I'd like to think there's a reason I haven't blogged the last three things I've seen other than laziness. Well, four actually. But even so...
RAM Showcase Concert - students, friend had a friend in, and it was long. Very long. As in it started at lunchtime and let out for dinner.
Casanova @ Kings Head - I hadn't planned on going to the aforementioned concert, and didn't know about it until about 90 minutes before it started. As such I hadn't done silly things like eat, grab water to take, etc. and the result was that I left quite tired and dehydrated with a killer low water/sugar headache. Needless to say that despite wolfing down a fast dinner in between events, I was in a far from useful state of mind and body as was my companion who hadn't slept the night before. The result? The first act felt like 120 minutes instead of 75 and we bolted rather than risk passing out. Were I alone I'd have likely toughed it out, but it's not fair to review a show in that condition, especially after just the first act. I'm going to try and make it back, but the next two weeks are solidly booked for me so we'll see...
Dick Whittington: Another Dick in City Hall @ Kings Head - A charity gig and one that is likely sold out for its second and third performances this Sunday. Despite being a song-free show this very (extremely) gay themed and political work made for some excellent adult panto with the right blend of sharp satire and crudeness. It was also pleasantly short - about 100 minutes including interval. Tickets are likely to be scarce or nonexistant for the last two performances this Sunday, but go if you can.
Avenue Q - I already saw the show in New York and avoided the London production due to the changes made (and subsequently put back into New York) and a dislike for the idea of a male Gary Coleman. What dragged me back, however, was having a friend in the cast making her debut as a cover. At least 20 of us showed up and it was a grand event, but I don't review shows with friends in.
And what's on the upcoming agenda? Next week looks to be a 5 show wonder with one show for official press, one by request of the press office, a return to AveQ, and two more! So much to see, and so little time.
On an unrelated subject, do any of the loyal (or disloyal) readers out there play City of Heroes? Other than the spambots, of course. It would be fun to have a theatre geek supergroup.
Showing posts with label Fringe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fringe. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Saturday, 5 July 2008
REVIEW: "Vinegar Tom"
(A quick review in between shows. According to Blogspot, this is the RZ's 100th post.)
When the RZ arrived at the oddly posh Cobden Club (in the middle of a not so posh set of housing estates) for the new Gilt and Grime production of Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom, he was given a free programme with a smile. He smiled back and went into the very nice member’s bar (which he couldn’t afford to go to otherwise), looked at the rather cute and pudgy fish swimming in the tank, and sat down on an all-too-comfortable black leather couch to see what he was in for. To his delight, an acquaintance was the rehearsal stage manager. To his semi-delight and possible trepidation, he proceeded to notice a number of contemporaries and alumni from his fine institution.
As house was opened, the RZ headed for the club’s grand hall, greeted by a pair of usherettes in quite low cut tops and dinner jackets and found a seat on a lovely sofa as the remaining audience filtered into a stylish, mirrored room with low lights and high ambiance.
And then the play began.
For those familiar with the works of Caryl Churchill, Vinegar Tom is standard fare. It’s militantly feminist, utilises bizarre techniques to grab one’s attention (in this case Brechtian song insertion, frequently led by the usherettes) and keeps things safely under two hours. It also takes a good 15-20 minutes before anything useful happens, and the final scene comes across as uncomfortably tacked on.
Taking a look at 17th century witch hunts, Churchilll uses feminine sexuality as the grounding for her strands of persecution: the village slut, midwife, and widow are all accused and tortured by the end (it hurts the audience as much as the characters), as is a happily married woman who forces a miscarriage in a fit of despair. The hunt is, of course, sparked off by a childless couple who never have sex and are naturally upstanding Christians, despite the husband begging the slut for a lay early on.
Simon Kenny’s sets are minimal, just some white curtains and a wicker chest. Pablo Baz does what he can with the Cobden stage’s minimal lighting capabilities, relying heavily on white, less white, and red to set tones and moods, but the whole thing is mercilessly minimalist, as is Tom Platten’s direction: there’s a massive “I can be more fringe than you” vibe as if edginess comes from flat acting all around, though the exception is Peter Saracen as upstanding dairyman Jack, last seen in You’ve Been A Wonderful Audience. Readers shouldn’t mistake that as a compliment, however, as the RZ found him an obnoxious whinging prat in both. He did, however, enjoy Moya McGinn and Alice Keedwell’s usherettes, and when the cast had to do little but stand and sing they were at their best.
There’s really not much else to say. If you like your political theatre with a sense of the absurd and the brutal, this Vinegar Tom is a must-see. If, like the RZ, you expect a play about sexuality to actually feature something sexy, you’re better off elsewhere.
