August 2008 Archives
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
Tiger Lillies with Nathan Evans and Ophelia Bitz
SEVEN DEADLY SINS
The Famous Spiegeltent
Aug 12 – 14, 19 – 21, 25, 27 – 28
at 21.45pm, (1 hour 15 mins)
£15, (conc, £14)
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
In the past four years, Brechtian Cabaret, has surfaced! Boston based Brechtian Punk Cabaret duo, The Dresden Dolls, probably get the credit for it becoming hugely popular worldwide. Amanda Palmer and Brian, both have a large fan base, paving the way for others to follow suit.
The Tiger Lillies have also become popular as a Brechtian Cabaret trio. They are icons who have been around for the past twenty years, with their dark cabaret act.
The band are; Martyn Jacques – (Vocals, Accordion, Piano, Ukulele); Adrian Stout – (Contra Bass), Musical Saw, (Guitar, Vocals); Adrian Huge – (Drums and Toys, Vocals); Claus Buehler – (Keyboards).
Many other performers have surfaced as Brechtian Cabaret performers; Regina Spector, Brel and Rio and Georgina, (at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, with Anti-Winehouse). Today’s generation of oppressive teenagers, identify with nostalgia, as a way to be expressive and experimental. Cabaret is seen to be unplugged and unrehearsed.
The Tiger Lillies have their own unique original style. Their show at Edinburgh Fringe, 7 Deadly Sins, sees them experiment with vaudeville, dark cabaret, (Brechtian style).
Two extremely talented performers sharing the credit in 7 Deadly Sins are well known performers in cabaret circles. Ophelia Bitz, a slapstick comedy artist joins The Tiger Lillies on stage as does the narrator and puppeteer Nathan Evans, with his two handmade punk puppets.
Jacques, singer and songwriter for the group, draws inspiration from several German Cabaret writers, of the 1920, 1930’s era, such as Bertholt Brecht and Hanns Eisler.
I really liked The Tiger Lillies,
and would love to see a Master of Ceremonies host the performance. In German Cabaret circles after the First World War the Masters of Ceremonies were well-versed, witty and
able to hurl insults to the audience.
Important to the show as the puppets are, in 7 Deadly Sins, the
puppeteer narrates the show. I felt that this wasn’t his role.
.
In the show, the band perform tracks from their latest album, 7 Deadly Sins. (Gluttony, Pride, Lust, Greed, Sleuth, Envy, Wrath).
The Tiger Lillies have several albums to their credit, notably; Circus Songs, (album about sad clowns, diseased jugglers, fiendish gigolos' and many other scabrous circus folk); Punch and Judy, (album about Punch, the archetypal English puppet and anyone who gets in his way);
Jacques said he choose not to write historical songs, about politics, exile, oppression, but some of his ideas came from horror, dark cabaret, evil, devils, eccentric, shock tactics, circus, clowns, Punch and Judy and Charlie Chaplain.
Rounding up! Wouldn’t it be
fantastic, if the audience could get to decide what tracks are played at a Tiger
Lillies show? Different tracks suit
different folks. The audience would have control, be able to
press a buzzer, with The Tiger Lillies performing to audience demand. All of their songs, past and present,
are put into a lottery, waiting to be performed, unplugged, unexpected and
unrehearsed. The Tiger Lillies
awaiting in participation, as the audience press a button, connected to a juke
box. What a thought! Bizarre! Yes, but that is
what The Tiger Lillies are all about.
Check out link for more tracks and information on The Tiger Lillies, www.tigerlillies.com, or myspace.com/tigerlilliesuk
For more information on Ophelia Bitz click on, www.myspace.com/opheliabitz.
For information on Nathan Evans, click on www.nathanevans.co.uk
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
BLOOD WEDDING
Colet Players
Zoo Southside
August 17-24 at 21.10pm, (1 hour 10 mins)
£7.00, (£5.00)
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
Heavy stuff! There's no happy ending. It's very sad in fact. It tells the tale of a love that is
deep and causes pain to all involved! The excellent all-female cast manage to produce some very intense, deep, emotional acting in each scene. It was a bit too much, perhaps. I just wanted to get out as quickly as I could, to
draw breath. In hindsight though, this was a beautiful script despite its faults.
Perhaps if it was less intense it would have been a pleasure to watch the gripping scenes and could been a memorable experience for the viewer. The story of love gone wrong is a tough one to convey. Blood Wedding is a tale of two lovers, deeply torn between love, respect and loyalty to family and the ones they love. Wow! Now I need some fresh air and some chill out time.
Lady Boys of Bangkok
Urban Circus Ltd
Meadows Theatre Big Tops
Aug 2, 7, 9, 14-16, 21- 23, 28-30 (1 hour 45 mins) £19.50, (£18.00)
Aug 2, 7, 9, 14-16, 21- 23, 28-30: 21.15, (1 hour 45 mins) £19.50, (£18.00)
Aug 3-6, 10 – 13, 17 – 20, 24 – 27: 19.00, (1 hour 45 mins) £19.50, (£18.00) &
£18.00 (£16.00)
Aug 3-6, 10 – 13, 17 – 20, 24 – 27: 21.15, (1 hour 45 mins) £19.50, (£18.00) & £18.00 (£16.00)
Aug 9, 16, 22, 23, 30: 16.30 (1 hour 45 mins) £19.50 &
£18.00
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
The Lady Boys of Bangkok can be credited for keeping alive, burlesque, Vaudeville and American Cabaret. Urban Circus Ltd, with the beautiful Lady Boys of Bangkok giveS Moulin Rouge, Folies Bergeres, and Crazy Horse in Paris a run for their money.
The Lady Boys mime to perfection Lots of popular tracks, to sing, dance and clap to. I would have preferred live performance, where copycat performers of original artists would perform, looking and sounding likE Eartha Kitt, Hildegarde, Frank Sinatra, Mae West, Judy Garland, Bob Hope and Sammy Davis Junior. Musically, I would have preferred Jazz to pop tracks, in the show. All that Jazz, piano and drums would be great!
There was plenty of humour, as these beautiful scantily clad elegant
lady boys and male dancers. performed on stage. I liked the g-strings, the dark
comedy, the vaudeville, the bowler hats, and the feathers in the show. The costumes
in particular were extremely well made.
The audience loved the slapstick
drag act with lots of applause, gasps, and hysterical laughing. I must confess to having seen most of his act
before, in a previous show. It would be great if he could change his
act, perhaps adding juggling, magic, acrobatics or circus acts.
The choreography, dance and slapstick humour are magnificent. The show is lots of fun, a must see for those interested in cabaret. Their burlesque show keeps alive what was once killed off by broadcast television and cinema, causing oppression for cabaret performers. No wonder they perform to sell-out shows.
Beyond Breaking Glass
Hazel O Connor with Cormac De Barra
Universal Arts Theatre, Freemasons Hall, 96 George St,
Edinburgh
Aug 16 – 17: 00.15 (1 hour 10 mins) £15.00
Aug 18: 19.30 (1 hour 30 mins) £17.50
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
I loved the show, so much it gave me inspiration and I had a vision of how I would have liked to develop it.
Hazel O Connor’s voice is amazing. She belts out tracks, from her albums, Blackwater, Runaway, Blackman,Calls The Tune, Big Brother, If Only, Driftwood, Rebecca, and more.
My favourite track being, Will You. Hazel had a good tale to tell, as to why she would never leave that song out of her show.
Cormac De Barra and Hazel blend well together, in harmony. Cormac plays the harp beautifully, inheriting the talents from the grandmother who trained him.
