Archive for category Augustine’s
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.
Spring Awakening
Posted by Martin in Augustine's, Brett Herriot, Spring Awakening on August 20, 2011
MUSICALS***** Spring Awakening
Augustine’s
Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group mark the start of their 50th anniversary year with a beautiful and powerful production of Duncan Sheik’s and Steven Sater’s Spring awakening.
The production is based on the original German play by Frank Wedekind, Set in late-19th century Germany, it concerns teenagers who are discovering the inner and outer tumult of sexuality. The original play was banned in Germany for a while due to its portrayal of abortion, homosexuality, rape, child abuse and suicide. What director Sarah Haddath has done to beautiful effect is stripped the show back from the wider known Broadway and west end productions and completely allowed her cast to engage with topics involved rather than merely rehearsing a show for the stage. This shows on stage by the complete connection the ensemble cast have with the piece. It is also commendable for removing the dance element and replacing it with a stunning sequence of physical theatre which completely changes the over all affect of the production for the better.
It has been shorted to fit into the 90 minute late night slot but the timing and length only had to the worthiness of the production. Using a black box theatre and a selection of child like chairs to depict scenes allows the audience to really focus on the performances and what performances they are. In the role of Wendla, Emma Middleton excels with conviction at what she wants from sexual contact and at the sheer horror of what underage and unprotected sex can have. Combined with the efforts of Hamish Colville as Melchior who sings with a rich baritone voice, his character paid the price for that of Moritz, played by Finlay MacAulay, watching Finlay on stage is simply breath taking and beautiful as the sheer intensity of the character’s fall into emotional despair brought tears to my eyes, his truly is an unforgettable performance. Special mention must also go to Ewan Mood as Ernst and especially Dominic Lewis as Hanschen. Their depiction of a blossoming gay love is to be commended, with Dominic giving just the right level of sassiness to woo the impressionable Ernst, The kisses felt real and not a straight man playing gay on stage.
The whole show is anchored by a lovely acoustic band under the direction of Luci Holland, and what you ultimately get is one of those very rare moments in fringe theatre and that’s a production that can’t be topped because of its sheer individuality and excellence of performance. This is the stand out musical of the 2011 season and if you’re ready to embrace the freedom of self exploration then this show is a must.
Find Me
Posted by Martin in Augustine's, Find Me, Rex de Vil on August 14, 2011
THEATRE
*
Find Me
Augustine’s
‘Find Me’by Olwyn Wymark is one of the worst scripts ever to be written. For reasons unknown still permeating the drama syllabus of theatre students, I propose a picketing of every future performance of this banal and desperate attempt to be something profound.
With no help from the script, the Culford Theatre’s expression of the theme of madness was about as subtle as Julian Clary being double fisted. With a red hued stage, the classic screaming and grabbing of the head and throbbing rave music more suited to a Berlin fetish club, the opening montage set the level of artistic integrity that only worsened as the true story of a young girl’s admission to Broadmoor dragged on. No doubt much of the audience left the venue willing to check themselves into the renowned psychiatric hospital after being exposed to such a ruin of a performance, a chaos of flimsy scenery, overblown acting and dropped lines.
Yet another student production heralding the failing grasp of theatre studies in so many of today’s schools. Luckily by the time you read this the production will have completed its short run at the festival, however hang on to your picketing banner as we are sure to see another dismal interpretation of this detestable script at next year’s festival.
11
Posted by Martin in Augustine's, Brett Herriot, Eleven on August 14, 2011
MUSICALS**** 11
Augustine’s
Musical theatre is often labelled as mushy and over sentimental and camp. There are however moments of dramatic musical theatre which really define the genre. 11 is one of these moments.
The base of the musical is the fact we are now ten years on since the tragic events in New York on September 11th which started a whole new war across the world. War is not a new thing and this musical looks to examine what makes a person cross the line from Patriotism to terrorism. Using a clever flash back technique it lets the audience look at the similarities and differences between World War 1 and 2 plus the war for equality for coloured people in the 60’s right up to 9/11. What really stands out is that in war there are no victor’s just victims, the numbers of which continue to rise as we enjoy the world’s biggest arts festival.
