping the show so alive in the face of death.
Cry of the Mountain
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Cry of the Mountain, Pleasance on August 20, 2011
THEATRE
**
Cry of the Mountain
Pleasance Courtyard
Thirteen characters, verbatim stories and a banjo are used to articulate the environmental concerns at heart in the American coal fields of the Appalachian region of the mountains of West Virginia and Kentucky.
Yes this show was environmentally informative, and you get free oatmeal and raisin cookies which tasted amazing, but Adelind Horan was an awful entertainer, and in a one woman show it is more than slightly detrimental to the piece if the actor in question is terrible.
The piece did not attempt anything creative, it was incredibly simplistic, but negatively so. The structure was formulaic, and she attempted nothing original with her costume changes; which were the only real indicator of a character change, as her characterisation was so weak, and her voice remained a constant drawl. On the odd occasion that her voice took on a different inflection, within seconds it slid back to her base tone which was incessantly dull. She was not a natural performer, and I found myself counting down the characters on the program until the end.
Most awkwardly, she attempted comedy, and although this was a one-woman show plus a banjo man thrown onstage for good measure, she lacked stage presence, and often I found it more interesting to watch the silent banjo man. Her comic timing was as off-beat as her tambourine playing which she also managed to shake out of time.
In attempt to make the show more engaging, she threw in some props which she handed out to the audience, but they were redundant. They served no purpose, so people were given emotive banners but nothing came of this. It seemed as if she missed an opportunity for audience participation, which could have been engaging, but it wasn’t.
What was intended as the crux of the performance (marked by banjo playing either side of the monologue entitled ‘Possum Buddy, you okay?’) I found un-stirring. She groped for the poignancy in the tale about a young girl crying as a result of the damaging health concerns of the mining, but her delivery of the story was so forced. I could see her struggling not to blink for some time in a pathetic attempt to cry, so she might as well have opened a jar of tiger balm and smeared in across her retina for all the subtlety of the act. As the conceiver and actor of the material, she struggled to find any emotional pull in the verbatim story, so naturally I did too.
I think the play would have been better suited in America, the issue is too distant to strike a note with a British audience, and I was only acutely moved by the knowledge of the mining’s destruction, but I think this was largely due to Adelind’s un-motivational and un-engaging performance. The cookies were really good though.
The Dark Philosophers
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Dark Philosophers, Traverse on August 19, 2011
THEATRE
***
The Dark Philosophers
Traverse
Created by National Theatre Wales in association with Told by an Idiot, the show is a theatrical adaptation of the collection of short stories (with the same title) by Welsh storyteller Gwyn Thomas, and the life of the author entwined. The result is a somewhat confusing collaboration, and if it was particularly brilliant, it went over my head.
The show was true to its storytelling routes, using the character of the deceased Gwyn Thomas as a narrator and folklorist song, which kept the momentum of the piece fluid. Although I confess I found the performance to drag at times and I adopted a sleepy haze around my head.
Interspersed with a naturalistic acting style, were fleeting stylised episodes and I sensed a Berkoff influence. But the overall shape of the performance seemed to lack a stylistic axis. A giant puppet is awkwardly thrust into the mix in replacement of an actor, and isn’t even manipulated in a convincing way. The rustic aesthetic gave the piece some grounding, but the impressive staging of a mountain of functioning dark wood wardrobes; used as entrances and exits could only anchor the piece as far as the visual content extends. But I didn’t feel the mask of the dead Thomas worked, and his looming presence on stage would have worked without it, certainly his physicality altered little from the other actors, and the mask didn’t really indicate death artistically. His role in the plot was clever, as he consistently supplied words and sentences for the characters to use, which enforced the presence of the writer, and his role in the stories.
I am at a loss to explain the purpose of the Parkinson chat show interludes with Dolly Parton and Billy Connolly, except to further unhinge the plot from reality and a fixed time frame; as if to make some pretentious comment about the immortality of the authors documented words. I still don’t know what to make of the performance, so if anything it should be praised for leaving an impact on its audience, but I fear that without the set designer, this performance would have laid to rest with the author whose life and works it celebrates.