The venue at The Freemasons Hall, George Street, Edinburgh, reminded me of a traditional Music Hall.
It would be great if Hazel O Connor developed this, Music Hall Experience throughout her tours as it fits with their experimentation with vaudeville, as they use puppets, incorporating ventriloquism into their show.
Vaudeville was big in Music Halls, in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the USA. It was seen to be more respectable than burlesque at the time.
In England in the 18th and 19th centuries Vaudeville was performed in City Taverns to the working class, it later became popular to the growing middle class, working its way to Music Halls.
Music Halls of the time were filled with such performers as Lillie Langtry, Harry Lauder and Gracie Fields.
Vaudeville flourished with dances, sketches, acrobatics, ventriloquisms and various songs. It would be great if Hazel O Connor developed my ideas, with costumes matching each punk era.
The beginning of her show could be a Pop Punk revival, the height of her success, leading up to a Celtic Punk infusion with Cormack De Barra, leading into Brechtian Punk Cabaret, with vaudeville and burlesque thrown in, (with bowler hats, garters and mime make-up).
My ideas of how Beyond Breaking Glass revival ten years later, will raise a few eyebrows, but would infuse Hazel’s love for music and theatre combined.
The show first appeared at The Claremont Bar, Edinburgh ten years ago and as Hazel is still as popular today as when she first started, her revival will be hugely successful.
Hazel and Cormac are extremely talented, gifted individuals you will enjoy seeing them perform.
If interested in cabaret, burlesque, vaudeville, music halls, punk, Hazel O Connor, Cormac De Barra, click on following links:-
www.last.fm/tag/brechtian%20punk%20cabaret
www.answers.com/topic/celtic-punk-1
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
Discipline and Punish
C Soco
30 July – 25 August 2008
6.25pm (1 hour)
£7.50 - £9.50/concs £6.50 - £8.50
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
I didn’t know what to expect with Discipline and Punish. All I knew was that it would be theatre exploring the psychology and experiences of imprisonment, punishment and the lives of those affected.
The set was a table and two chairs and a billboard hanging from the ceiling that bears the words;
You may not talk
You may not leave
Deviants must be punished
Wait for the bells
I thought this was going to be interesting!
One woman enters the set carrying a satchel and gazes up at the billboard. The bells go and so the story begins! Others follow one-by-one with their satchels. They all gaze up at the words and keep quiet.
The bells go off; each person individually gets to talk. The others are not allowed to talk and they have no control. Lots of bells ring on and off throughout which I found a bit irritating at times. When anyone talks or tries to leave they get punished and picked on by the others. One can actually feel how restrained the actors were in this gripping and intense theatre performance piece. It was a bit hard to watch at times: very restrictive with nothing consensual about any of it and no chance of being able to say stop!
Two scenes in particular were extremely hard to watch. It seemed like the actors were actually in real pain. It seemed to me to be taking it a bit too far: that the actors do the punishments for real.
As one woman tries to escape and fails, a man repeatedly throws her back onto the floor for at least five minutes. I couldn’t help thinking the actress would have lots of bruises and sores in this very intense piece of acting.
Another scene sees two women and one man doing awkward stances, both standing and bending, in really awkward positions. One even stood on her tiptoes. Both struggled not to fall for fear of being punished.
SUDS Theatre Company got their research for their production from a variety of literary and factual sources and drew from the testimony of prisoners and prison workers.
This historical piece of theatre is not for the faint hearted but at least you can leave if you don’t like what you see, unlike the restrained, imprisoned and psychologically and emotionally tortured actor. I couldn’t make up my mind if I liked it or not, as I think it crossed boundaries too far and had nothing consensual about it.
In hindsight, it is only right that a person has the right to say STOP to this kind of punishment and discipline if they don’t like it, not have it forced onto them, on stage and off stage!
Discipline and Punish is on the shortlist for Freedom of Expression Award, there are 41 nominations and the winner will be announced Friday, 22nd August 2008.
The Freedom of Expression Award was established by Amnesty International in 2001, aiming to reward a Festival company whose performance makes a significant contribution to the public's greater awareness and understanding of human rights issuesEDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Jacqueline Sharp talks to Rio and Georgina
Q What era do you think your music is influenced by; past, present or future?
A Our music is influenced from music from the past, especially the punk era. We both decided to go do it ourselves, as we can play well. For us it is all about live performance, lots of energy, which fits in well with us as, and that is why we fit into the punk era.
Q Who has influenced you both musically?
A Regina Spector, acoustic music with punk sentiment, also Kate Nash.
Q You are both very talented songwriters, I picked that up immediately from listening to your songs for the first time. How do you feel about that?
A Very excited to hear this. We are only eighteen and we love the fact that people will be drawn to our songs.
Q How long have you both been writing songs then?
A For a long time. We used to be in a four piece band Orange Room and would write the songs for the band. The band was great as we had the opportunity to do practice pieces and this is how we have got to where we are today.
Q Where do you get your inspirations and ideas for your songs?
A Poetry, from other songwriters such as Frank Turner. Ideas from films, books, plays, Tennessee Williams.
Q How long have you been together as a duo?
A Since October 2007. We left the band Orange Room to become a duo as we wanted to develop our own style.
Q I interviewed Amanda Palmer, one part of the duo, The Dresden Dolls, previously at the Edinburgh Fringe. Their style is also Brechtian Punk Cabaret, similar to yours, what do you think about that?
A Both very excited! We’re very flattered, to be compared to The Dresden Dolls. We think The Dresden Dolls are amazing, and are both huge fans of theirs.
Q So I got it right then, your style?
A Yes, you did. We are influenced by punk and cabaret. This is our first performance, but yes we do intend to develop with cabaret and we are open to new ideas to add burlesque into our show.
Q I thought one of you looked like singer Siouxsie, from Siouxsie and the banshees and the other like Kate Nash. What do you think about that?
A Both laugh! Yes we are okay with that. Suppose we are a mix of the two you describe, one punk, and the other anti folk.
Q Do you both intend to go on tour then?
A We would love to tour, probably around December this year, or early next year.
Q Is this your first performance as a duo then and how do you feel about performing at the Fringe?
A Yes it is our first performance and we are delighted to be performing at the Fringe, overwhelmed, really excited to be sold out. We are happy to be here for the rest of the week.
Q I’ve heard you plugged your show by lying on the street around empty wine bottles, did you attract a lot of attention?
A Laughing! Yes, we pulled in lots of crowds, lots of people taking photographs of us, who were curious about the show.
Q In your show, you talk about the media and how they drag people down, how do you feel about that?
A We feel the media latches onto negative aspects and this doesn’t foster creativity. This is not a good influence for the young.
Q I spoke to an audience member after your show who said you were a good influence on the young as you were inspiring, do you want to comment?
A This is all we could hope for, we do like to inspire young people, and we are only eighteen ourselves. Music for us is escapism; we love to play music live, it is a real rush! We both started out very young at thirteen, in the music business.
Q Why did you choose to be called Rio and Georgina?
A We didn’t want to have a band name. Rio and Georgina as ourselves, is the best way for us to describe that we are just being ourselves.
Q I picked up that your show was unplugged, did I get it right?
A Yes, we didn’t want to feel like we were rehearsed. We wanted a raw, live performance. We like the idea that each of our performances will have variety, unplugged.
Q Why did you choose to write a song about Vivien Leigh?
A We love her old movies and she had lots of layers to her personality, not like actors of today, she was interesting to write about.
Q Is that why you choose to include Amy Whitehouse, into your Anti-Winehouse show?