Where: Cobden Club
When: Until 26 July. W @ 19:30, Sa @ 14:00, 24 Jul special @ 19:30
How Much: £15 General Admission
Concessions: £10
----------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £10 for a chance at the surroundings before the show and varied levels of amusement within.
RZ Other Notes: The RZ may love where he studies, but he also has an open disdain for many of the excesses and traits inherent in the productions. While Gilt and Grime are sharper than the average postgrad production he’s seen this year, the trademarks, for better or worse, are all there.
When the RZ arrived at the oddly posh Cobden Club (in the middle of a not so posh set of housing estates) for the new Gilt and Grime production of Caryl Churchill’s Vinegar Tom, he was given a free programme with a smile. He smiled back and went into the very nice member’s bar (which he couldn’t afford to go to otherwise), looked at the rather cute and pudgy fish swimming in the tank, and sat down on an all-too-comfortable black leather couch to see what he was in for. To his delight, an acquaintance was the rehearsal stage manager. To his semi-delight and possible trepidation, he proceeded to notice a number of contemporaries and alumni from his fine institution.
As house was opened, the RZ headed for the club’s grand hall, greeted by a pair of usherettes in quite low cut tops and dinner jackets and found a seat on a lovely sofa as the remaining audience filtered into a stylish, mirrored room with low lights and high ambiance.
And then the play began.
For those familiar with the works of Caryl Churchill, Vinegar Tom is standard fare. It’s militantly feminist, utilises bizarre techniques to grab one’s attention (in this case Brechtian song insertion, frequently led by the usherettes) and keeps things safely under two hours. It also takes a good 15-20 minutes before anything useful happens, and the final scene comes across as uncomfortably tacked on.
Taking a look at 17th century witch hunts, Churchilll uses feminine sexuality as the grounding for her strands of persecution: the village slut, midwife, and widow are all accused and tortured by the end (it hurts the audience as much as the characters), as is a happily married woman who forces a miscarriage in a fit of despair. The hunt is, of course, sparked off by a childless couple who never have sex and are naturally upstanding Christians, despite the husband begging the slut for a lay early on.
Simon Kenny’s sets are minimal, just some white curtains and a wicker chest. Pablo Baz does what he can with the Cobden stage’s minimal lighting capabilities, relying heavily on white, less white, and red to set tones and moods, but the whole thing is mercilessly minimalist, as is Tom Platten’s direction: there’s a massive “I can be more fringe than you” vibe as if edginess comes from flat acting all around, though the exception is Peter Saracen as upstanding dairyman Jack, last seen in You’ve Been A Wonderful Audience. Readers shouldn’t mistake that as a compliment, however, as the RZ found him an obnoxious whinging prat in both. He did, however, enjoy Moya McGinn and Alice Keedwell’s usherettes, and when the cast had to do little but stand and sing they were at their best.
There’s really not much else to say. If you like your political theatre with a sense of the absurd and the brutal, this Vinegar Tom is a must-see. If, like the RZ, you expect a play about sexuality to actually feature something sexy, you’re better off elsewhere.
Where: Cobden Club
When: Until 26 July. W @ 19:30, Sa @ 14:00, 24 Jul special @ 19:30
How Much: £15 General Admission
Concessions: £10
----------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £10 for a chance at the surroundings before the show and varied levels of amusement within.
RZ Other Notes: The RZ may love where he studies, but he also has an open disdain for many of the excesses and traits inherent in the productions. While Gilt and Grime are sharper than the average postgrad production he’s seen this year, the trademarks, for better or worse, are all there.
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
REVIEW: "Involution"
“No one owes you, no one's to blame
Save for bad genes or DNA
Ask your conscience the why and how
Ask yourself
Ask your mom
Ask DNA”
--Yokko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop Movie OST: Ask DNA)
In a dystopian Britain, the Church has entered politics, sweeping the elections and outlawing genetic engineering. Cybernetics have advanced enough to be a functional medical treatment, but can’t override the mandatory DNA screenings needed to maintain a quality job or provide a long term alternative to genetic wasting diseases.
In response to this, the long suffering and manipulative Cohen (Ben Murray-Watson) is engaged in a mutli-year lawsuit against the government to allow genetic research to proceed. As the stakes rise, Cohen comes up against the equally manipulative Violet (Jane Lesley, also one of the show’s producers) as she hopes to marry his best friend J (Alfie Talman). When Violet states her intentions to marry J, she wants Cohen to reveal the problems hidden in his DNA - problems keeping him from working as a teacher that she can not determine through legal channels.
As Cohen and Violet square off, he also comes to terms with his carefree and equally affected sister Dorcet (Ursula Early) and her evangelical friend Talulah (Sara Pascoe), the latter believing that faith (be it in Jesus or Xenu) will heal her to the point of discarding her medications.