Life Still
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Life Still, Pleasance on August 19, 2011
THEATRE
**
Life Still
Pleasance Courtyard
‘Folded feather’ present a performance which is irrefutably innovative, but introvert. Immediately, I felt like an unwanted onlooker, intruding on their private silent ritual as they seemed to be titivating the mechanical parts which were strewn on the stage platform, rather than manipulating them into anything impressive, but this show is an extreme form of puppetry, abstract and niche, but I can see why. The amplified and echoed sound from the impact of the mechanical objects striking the surface was at first clever, but overused and this first fig. (as the chalk board placards indicated) needed to be truncated, as it dragged awkwardly. The show is described as ‘post-apocalyptic sci-fi puppetry’, but it struggled to engage an enigmatic vibe, or end-of-the-world excitable panic.
The inanimate objects chosen were as unyielding, as their manipulators dead-pan facade, the majority of the components simply fail to take on life form and having seen the show, I can see how the title absorbs the content perfectly. It just wasn’t very entertaining. The pace was incredibly slow and felt incredibly withdrawn. It lacked a certain performativity, as the puppeteers seemed to be operating internally and withdrawn, as if two adults playing with toy soldiers. Rather than an ominous atmosphere, the room was dead, perhaps due to the barren audience numbers, but mostly because the material wasn’t very stimulating.
There were glimpses of shear genius when, like a phoenix from the ashes, a moth emerged into being and frantically fluttered around the stage illuminated by an old fashioned clicking projector. The effect was mesmerising, but it was fleeting and buried amongst the slow and un-stirring rubble of the piece as a whole.
Le Cochon Entier
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Le Cochon Entier, Zoo on August 19, 2011
THEATRE
***
Le Cochon Entier
Zoo Roxy
As I descended into the intimate auditorium, I was greeted by the sickly smell of cooked meat and a regular thudding beat, which created a strange paradox as I was thrust into an ominous atmosphere whilst being sorely tempted by the plate of bacon lying on the stage next to a grease splattered sign reading ‘please help yourselves’. The plot, as the blurb dictates, was not completely conveyed through the performance but I interpreted the gluttony of two overweight butchers (who I took to be man and wife) as the thematic centre nonetheless, finally culminating in cannibalism.
The opening movement sequence was strikingly simplistic, as the four cast members performed a stylised repertoire of movements in unison to the pulsating beat, but I found the blood dripping from their mouths more of an eyebrow raiser, than nauseating after the first time. The physicality of the cast was inconsistent, as Charlotte Duffy (also writer, director and designer) was clearly much more enthusiastic and dedicated to the role than the others, so her performance stood out hugely against the others. Duffy’s physicality seemed to take on a sexual impulse, with the movements becoming ever more groinal, which in combination with the grotesquenesss of the puppets, and the depraved manner in which the two musicians were playing, ensured a sinister vibe, and added to the dark humour underlying the piece. My interpretation was stuck in a void somewhere between repulsion and hilarity, but as I looked around at the stony-faced audience, I began to doubt whether this was intentional, or just a reflection of my own sordid sense of humour.
The recorded voice over was shoddy, and had not been given the same love as the puppets had been. The editing was really poor, as there were speech hesitations and slurs, and the sound quality was muffled, shrill and the volume needed to be turned down a touch. As a crucial story telling tool in the piece, these errors seriously degraded the quality of the production.
The overall worn and recycled aesthetic was effective, but certain aspects of the puppets seemed rushed and could have been designed in such a way as to celebrate the use of recycled materials without being so messy. The newspaper stuffed tights reminded me of a last minute octopus costume, with scraggy ends used to strap them to the puppeteers. So I would consider using a different resource to pad them out and designing a contraption which makes it easier to manoeuvre the puppets (without blocking the puppeteers view), and enabling a slicker transition into the half-body puppet costumes, but they were effective nonetheless.
The performance and indeed ‘Waste of Paint Productions’ as a company has huge potential, with Charlotte Duffy at the heart of the organisation. However, it needed much better direction as it gradually lost the precision which the opening sequence delivered so strongly and it began to create the impression of an obesity intervention; with the Coup de Théâtre, as more of a coup de weight watchers.