A Yes, she has become a victim for the media; she isn’t taken seriously for her musical abilities, that is why we were drawn to write about her. The media has broken her down.
Q If she saw your show what would she think about it?
A Both laugh! We do like her really, we are fans of her, all we are trying to say is it is just about the music. We feel she would understand that, it was the same for her when she started out, before the media circus.
Q Do you intend to release your eleven tracks from your show?
A Yes, we have already put up three of our tracks, Vivien Leigh, Hang On and Hyde Park on www.myspace.com/rioandgeorgina
These tracks are rough recordings. We would love the opportunity to record professionally, but it is very expensive.
Q If you were offered a record deal would you go for it?
A We are unsigned, but we don’t want to be put in a box and manipulated by the music business. We would only sign to a record deal if we could maintain creativity and flexibility.
Q What are your plans for the future as a duo?
A To continue our run at this year's Fringe. On 18th August 08, we are going on BBC Radio 1 Scotland at 1.15. Then on 19th August 08 we are off to Leith FM at 10.15am for a short interview.
On 19th and 21st August 08, we will be doing a gig at the Smart city Hostel, The Royal Mile, Edinburgh, at 5.40pm in the bar.
Q Do you both have a day job, or are you doing this full time?
A We both left the same college and both hold down part time jobs. When the opportunity arises we would love to work full time as a duo, with Rio and Georgina.
Q Do you have a fan base?
A Yes, in our local area in Guildford in Surrey, our fans follow us. They have been loyal to us, stuck by us from Orange Room, even when they were rock and we are now punk.
Q I think you both are going to be hugely successful with your duo, how do you feel about that?
A We would both like to keep our feet on the ground. Laughing, we will be well behaved and keep our personal life personal, so the message gets across that its all about the music and we also want to be a good influence to the young.
Q Do you feel young people have a hard time in the music business today?
A Yes, very much so, young people get targeted like never before, especially Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
ANTI-WINEHOUSE
World Premiere
Zoo Southside
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
Rio and Georgina had a sell out show!
The audience loved them, I couldn’t help wonder what they did as newbies at the Fringe to get sold out on a first performance.
Shows struggle to get bums on seats, probably because the flyer was poor, or promoting the show didn’t grab the crowd, but these two teenagers pulled it off. Audiences were drawn to them as they lay on the ground on the Royal Mile High Street, promoting their show surrounded by empty wine bottles.
I really liked Rio and Georgina, they are gutsy, sensible, very talented and approachable and friendly young women. Their show is informal and a great joy to listen to, I liked the fact that it was in a small venue. It was like being in a large comfy living room,. It was easy to hear the music clearly and wonderful that the music filled the whole room.
Rio and Georgina, on stage are very talented eighteen-year olds, They had the audience in the palm of their hands. They're extremely talented songwriters and musicians, who also sing well together, and it is fantastic that each one can also sing individually.
When the show had finished I heard one woman say, “They are great, lots of energy, original songs and lyrics and just what young people want” and “It is great that there are young performers promoting good things for young people, very inspiring”.
Both of them have experience in the music industry as they were half of the indie-rock-band Orange Room. They split from the band in October 2007 to form their own duo and write and perform their own songs. Check out www.myspace.com/orangeroom
Their style is Brechtian punk cabaret, unplugged. They sing their own original songs, apart from Rehab of course, which is their own extremely funny cover. They perform: Love Affair, Memorandum, Hyde Park, Last Attractive Guy, You Might Be An Ocean, Drive Tonight, Hang On, Vivien Leith, Nostalgia, Rehab, Million and One. Check out www.myspace.com/rioandgeorgina for more information.
I really liked their performance. This talented duo will be hugely successful as singers and songwriters. Their material is also very funny with its gimmicks and observations on the media and Amy Winehouse.
This duo will be become very famous. Justt remember who told you so! I am sure that when they finish with their tour of Anti-Winehouse, they will be so successful that their next tour will simply be Rio and Georgina. I am certain that several record companies will be knocking on their doors very soon to offer these girls a record deal. They would be wise to let these girls retain their right to create their own works and style.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Jacqueline Sharp, talks to Philip Wharton, Actor and Storyteller Beowulf, at the Fringe, Greenside, 1b Royal Terrace
European Premiere
Q Have you seen the original Beowulf poem then?
A Yes, I saw two pages in the British Museum.
Q When did you translate your version?
A In 2001, my translation is from the original.
Q What gave you the idea in the first instance to transcribe Beowulf?
A Twelve or fifteen years ago I read a version, (not the original) and it grabbed me. I also had a deeply personal vision that I had to transcribe Beowulf.
Q What parts of Beowulf were you particularly drawn to?
A The praise of King, images, funerals, funeral swords. The descent into the Mear haunted lake with the melting sword, (the fact that the sword melted away after it was used was magical). The beginning and the end interested me especially. Ancient wisdom is deeply evocative.
Q What other works interest you?
A The Wrath of Achilles by poet Homer is one that grabs me. I am interested in transcripts from the eras of Celtic, Anglo Saxon, Greece, Gospel of St Mark and early Christian times. If a poem, or story speaks to me, and I am drawn to it, I usually like to perform it, I choose my own work.
Q How did you decide to transcribe the Gospel of Saint Mark?
A The people in my church asked me to do it.
Q Do you define yourself as a storyteller, or an actor, or both?
A Yes, both.
Q Where did you start out in acting?
A Community Theatre for the past ten years.
Q Have you published any of your own writings?
A No, but if I was to write my own transcripts, they would be stories made up for children. It doesn’t matter if they are presented in a Mead Hall, costumes or not, period piece, or not, all I know is that I would go back to traditional storytelling, back to the source.
Q Are you going to take Beowulf on tour?
A If I get the opportunity to do so, it is a lot of fun.
Q Is this your first time performing in Europe?
A Yes, this is my European Premiere. I did a show in Berkeley, San Francisco for five weeks.
Q How did the audience like your performance?
A The crowd was very enthusiastic.
Q Do you know of any other shows about Beowulf?
A Yes, there was one by Felix Nobis, his translation was shorter. I didn’t see it though. http://www.easternct.edu/depts/art/theatre/nobis.htm
Q Do you feel the story of Beowulf is properly conveyed to the public?
A The movie cheapened the story. It is a sacred story, a story of life, a path of knowledge, will and initiation.
Q Do you think that Anglo Saxon, Celtic, medieval, storytelling should make a comeback today?
A Yes, there isn’t a lot of storytelling at the Fringe, there needs to be more.
Q Do you agree or disagree the tales scare children, with all the gore, monsters, and dragons, good and evil combined?
A I have experience as a teacher in the United States, near San Francisco. As a storyteller, I pitch Anglo Saxon stories, to avoid frightening and scaring children. From my experience, it doesn’t scare them, they get it. Anglo Saxon storytelling is deeply symbolic, magical even, that a sword can have power.
Q Do you think storytelling of present day should draw from traditions?
A Yes, storytellers need to go back to the source of the human imagination, back to Anglo Saxon and Celtic times, where original stories were told. That’s what I draw my storytelling on imagination.
Q Do you think you will be doing your own workshops in storytelling in the future?
A Yes, this is something for me to think about. I do want to continue with storytelling and acting combined, working on own and with other people.
Q Have you performed before?
A Yes, Gospel of St Mark, word for word, performances in San Francisco and New York.
Q You had covered a lot of ground with your characters in Beowulf, how many characters do you cover in Gospel of St Mark?
A Over a dozen.
Q Do you think you have been given a gift, a storyteller is a unique person?