To be fair, the RZ wishes he presented the above as a diagram instead. Playwright Rachel Welch has filled Involution with a plethora of plotlines and timely arguments about the roles of science, faith, government, family, and more in our daily lives to the point where blinking during the second act means missing one of the many keys to unravelling the entire work. While the story rushes to its conclusion in a short 40 minutes, Welch squanders her first act at nearly twice that length, beating the audience over the head with the her argument’s concept stick on the roles religion should play in science and government (read: none). Sub-plots such as Dorcet buying Cohen a sex robot add some humour to this weighty piece, but also mis-use minutes better spent on cleaning up the mess surrounding these engaging yet rather repulsive characters.
The cast, listed above, do their best with the material and seemed to be settling in and finding new and hidden dimensions of the characters when the RZ saw Involution at the end of its run. Victoria Johnstone’s design, a studio flat littered with cupboards and compartments, is a believable area, and one that played well in the Pacific Playhouse’s miniscule space.
While genetics have been a hot topic since Jurassic Park, recent events such as the deaf IVF case serve to remind us of how pervasive science has come in our biological and social developments. Involution attempts to present punters with a look at the consequences of what ceasing such work means, but needs to evolve itself in order to truly inspire a dialogue on the subject at hand.
Where: Pacific Playhouse
When: Closed
How Much: £10
Concessions: £8
------------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £8. Festival prices for festival grade work.
RZ Other Thoughts: The cast and director had Q&A sessions after all the shows, and the night the RZ went there were few who stayed but many questions asked. His companion, a non-native speaker followed most of the show well despite its knotted up web of material, but also found the second act (spec. the last 15 minutes) requiring clarification. Given some time with a good dramaturge, Involution has quite a bit of potential, but it’s not there yet.
Save for bad genes or DNA
Ask your conscience the why and how
Ask yourself
Ask your mom
Ask DNA”
--Yokko Kanno (Cowboy Bebop Movie OST: Ask DNA)
In a dystopian Britain, the Church has entered politics, sweeping the elections and outlawing genetic engineering. Cybernetics have advanced enough to be a functional medical treatment, but can’t override the mandatory DNA screenings needed to maintain a quality job or provide a long term alternative to genetic wasting diseases.
In response to this, the long suffering and manipulative Cohen (Ben Murray-Watson) is engaged in a mutli-year lawsuit against the government to allow genetic research to proceed. As the stakes rise, Cohen comes up against the equally manipulative Violet (Jane Lesley, also one of the show’s producers) as she hopes to marry his best friend J (Alfie Talman). When Violet states her intentions to marry J, she wants Cohen to reveal the problems hidden in his DNA - problems keeping him from working as a teacher that she can not determine through legal channels.
As Cohen and Violet square off, he also comes to terms with his carefree and equally affected sister Dorcet (Ursula Early) and her evangelical friend Talulah (Sara Pascoe), the latter believing that faith (be it in Jesus or Xenu) will heal her to the point of discarding her medications.
To be fair, the RZ wishes he presented the above as a diagram instead. Playwright Rachel Welch has filled Involution with a plethora of plotlines and timely arguments about the roles of science, faith, government, family, and more in our daily lives to the point where blinking during the second act means missing one of the many keys to unravelling the entire work. While the story rushes to its conclusion in a short 40 minutes, Welch squanders her first act at nearly twice that length, beating the audience over the head with the her argument’s concept stick on the roles religion should play in science and government (read: none). Sub-plots such as Dorcet buying Cohen a sex robot add some humour to this weighty piece, but also mis-use minutes better spent on cleaning up the mess surrounding these engaging yet rather repulsive characters.
The cast, listed above, do their best with the material and seemed to be settling in and finding new and hidden dimensions of the characters when the RZ saw Involution at the end of its run. Victoria Johnstone’s design, a studio flat littered with cupboards and compartments, is a believable area, and one that played well in the Pacific Playhouse’s miniscule space.
While genetics have been a hot topic since Jurassic Park, recent events such as the deaf IVF case serve to remind us of how pervasive science has come in our biological and social developments. Involution attempts to present punters with a look at the consequences of what ceasing such work means, but needs to evolve itself in order to truly inspire a dialogue on the subject at hand.
Where: Pacific Playhouse
When: Closed
How Much: £10
Concessions: £8
------------------------
RZ Unofficial “Worth Paying”: £8. Festival prices for festival grade work.
RZ Other Thoughts: The cast and director had Q&A sessions after all the shows, and the night the RZ went there were few who stayed but many questions asked. His companion, a non-native speaker followed most of the show well despite its knotted up web of material, but also found the second act (spec. the last 15 minutes) requiring clarification. Given some time with a good dramaturge, Involution has quite a bit of potential, but it’s not there yet.
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