Death Song
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Death Song, Underbelly on August 18, 2011
THEATRE
***
Death Song
Udderbelly’s Pasture
Centring around a Mexican immigrant on death row; although his incarnation is unclear for a while, the non-linear narrative explores the relationship to his aloof daughter, and his new girlfriend and how these relationship fluctuations alter the dynamics of the piece.
Considering ‘You Need Me’ are a storytelling theatre company, the plot is a little confusing, perhaps sacrificed at the expense of exploring the creativity of the piece. However it was by no means unintelligible, and did contain an interesting narrative twist, but it felt very rushed. As it was only an hour long, perhaps with a longer slot it could have reached its full potential and tied up the loose ends in the plot. It certainly felt like a working progress, which ultimately it is; as on the company website, the shows blurb is under a different show title altogether, under the projects in development heading.
As so much of the action takes place in the aisle and even right up behind the raked seating, from my front row seat I suffered from craning my neck to watch the performance and decided early on that I would just have to listen to the action taking place behind me and chance a few painful glances every so often. Although creatively, this decision worked quite well in the portaloo sized performance space, it felt like a piece of theatre which had been developed for a much larger space making the most of what they eventually had.
The shows main asset which drove the piece was its effective use of live sound effects, and music, which was layered with pre-recorded music successfully. For the sound effects, the actors created these in plain view, amplifying a variety of props with a microphone to create a sound score which was perfectly timed to their mimetic movements. This clever feature really gave the overall concept something to cling onto, and without it, the aesthetic would have nose-dived.
Of Sound Mind
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Of Sound Mind, Underbelly on August 17, 2011
THEATRE
****
Of Sound Mind
Udderbelly’s Pasture
Poised in a plush coral coloured armchair with a slightly dazed yet pondering expression hitched on her face, Yvonne Grady stars in Ronnie Dorsey’s one woman play; and with a rather reserved blurb, one doesn’t know quite what to expect from ‘Of Sound Mind’.
Immediately as Yvonne begins to perform, it is clear that this is a hidden gem of the Fringe. Her tone is conversational, delicate, confident, yet broken, and always engaging. She delivers such a natural paradox in her performance that it is difficult not to be drawn into her nostalgia, and her understated physicality is perfectly suited to the play’s script which tastefully (if one can use such a word given the context) deals with the theme of Paedophilia and an overwhelming loss of innocence.
She performs with a smooth ability to weave in and out of the anecdotal memories and slips effortlessly into off-hand remarks about horrific events which have governed her childhood, and spurred her vigilante vendetta to rid the world of as many creeping cats (a metaphor used for paedophiles) as she can hunt down.
Dorsey’s use of imagery allows a subtlety in the treatment of the themes, and provides moments of really dark humour which Yvonne’s patter simply melts into. She becomes the charitable murderer with a modesty which charms the audience into supporting her butchery of paedophiles and feeding the metaphorical cats to her real life dogs. She conveys the character without a hint of depravity, but perhaps this is what it lacked. But, no sooner had he made you laugh, Dorsey’s clever script reverts her tangential path inevitably back to hard-hitting horrors which creep up on you, and make the thematic centre all the more real.
Yvonne gives an admirable performance, never wavering at the sound of four separate mobile phones interrupting the show; and cutting the atmosphere drastically. She remained steadfast and elegant, creating a truly endearing character in the face of such a sinister subject. I recommend seeing this show; it deserves a great deal more attention that it seems to be getting at present.
Sold
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Pleasance, Sold on August 17, 2011
THEATRE
***
Sold
Pleasance Courtyard
Performed by Central School of Speech and Drama graduates and directed by Catherine Alexander; Complicite Associate, this exciting devised performance draws from Verbatim interviews to create a politically pressing performance which tackles the incredibly topical and appalling existence of human trafficking in modern society, through multi-rolled characters and intertwined narratives by a dedicated ensemble cast.