A Yes, I am the instrument, to tell the tale; the words come into my body.
Q What else interests you in life?
A I am a botanist, with interest in science and plants. My degree is in botany. I am interested in transcripts from the eras of Celtic, Anglo Saxon, Greece, Gospel of St Mark and early Christian times. I live on a houseboat, near San Francisco.
BEOWULF
Philip
Wharton
Greenside,
1b Royal Terrace 15:00 hours
August
12 – 23, (not 17), at 15.30, (2 hours)
£5.00,
£8.00. (£6.00)
Reviewed
by Jacqueline Sharp
As soon
as I walked in and heard Philip Wharton’s performance, I felt like I had an
enlightening and spiritual experience, being drawn in by his emotionally
charged talent. In Beowulf, Wharton explores with his “inner event”,
he “purges and transforms” into many of the Beowulf characters, like a
changeling.
Wharton,
a follower of The Michael Chekhov Technique, said “he was inspired by Michael
Chekhov, the actor, director and teacher, who later became acting coach to
the
Wharton
using Chekhov techniques delves into his “creative individuality”, in
this one man show, many parts, using parts of his “unconscious, to develop
his psycho incorporating imagination and body as well as intellect”, as
is the Chekhov style.
Wharton’s
version of Beowulf is loyal to the poem, the earliest surviving epic in the
English language, going back to the 6th century AD.
Beowulf,
the movie, directed by Robert Zemeckis, added fantasy, his own version of what
happened, after ten years of research, says, in quote, “the poem always seemed
disjointed”. Zemeckis, invented a character to his movie, Grendel’s
mother, a sultry siren, man-eater, who seduced Hrothgar and Beowulf, giving
birth to Grendel, who was King Hrothgar’s monster child. Zemeckis said he
wanted to adapt the story to “make sense” and it was how he “wanted
Beowulf to be seen, just add to the fantasy of it all".
Wharton’s
version bears little similarity to Zemeckis' other than both describing the
same scene in the Mead Hall, filled with gore, battle, blood and death. Both
the movie and Wharton’s version describe Grendel’s arm was hacked off by
Beowulf, describing the gore and bloodshed.
Overall,
I enjoyed listening to Wharton's amazing live performance. Several times I had
to close my eyes, as I imagined being in the Mead Hall at the time.
Go see
this production. I as it is storytelling at grassroots level. Wharton
calls it “back to the basics of old fashioned storytelling”.
Yes,
there are lots of tales of gore; monsters, dragons, victory and glory, but you
will enjoy hearing about the brave Beowulf, the great hero! Wharton says,
“old fashioned storytelling doesn’t frighten children, it inspires them to
delve into their imagination”.
Perhaps
two hours was a bit too long, but in hindsight it could be argued that this
larger-than-life tale of Beowulf couldn’t be rushed. It's well Chekhov
performance is well worth watching!
For
those interested in knowing more about Philip Wharton, go to www.raggedwing.org.
In January 2007, he performed at The Metal Shop Theatre,
Ragged
Wing Ensemble was named “Best New Theatre Company” in the
Philip
has a love of the spoken word, his performance pieces uniting music and word in
the past have been, “The Gospel of Saint Mark”, “The Wrath of Achilles” and
“The Story of Tuan MacCairill”.
Philip
Wharton email: mimeider@yahoo.com,
for more information.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
SAMURAI SPIRIT
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Zoo, Southside Theatre, 117 Nicholson Street
22.30pm (1 hour) 1 – 24 Aug (not 12)
£12.00, (£11.00), £10.00, (£9.00)
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
I was particularly drawn to Samurai Spirit, through my
love of Japanese culture and arts, especially Samurai culture and was lucky
enough to at least understand the beautiful history of the Samurai, having reviewed of Mark Ravina’s book, The Last
Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo
Takamori.
In name, the brave Samurai Warrior, till death bears his sword with such a passion, embedded deep into his soul. Perhaps Samurai Spirit lacks in voice over, explaining the history and culture of Samurai culture, which was most powerful in the peak of its time.
During the former Edo era, during the 1600 – 1868, the Samurai were
deemed as “the masters of the four classes” – above farmers, artisans and
merchants. They were the only ones permitted to carry
swords. They had the right to kill
any member of the lower classes for disrespectful
behaviour. The Samurai had power for 250 years. If you read my
review of the book you will learn why that changed in the new Japanese Imperial
Government, founding in the Meiji era 1868-1912.
Kamui's amazing choreography excelled in this amazing performance. You have to see it to believe it, for
its outstanding, breathtaking, spectacular and brilliant sword and spear
play. Kamui were formed in 1998 by Testuro Shimaguchi,
Hiroaki Kawaguchi and others. Check out www.k-kamui.com/e/ for more details.
There are many brilliant scenes where Testuro
Shimaguchi, two-sword specialist, Nitou Master, displays his powerful, masterful
sword skills. Testuro; the
group’s choreographer is famous for choreographing “the snow fighting scene”
in Kill Bill Vol 1, (2003).
Lots of scenes, the Samurai way of fight, with, Hiroaki Kawaguchi, one sword master, (Ittou Master); Takashi Fukudu with spear, (Yari Master), and Akiharu Tanaka, long swords, (Naginata Master).
Their sword performance shows the
seriousness of sword fighting, yet they have incorporated
humour into their production, as they have the audience laughing at times. They also invite an audience member to
participate in an onstage workshop lasting ten minutes. The audience loves this.
I highly recommend this production, for its beauty and respect for the Samurai way and traditions of swordplay.
In hindsight, it’s sad that what was once a prominent part of Japanese culture seems to be kept alive only by film, theatre and practice fight. I take my hat off to Kamui, they strive for quality and perfection in their highly charged performance visual spectacle. You will enjoy the music. Iit is spiritual and enlightening, blending in well with the sword fighting!
BRITT on BRITT
World Premiere
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
Assembly Supper Room
31st July – 25th August, (excluding 20th August)
at 18.30pm
Aug 3,8-10, 15-17, 22-24 £11.50, (£10.50)
Aug 4-7, 11-14,19-19,21,25 £10.50, (£9.50)
Just imagine you are in a large living room with Britt Ekland, she is the hostess, you are the guest, you are sitting back enjoying the journey. Her journey Britt on Britt, is “living room drama”.
Britt Ekland, the Swedish born Hollywood icon seems in control. After all it is her show and her chance to shine. Maturity seems to have made her confident, in control of her life. It is a joy to sit back and listen to her talk about her life and the highs and lows of her fame. Unexpectedly, I found her to be a dab hand at cracking jokes. She often had the audience in fits of laughter.
Britt adds a personal touch to her show, showing photographs, videos and music from her own personal archives catching a glimpse of her in films, theatre, family and personal life. It was fantastic to see a side if Britt which hasn’t emerged until now.
Britt tells tales of her love life with record producer Lou Adler, Peter Sellers, Rod Stewart, and Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats. Her life seems to be a spiral of ups and downs, as she describes the pitfalls to fame and troubled romances.
Joy fills her face when she talks about giving birth to her three children. A child for each century! Britt talks about giving birth three times, in her 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. I particularly loved it when Britt handed out personal photos of her children for the audience to glance at. They responded well to this friendly, warm approach which was not 'celebrity-like' at all.
Britt is still one of the most beautiful women of all times. She talks about her James Bond days, as Mary Goodnight in The Man with the Golden Gun - perhaps her best remembered role.