The 6 strong ensemble company play various roles to great effect especially Steven McIntyre who completely compels and engrosses the audience as does Darren Niven during an emotional letter reading scene that even had me crying.
The Score is refreshingly light and dam powerful and really adds to the excellence of the overall production. The show also use a large visual display of chilling pictures from both world wars right up to rolling news footage of not only 9/11 but 7/7 too, for me the most chilling picture used is of an empty Nazi Gas Chamber which is an image that continues to transcend time.
This production really does showcase the best of Scottish talent both on and off the stage and is without a doubt a massive hit of the Musicals and Opera section at this years fringe. I book your ticket for this production while there are still some left.
The Laramie Project
Posted by Martin in Angus Wyatt, Augustine's, Laramie Project on August 11, 2011
THEATRE* *
The Laramie Project
Augustine’s
It is undeniable that the events which inspired the creation of ‘The Laramie Project’ by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project were truly horrific, bringing international condemnation and eventually leading to the recent signing of the Matthew Shepard Act (enshrining homophobia as a hate crime in US legislation) by Barack Obama. As such, the original text is powerful, emotional and deeply moving. It is therefore disappointing and unfortunate that the Ophiuchus Rising production of The Laramie Project fails to capture the raw emotion of the story and lacks attention to detail which is so important in this piece.
This is an American student production, and that is evident from the outset – acting quality was generally substandard and stage presence was lacking. However, special mention must go to Joe Lilek who was outstanding throughout, and Jacob Trauberman who gave an emotionally strong description of the discovery of Matthew Shepard at the fence. It seemed that the gravity of the piece and equally the original events was lost on the young actors and the piece lacked emotional sensitivity at times. It was unclear what the director had done to develop the actors’ portrayal of the characters – it all seemed like an embellished rehearsal rather than a polished performance.
The use of projection for backgrounds and live video feeds of the on-stage action was an interesting idea, but it didn’t really work as it was out of time with the live action. A variety of music underscored the entire piece which wouldn’t have been a problem except that the music chosen was often too upbeat for the events being described. Furthermore, at one point a recent Enrique Iglesias song came on, ruining the 1998 setting of the piece – again a case in point of the lack of attention to detail.
There is much to be said about this production of The Laramie Project, but in keeping this review brief, I shall say this: the acting is unconvincing, the detail lacking and the technical aspects unnecessary – this production does not do justice to the original text. However, it is a true testament to the work of The Tectonic Theatre Project that even a poor production can still cause many of those in a very diverse audience to well-up – in my eyes, just the fact that it is The Laramie Project makes it worth watching.
Funny As a Crutch
Posted by Martin in Augustine's, Funny As a Crutch, Joshua Hepple on August 10, 2011
THEATRE
****
Funny As a Crutch
Augustine’s
All the way from New York comes Funny As A Crutch, a show that looks at stigma surrounding disability. This play has ten different scenarios which each look at disability in a different context. In response to these various scenarios, a very well thought out choice for costume was made; all the actors were dressed neutrally in black which allowed them to adapt to each different situation. It was attention to detail like this that made the performance believable and easy to become immersed in. Performed by a around twelve different teenage actors, Funny As A Crutch challenges and demands the audience to think about different challenges that face disabled people.
Although these young actors gave a very sound performance, the American sense of humour may be quite hard to understand by the Scots. As a disabled rights activist, I felt that the issues that were raised were very worthwhile although as there were many different scenes, with very little correlation, this performance did not have the time to go into detail and make people really think about these critical issues. My favourite scene was where someone was applying for a job and in the interview and a joker was running around distracting the interviewer. The joker resembled stigma surrounding disability and the interviewer was preoccupied by the actions of the joker that was meant to portray disability instead of focusing on the individual.
A very good performance that is performed by an excellent cast raising many different issues.