The overall pace of the performance was driven through unrelenting haste, dragging it’s audience along with it; almost to the point of confrontation, so to describe it as engaging would be an understatement. This feeling was established early in the show as each cultural and historical montage blinked across the stage, never settling for long enough to impact. The pace seemed to devalue the material (except in the slick transitional scene changes), creating the impression of a rushed and underdeveloped piece, which was otherwise strong with a high standard of acting, and genuinely funny glimpses of comic relief.
Similarly, the immersive performance elements are overwhelming at times and I became lost in the hasty layering of multi-media, so that I was unable to process any statistical information, which could have added weight to the cause. It wasn’t until after the show that I was able to procure a program, and noted that ‘there are twice as many people in bondage today as there were in chains during the entire 350 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade’, a message which was otherwise lost in the performance.
The unfortunate early time slot meant that the auditorium was largely depleted, which is a huge shame, as the show is successfully thought-provoking and brings this shocking global issue close to home. So it is certainly a worthy instrument for the campaign, but as a piece of theatre, the product doesn’t quite live up to the cause.
Amaryllis
Posted by Martin in Amaryllis, Charlotte Monk-Chipman, theSpaces on August 17, 2011
DANCE
**
Amaryllis
The Space on Niddry Street
Performed by 4 teenage girls on a stage strewn with tacky fake flower petals, the show claims to be ‘a thrilling collaboration of dance and film’. This could be worded more fittingly by dropping the thrilling and prefixing ‘mal’ to collaboration, since these components felt out of place, but not through deliberate juxtaposition. Instead, the performance maintained a feeling of disequilibrium.
The choreography was quite basic and repetitive and the use of lighting did not enhance the performance, so these cues felt like unnecessary complications which could have righted the technical difficulties which ensued. The performance was generally disappointing, a feeling clearly shared by the cast in their thwarted demeanour and the giveaway utterance of ‘for fucks sake’ from backstage after the first routine. This level of unprofessionalism was a motif throughout the show, as the whispering persisted. In light of the unfortunate mistakes, I will attribute this to teething issues however, the manner in which the girls coped with the situation was inexcusable and oh so ironic that the piece contained ‘regret’ as a theme. Memorably, the narrated voiceover spoke about the inability to ‘take it back’, so it was clear that they did not relate to the material at all.
As a result, they danced without passion or emotion, and instead of journeying ‘through the emotional extremities of human relations’, they painted a much clearer picture of the insular. Again, this was conveyed through the unsyncronous dance sequences.
The recorded voiceover narrated the story, but this was ill matched to the video footage which was projected onto what resembled a creased bed sheet used as a projector screen. This aural layer reminded me of a soothing audiobook narrator, so in this respect the tonal quality of the narrator complemented the similarly paced dancing, which although lacked ambition, it was easy to watch, and can best be described as nice.
Devil in the Detail
Posted by Martin in Charlotte Monk-Chipman, Devil in the Detail, Zoo on August 17, 2011
THEATRE
*
Devil in the Detail
Zoo Roxy
With an interesting and potentially complex narrative, MetaMorpho successfully communicate a tale of embezzlement, devious landladies doubly letting a flat and finally, murder. This is cleverly conveyed without any speech, although it is through farce, which is not always palatable. ‘Devil in the Detail’ is a show you’ll either love or hate, and I’m a fan of marmite, but for metaphor’s sake, my dislike of the show was as unwavering as the savoury spread haters’.
Performing using masks requires such precision and control in the physicality to compensate for the lack of facial expression and ironically, this lacked ‘detail’ in the gesture which failed to communicate emotion. Their movements were very flippant apart from the frequent ‘knowing look’ pointedly aimed towards the audience, which was frankly annoying as the plot was conveyed effectively without being patronised, It was predictable even. Instead, they settled for simplistic clowning and confirmed the stigma attached to masked theatre; as a very base art form, and fringe-goers expect and pay for more than pantomime.
This show was an hour and 20 minutes of my life I wish I could get back. I could feel the abhorrent look on my face grow as I endured the show, so that I too had a fixed grotesque expression on my face as if the masks were a hideous contagious disease; infecting theatres with boredom as the chief symptom.