As Britt says, she had it all: movies and famous boyfriends. Today, a relaxed Britt takes centre stage in her own right, perhaps for the first time in her life to put herself first. This fantastic production, not to be missed.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Jacqueline Sharp talks to Jeff Merrifield
Director, Playwright, of ABFCAP, The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury and Founder of Playback Theatre
Q Your opening scene sees Ian Dury get a telephone call from Andrew Lloyd Webber, offering him opportunity to write libretto for CATS, why do you think he turned him down?
A Laughs! Because he thought it was crap!
Q Jeff, are you an Ian Dury and The Blockheads fan?
A Yes, I have liked them for a long time.
Q Did you get to meet Ian Dury then?
A Yes, I have met him three times. The second time we were talking about a theatre production. We had also scheduled to meet ten days after his death, about the finer details of a project with him, involving a musical I was interested in writing. However, that meeting didn’t happen due to his untimely death.
Q Is that why you incorporated the scene into your production, with talk of a musical, as Dury and Spider talk about involving prison stories and a bus, in a musical?
A Yes, it was part of his life, as I said we were scheduled to meet, but it never happened, due to his untimely death.
Q Where did you get your research and ideas for The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury?
A I went to visit Sophie his widow six months after his death of March 2000. We exchanged ideas.
Sophie got out his address book and we began to get in touch with his friends and the people who knew him, bouncing off ideas. I also spoke to Denise, Dury’s long term girlfriend.
The bulk of what I know came from Fred “Spider” Rowe, who knew Dury for a very long time and was very close to him.
Q What did you think of Fred “Spider” Rowe?
A Laughs! He is amazing; he can actually climb up any building to make a getaway you know!
Q Do you know of Fred “Spider” Rowe has done a biography of his friendship with Ian Dury?
A Laughs again! Yes he has one written, however when he trawled it to the lawyers, they told him he would never get it published as it would cause so many lawsuits or death threats. So, his story remains unpublished.
Q I am aware that The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury is a worldwide premiere, at the Fringe this year, do you intend to showcase it anywhere else?
A Yes, we are taking the show on the road to the Kazimere in Liverpool later on in the year, as part of Liverpool’s Year of Culture.
Q So will you be venturing off on a nationwide tour then?
A Yes, we hope to tour, we have had lots of offers to tour within the United Kingdom. Talks are in the pipeline for a West End show.
Q How do you think your audience enjoyed The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury?
A Funny you should say that, Jacqueline, I’m now giving you exclusive information. Bill Bailey, famous comedienne saw our show, he loved the show so much that he recommended it to his own audience at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on 13 August 2008.
Q Why did you choose the actors Jud Charlton, as Ian Dury and Josh Darcy, as Spider?
A Jud Charlton is a mate; he had wanted to play the role of Ian Dury passionately, so I agreed.
I choose Josh as I admire his work and he impressed me. He was very keen to do the role, so much so, that he lost two stone to play the part and cut of his very long beard and tones up by doing lots of press ups.
Q Tell me about your other work, what else have you written about in the past?
A I have written a book, The Perfect Heretics. I researched this by spending time exploring the medieval sect, from the Languedoc region of France.
For those of you who don’t understand heretics, my book concentrates on an era in 1208, where Pope Innocent III, most horrendously set out on a brutal crusade against a sect of devout Christians living in the Languedoc, an area on the French side of the Pyrenees. They were commonly known as Cathars and were burned in large numbers. Perhaps, they would be known as “good Christians”, delivering the message of Christ, by word and by example, would now be known as religious extremists.
My book The Perfect Heretics digs into the murky depths of religious intolerance and persecution.
The other book I have written is Damanhur: the Story of the Extraordinary Italian Artistic and Spiritual Community. Dammanhur, had a population of around seven hundred, to be found on the Italian Alps. The community of Dananhur constructed Temples of Humankind and developed a sustainable community, embarking on a unique experiment in social, economic and spiritual living, based around a temple, built within a mountain.
I have a website for anyone who would like more information on my book, writings or interests in: science and heretics, Ken Campbell, Marilyn Monroe,Cathars, Catharism, Damanhur, Time Travel, Knights Templars, Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett – A Travesty by Jeff Merrifield and Alan Lever.
Feel free to browse around my website for lots of invaluable information www.playbackarts.co.uk
Q Thank you for telling me about your published works, would you like to talk me through what you are writing about at present?
A Yes, id love to, again this is exclusive information for you Jacqueline. I am writing a book about Heresy, not agree with conformity, again heretic. Times of tortured and burials, because they told stories to other people that there were other worlds out there, with people living in them.
I have also been writing “Men Who Invented Opera”, heretic piece of work as it is about first opera ever, Dafne. This era in time was where opera, was a secret musical society, a cult, magical tradition.
This project has been put on hold though! As I am seek to find a talented genius of medieval music. I don’t have anyone in mind, but hope someone would approach me.
This would then be an opportunity for me to take the project forward, combining talents, with our rendition of how we perceive the world’s first opera medieval music to be at the time, as there is nothing on record. The only thing we can compare it to is the work of medieval scholars, whose work concentrated on the works of the world’s second opera medieval music of the time.
Q As a writer, who inspires you?
A Ken Campbell, he is a man of theatre, a writer, actor, director, pure genius. I have a Doctorate, my dissertation about him. I am looking into writing a book about him.
Q So do you know him then?
A Yes, he is my best friend. He has given me thumbs up for this. He was so delighted with my dissertation that he gives his friends copies and he placed a copy into Beadles Library.
Q If Ian Dury was alive today, what do you think he would think of your production, The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury?
A Ian’s long time friend Fred “Spider” Rowe, gave me the answer to that question, he said, “Ian would love it”.
Q Has Ian’s widow Sophie seen your show?
A She will see it when it goes to London. One of the Blockheads is coming to Edinburgh to see the show next week. You already know Spider saw the show, last week.
Q You had seventy minutes to give us, in this Fringe show, do you think this was a struggle?
A I did try to emphasise Ian Dury was a difficult man to get along with, he turned his back on the very people who loved him, but at the end of the day those closest to him stuck by him, they loved him and still do. But they all say “he was biggest bastard on earth”.
Q Is there any other production about Ian Dury out there?
A Yes, in 2010, the anniversary of his death, there will be another one to come by the Graeae Theatre Company, a disabled led theatre company. www.graeae.org
Their production, I presume will concentrate more on Ian Dury’s disability, as he got polio as a child, whilst swimming, which crippled him. I give that production the thumbs up.
Ian Dury fully supported disabled causes; he had a song Spasticus Autisicus, which he wrote for the year of the disabled in 1981.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
THE LIFE AND RHYMES OF IAN DURY
World Premiere
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
Playback Theatre
at The Zoo
3 to 25 August 2008 at 13.25 (70 mins)
£7.00 (£5.00)
Directed by Jeff Merrifield
Technical Director: Des Oleary
I was curious about this production. As there isn’t much around, nowadays,
keeping alive the life and works of Ian Dury, it had a lot to live up
to!
To date, radio stations blast out the occasional hit from Ian Dury and The Blockheads. This is a testimony to his life works, but after his death in March 2000, something more than just radio play had to work to keep alive the real Ian Dury.
The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury, by Jeff Merrifield did just that, lived up to being a world premiere, with world class cutting edge drama. The audience were blown away by this larger than life character. Just like his song: lots of sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll stories and lots of swearing too.
Yeah there was swearing, a lot of it, the F Word, but that didn’t prevent the audience being mesmerised by it all. There were lots of laughs, claps, smiles and cheers for Jud Charlton as Ian Dury and Josh Darcy in role as Fred “Spider” Rowe.
Jeff’ pitched The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury over a span of twenty years, concentrating on the years 1980 to 2000, split into three parts of his life,until his death from cancer in 2000.
You get your money's worth: a lot jam-packed into seventy minutes. There are many memorable and hysterically laughable scenes for you to think about afterwards. You will enjoy hearing about the relationships he had with those closest to him. There are many highs and lows, as he seemed to be a difficult character to get along with. His tour manager Spider, was always at the brunt of his temper! One particular argument made the two part company for a while. Their reunion made for some very emotional scenes.
My favourite scene was a mock interview with Ian Dury and Janet Street-Porter. Josh in character, has the audience in hysterics as he dons a red wig and mocks her accent, to perfection.
Another funny scene sees Jud in role as Dury, talking about his first sexual encounter, in the rain, at Upminster Park. He quotes “I’ve heard that I’m the first raspberry sex symbol”. The audience burst out laughing, I looked around and couldn’t help wonder if they were they thinking “how about that for Sex and drugs and Rock “ n” Roll”.
A masterpiece of a script, that gives insight into the private life of Ian Dury, the unseen, back biting reality of his private life.
Jeff's research reached out to those who knew Dury well. His friends described him as “a man who comes from adversity”, capable of “construct and destroy”, a “knowledgeable bloke, with “imagination in spades”. He was also described as a private man who bought every Elvis and Gene Vincent record.
Some parts were touching! They describe Dury’s disability, caused by childhood polio which left him crippled. Despite his disability, he still kept his sense of humour, as shown in a scene where Spider tells how Dury “had a parcel of a replacement iron leg" delivered on tour.
Spider, (Josh), talks a lot of his times with Dury, sharing double bill in many scenes, it was great that both characters share equal time on stage, as they both spent so much of their time together. I was pleased to hear from Jeff Merrifield that the real Fred “Spider” Rowe’s visited the opening show and commented to Josh Darcy, in role as Spider, “Don’t muck it up you runt”.
Fans will be pleased to know that there are plenty of Ian Dury and The Blockheads songs to sing along with. Jud Charlton fills the room with great Dury classics, Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick, What a Waste, and more epic songs of the punk era, with banter from classic songs from New Boots and Panties album!
The Life and Rhymes of Ian Dury is the work of a genius (Jeff Merrifield) celebrating the life of another genius. The world will never forget Ian Dury as his memory lives on in his songs and this highly recommended production.
JACQUELINE SHARP TALKS WITH SAMANTHA GERMAN
and cast members
Samantha German is destined to be one of the brightest talents of the future! Writer, director and producer Samantha German talks to Jacqueline Sharp, about how extensively she researched the life of Vivien, and how her idol inspired her to write this production.
I highly recommend this production.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW by Jacqueline Sharp
and
MAEVE McCLENAGHAN, ORLANDO JAMES AND SAMANTHA GERMAN, TOURING WITH VIVIEN, CHIMERA THEATRE GROUP, EDINBURGH FRINGE
Questions put to Orlando James, Actor
Q I see you as a young Richard Burton, rather than a Laurence Olivier, how do you feel about that?
A I’m flattered. I hadn’t really thought about how I had been perceived until now, I had intentionally not set out to mimic Laurence Olivier, as I didn’t want to be seen as a copycat of him. I am pleased that at least you compared me to someone from the 1950’s, as it was a community era of social circumstances, old style theatre, where actors would have a cup of tea together, living room glamour. This is exactly how I wanted to have been perceived.
Q I see your career as a big movie star of the future, do you?
A I am still in my third year at a drama centre in London, I graduate next year in July. Movies are an amazing pursuit, my first love is stage though, it is a privilege for me to do that, but I could be tempted into movies if the offer was right.
Q Your role is very intense, lots of rages, how do you chill out from your role?
A I use a lot of my self in the role, where my morals and principles are similar. I see Laurence Olivier, as a deeply complex man, with so much passion for the stage and his work. His relationship with Vivien was always a fight, he was torn between her and his career.
Q Why did you enjoy playing the part of Laurence Olivier?
A He was an icon of British Theatre; it is a privilege to play part of his life.
Q Did you do research for the part?
A Yes, lots of books, especially Laurence Olivier biography “confessions of an actor”.
I was transfixed, reading memoirs and I went to The British Film Institute to research his life.
Q What have you learnt from this role?
A Testing and training as an actor. I felt free and more relaxed to flourish in my career, outside drama school. The pressure is also exciting.
Questions put to Samantha German, Writer/Director/Producer
Q Are you going on tour with Vivien?
A Yes, we are hoping to take the production to London later on in the year, however this is in the early stages.
We are recording Vivien as a radio play, with BBC Radio Scotland on 14th August 2008, at 1.25 in the afternoon, on the radio life programme slot, which will last ten to fifteen minutes long.
We have no plans to do any television work with the production at the moment as the script would need rewritten in a different format.
Q I was particularly interested that you duplicated the beginning scene at the end, with both the narrator, and Vivien and Jack, what was your thinking behind this?
A I didn’t want the script to be traditional, its unconventional, cinematic, movie style theatre. I had to span someone’s life of twenty years into a fifty minute time capsule.
Her life did come full circle and that is what I had wanted to achieve with the beginning and end. Their relationship was doomed and I wanted to get that across by starting at the end, their marriage was over before it begun.
Q Three of the main characters were men in the script, all lovers of Vivien, as well as mention of her flirting with others; do you think Vivien was a man-eater?
A She had bi-polar disorder, lots of sexual energy and was vulnerable and promiscuous.
Q Did you do lots of research on Vivien?
A Yes, I researched for six years, as well as write. I read all of the memoirs and read Alexander Walker’s Vivien. I researched bi-polar disorder, as it was a huge part of her life.
Q What are you writing now?
A Laughs! I’m giving you exclusive information now, you are the first to hear and you are also one of the first people in the World to see my production Vivien.
I am in the early stages of research, I am writing about Jeff Buckley.
Q Who is he?
A He is an American rock musician, singer songwriter of 1990’s era. He is now dead.
Q Why did you choose Vivien and now Jeff to write about?
A I liked both characters. I immerse myself trying to understand people, what makes them the people they are, hard times make people who they are and especially what is happening behind closed doors. I like to highlight their struggles all that are hidden, such as illnesses, addictions and social issues. The private part of their lives is hidden, but for me it is the most interesting.
Q So are you interested in sociology and psychology then?
A Laughs! Yes, but I don’t study them, I explore characters such as Vivien and Jeff and bring to the theatre the hidden parts of their lives.
Q There was a lot of pent up scenes in your script, especially the floor scene where Laurence throws Vivien on the floor, what gave you the idea for that scene?
A In Laurence Olivier biography and memoirs, he openly talks about how he threw her on the floor, she hit her head and soon after he moved out of the house. He was terrified of the relationship, a passionate love affair, becoming violent. Her neediness tired him out, they both clashed.
Q Why do you think your production of Vivien is different to the others?
A As far as I know there is not much around about Vivien. I only know of two, there was a television series that aired in the 1980’s and which toured Australia.
The other one is a one woman show called Vivien, Last Press Conference, by an American Company, touring in the United States.
Perhaps there is very little theatrical work around about Vivien Leigh and Laurence Oliver because people don’t put in the time to do the research.
Questions put to Maeve McClenaghan
Q Vivien was very vulnerable and needy how did it make you feel?
A There was a lot of intensity in her life, I had to enact within this role, her life, she changed from one extreme to another very quickly, extremely gelling scenes.
Q Did you see this as a very challenging and demanding role then?
A This has been a learning curve for me playing Vivien. It has been challenging, and totally exhausting, at the same time.
Q Did you research for your role as Vivien?
A Yes, I read all her biographies, especially those by Alexander Walker and Hugo Vickers. I especially liked reading Anne Edward, The life of Vivien Leigh. I loved watching all her movies and would mimic her mannerisms and voice whenever I could to prepare for the role and studied the highs and lows of her life.
Q Who do you think she was in love with?
A Laughs, Laurence Olivier was the love of her life. The entire world knew she didn’t know who she was without him. She needed him; he didn’t need her as much, preferring to concentrate on his work. He was driven by his career, Vivien knew that and it hurt her badly. She would go crazy living off 2 hours sleep, he couldn’t cope, and he was a normal person. In her desperate moments she associated him with life as a reason to keep living.
Q I see you as being a famous actress in theatre one day, what are you planning to do with your career hereon?
A I am hoping to grow with Chimera Theatre Group. I also hold down a full time job.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL REVIEW
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
Vivien
At The Space on the Mile at The
Radisson Hotel
Aug 11 - 14, 18 – 21: 20.10
(50 mins) £7.50 (£6.50)
Aug 15 - 16, 22 – 23: 20.10 (50
mins) £8.50 (£7.50)
Chimera Theatre Group first appearance at the Fringe is pretty impressive. A London-based theatre company formed in 2007, they have excelled with Vivien based on the life of Vivien Leigh.
Set in the 1950’s the décor, plain and simple, three tables with chairs - a time warp! Three male actors and one female actress, stand still in 1950’s attire.
The Opening scene begins with a narrator propped on a stool, looking perfectly groomed, suave and handsome, as the audience is entertained with music from the 1950’s. He speaks, the audience hear the words, "true stories, how horrifying to quantify a life”, he goes on “Laurence Olivier asked for divorce to marry Joan Plowright” and “Just act darling”.
A dramatic scene breaks out on set, Vivien, (Maeve McClenaghan) and Jack Merivale, (Tom Copley), engage. She is frantic, hysterical and unable to cope with the pressure of Laurence divorcing her. She asks “just give me a minute, they can't start without me”.
Jack tries to reassure her, “the understudy is going out now, and we’re going to take you home”.
The opening scene is memorable, as it is recreated in the final scene to highlight the point that Vivien’s relationship was doomed from the start.
Director, Samantha German, captures live theatre, as if the audience is watching an old fashioned 1950’s movie. It combines pure genius, new edge live theatre that is quirky, cutting edge and ahead of its time.
There is a lot packed into fifty minutes. A large chunk of content concentrates on the three loves of Vivien: Laurence Olivier, (Orlando James), Peter Finch, (Ian Wych) and Jack Merivale, (Tom Copley). They all love her, but tire of her too. Her fleeting moments of passion, between all three men and many others, seem to be like a woman who is desperate to be loved and to love. Several scenes emerge with Jack picking up the pieces.
Vivien’s life seemed full of highs and lows brought to life in this production, Maeve exhausts herself to play the role. Lots of emotionally charged scene, emerge as the vulnerable Vivien struggles with bi-polar depression, , drink, pills, lack of sleep and promiscuity. Some scenes are violent. In one, Laurence throws her across the floor in anger and frustration,. A passionate love-hate relationship emerges.
This production has to be up there with the best at this year's Fringe. The script is outstanding. The actors Maeve and Orlando must be destined to huge success in their careers.
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
Surviving Spike
The Music Hall, Assembly at George Street, Edinburgh,
The opening scene is hysterical! Who would have thought that a mock job interview would have filled The Music Hall full of laughter?
Spike Milligan, (Michael Barrymore) and Norma Farnes, (Jill Halfpenny) are dynamic on stage, as they banter and bicker in jest. He employs her as his secretary. She later promotes herself as his agent and manager in some very funny scenes.
Their relationship seemed emotionally charged at times. He needed Norma more than he let on and perhaps became emotionally dependant on her. Many times she exercised her control, overstepping the mark, as she was career-focussed - bright, steadfast and a good influence in his life. You will enjoy the acting. As their relationship develops, many highs and lows surface like a bumpy rollercoaster ride.
Spike, an eccentric genius, and extremely talented writer, is portrayed by Barrymore with perfection. So much so that one has to pinch oneself as a reminder that it is Barrymore on stage, not Spike.
Throughout, there are references to Spike’s writing. Hiis war memoirs, letters, poetry, scripts, books, limericks, come up in the script often, with several mentions of his television appearances.
Award-winning playwright Richard Harris, (Stepping Out, Outside Edge), has triumphed with Surviving Spike. The script is humanistic, real and true to the life of Spike Milligan.
Barrymore gave a true reflection of Spike. Many scenes plunge into the highs and lows; his despair, fighting off dark depression, pill popping, drinking, and promiscuity.
What is so beautiful about the script is that it delves into a part of Milligan's personal life that the public perhaps didn’t know about. He had a soft side, always first to help the underdog and regularly sent money to strangers in need. He was not a greedy man, but a man who would give away his last penny.
Jill Halfpenny and Michael Barrymore excel as Norma and Spike. The
stage setting is an upstairs and downstairs affair, and the script is a
masterpiece. Highly recommend.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp
SISTER CITIES
Sidewalk Studio Theatre Productions
August 3rd - 25th 18:45 hours £10.50 & £9.50
I was delighted to hear that Jill Gascoine, was to come to the Edinburgh Fringe 2008, I was sure her return to the United Kingdom from the United States would excite the nation.
Jill is best known here for her iconic roles as Maggie Forbes in The Gentle Touch, (first female copper on television) and C.A.T.S Eyes. As a fan I was curious about her role in this production.
The dialogue between the four sisters is lengthy, for at least three quarters of the production. All four of them have names of American Cities: Dallas, Austin, Carolina, and Baltimore.
They talk out their childhood memories, some good, most bad. As they compare and criticise one another, plenty of jealous sibling rivalry, bickerin and squabbling surfaces. They moan as they describe their poor relationship with their mother, Mary, (Jill Gascoine). This was shallow. It would have been more interesting to see flashback scenes with Mary and her daughters, on stage.
It's disappointing that Mary comes on set three quarters way through, and disappears again , It's disappointing, as it was Jill I came to see on stage after all.
What may have worked better on stage would be a set divided into two parts. One side, the four daughters, in the living room, the other, Jill in the bathtub scenes. This would have had a stronger impact, with the audience. The actors could have fleeted between the two partitions, dimming the lights with the changeovers.
Director Elise Robertson, paid lots of attention to detail. One memorable scene in particular sees Baltimore studying a set of wooden dolls, placing them on the table. She describes each one, as members of her family, and then in a rage she thumps the smallest of the dolls onto the table, describing it as her, and as the black sheep, of the family.
One dramatic scene describes Sister Cities best for me, as it had a huge impact with Mary “taking control”. The scene relates to why the suicide happened in the first instance, Mary is in pain, her mobility is restricted to sitting in a chair.
Goaded on by Mary, Austin pulls off two spider’s legs. She is spurned on by Mary, as she says “you have taken away its mobility”, now it’s ready to die like me. This scene changes Austin’s feelings about helping her mother as she goes on a guilt trip.
The scene, emotionally charged, as Mary talks about her life before her illness, her husbands, and career. As silence falls upon the audience, Mary says she is “ready to go” and “doesn’t want to die in a hospice”.
Sister Cities is well written by Colette Freedman, but the lengthy suicide scenes dragged on a bit at times. The actors are excellent. Jill Gascoine is fabulous and still has what it takes to draw in an audience. I would love to have seen more of her, though.
Rex Futurus
Emmett Brown Productions
Zoo Southside 117 Nicholson Street
August 3rd - 16th £7.00
This is a fine retelling of the myth of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Sir Lancelot's adulterous relationship with Guinevere, the king's wife, breaks the Round Table and plunges England into civil war. Mordred, Arthur's treacherous secret son seizes the throne at the behest of his poisonous mother – the sorceress Morgan LaFaye. The fight scenes are exciting. Sit too close to the front row and you stand a good chance of catching the edge of a sword or a battleaxe in the confined space. I almost had a Knight of the Round Table land in my lap.
This narrative is intercut with flashbacks to Arthur's past as the despised younger son of Uther Pendragon, his apprenticeship to Merlin, and his first childhood meeting with Morgan. I found this confusing at first as the same young actor who plays the cowardly Mordred also plays Arthur in the flashback scenes. Maybe I'm a bit slow, so it took me a while to catch on the what was going on. Of course, Mordred was the result of Arthur's early liaison with Morgan so I suppose it stands to reason that he would look like the young Arthur.
The actress who plays Morgan LaFaye dominates this fine production. Props were minimal, so the audience had to rely on the strength of the script and its delivery. For the most part this was excellent. The only jarring note came in a bizarre Pythonesque interlude between two washerwomen; two male members of the cast screaming to one-another in high falsetto voices. This did nothing for me and seemed to be totally out of sync with the rest of the play. It has to go, in future productions as it marred an otherwise fine play.
What's wrong with angry?
C Avenue 34, Adam House, Chambers Street
www.whatswrongwithangry.com
July 31st – August 25th 15:25hrs £9.50 - £11.50
Steven Carter is an angry boy. He's a sixth-former at a Catholic all boys' school in Basingstoke in 1992 in this coming-of-age drama from writer and director Patrick Wilde. Every day in school is a lonely nightmare of bullying and abuse for Steven. The 'young gentlemen' in this school target Stephen because he is gay.
Stephen engages in risky activities, in particular picking up men at a public lavatory in the park. Here, to his surprise he meets John Westhead, the head boy of the school - a top sportsman who is admired by every boy in the school. Steven had admired him too – from a distance – as absolutely 'gorgeous'.
Steven is lonely. He just wants to love and be loved and be accepted as he person he actually is without having to hide behind a mask. His only confidante is his friend Linda. She first suspected he was gay when he asked for a Jason Donovan calendar for Christmas.
On the other hand, John is one of the lads. Boasting about what he is going to do with great catch Jenny, he is hiding behind a mask; unable and unwilling to acknowledge the fact that he is one of the 'queer bastards' his mates like to beat up in school each day. He wants help but doesn't know what to do or how to cope with the prevailing peer pressure in the school.
One of the members of staff, Mr Hutton sees what is going on but is unable to do anything to help Steven. The law at the time precludes the promotion of homosexuality to anyone under 21 so all he can do is watch helplessly from the sidelines. Gay himself, he spends most of his time outside school in 'the scene' a shallow hedonistic ghetto.
Despite the seriousness of the play's message there is a lot of humour in the script. Some of it went over my head but was greatly appreciated by the packed audience. Often moving, this packs a powerful message for toleration without being preachy or pretentious.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
I kissed a frog and it gave me herpes
- Laughing Horse @ Espionage Venue 185
- August 4th-16th and 19th-25th
- Free
Anna Victoria's story of her love life (so far) touched a nerve with the mainly female audience. Her mum told her that you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you meet your prince. She did. She has.
In this short production she regales her very receptive audience with the tales of her first kiss, how she lost her virginity and true love. This was laugh-a-minute stuff from this talented writer and performer. Timing is everything. Ms Victoria and her two accompanists Ronan Summers and Joe Grant didn't miss a beat in their fast and furious delivery
Waxing
Cynical
- Laughing Horse @ Espionage Venue 185
- August 4th-16th and 19th-25th
- Free
None of us are perfect, but that doesn't stop us from looking for perfection in others – the perfect partner, perfect man or perfect woman. The vivacious and talented Anna Victoria tells all in this short bittersweet account of her search for The One.
This delightful follow-on from I kissed a frog... only serves to enhance Ms Victoria's reputation as a witty purveyor of strong observational comedy
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
Camille: the Dark Angel
- Assembly @ the Queen's Hall, Clerk Street.
- August 4th - 7th and 10th – 13th. 22:00hrs
- £15.00. August 8th & 9th 22:00hrs £16.00
- www.camilleosullivan.com
A personal recommendation from a friend sent me along to hear Camille O'Sullivan sing. In a recent press interview she listed David Bowie, Nick Cave, Kurt Weill and Jacques Brel and performs some of their songs in her shows. That much I'd read. Nothing more. I had no idea what I had let myself in for. I thought, this will probably be quite good. I did not expect to be blown away so completely by this stunningly sexy Franco-Irish performer.
Before the performance began I chatted to a couple of other press reviewers who had seen Camille's previous performances at the 2007 Fringe. I began to sense that Dark Angel was going to be something special.
The lights went down and the backing band began to play. I felt something brushing against my scalp. I wasn't sure what was happening at first. Then it came to me, someone was stroking my head! It was the singer herself. As she carried herself down the aisle towards the stage, she made similar contact with other members of the audience.
Camille O'Sullivan puts everything into her act. She claims to be exhausted. She opens wine bottles with her teeth, pours herself a generous glass, banters with members of the audience and sings movingly in everything from a whisper to a roar. And she can really sing, sometimes stealing songs away from their writers and making them her own. Rock'n'roll Suicide no longer belongs to Bowie. People ain't no good has been taken away from Nick Cave.
This sexy lady had the audience eating out of her hand right from the start. This was mixed with some apprehension that she might pick one or other out for some special banter. As Camille doesn't stick to the stage during songs, but moves up and down the aisles, this apprehension is not entirely groundless. Not that she does anything terrible, you understand – a kiss, a hug, a stroking of the head mixed with a bit of friendly banter all in a warm, Dublin accent. Much of her material was dark but it was lightened by her intimate routine. You'd have thought she was singing in a small venue for a handful of people instead of in a huge theatre. I'd love to see how she would perform in a room with less than a hundred people.
Nobody wanted to go home!
A spontaneous
standing ovation brought her back for an unaccompanied encore. She
proved that her singing can stand up on its own. She even remained
behind in the bar afterwards to autograph posters and CDs. Yes, I'm
hooked. I bought a CD of her recent performance in the Olympia in
Dublin. If you go, you will be too. Believe me, this is one
performance that is not to be missed. For a flavour check out
Camille
on myspace.
I caught up with Camille after the show. Asked if she was planning to perform in Belfast soon, she told me that she is due to come to the Empire in Botanic Avenue. Carrick Biz will keep our readers informed. This will be too good a show to miss.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
Be My Baby
- Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House
- Aug 4-9, 11-16, 18-23: 12:25
- £8 (£6)
Nineteen-year-old May is a good girl really, but she's in trouble – unmarried and pregnant. To avoid the inevitable scandal and disgrace, her mother books her into St Saviour's where she can be turned around through Bible study, discipline and hard laundry work until the time comes to have her baby and give it up for adoption. All this takes place under the eye of a strict but humane Matron
This poignant and often funny story is held together by a terrific soundtrack of contemporary early angst-ridden teen bands: the Ronettes, Shirelles and the like.
At St Saviour's, Mary makes friends with Queenie, a cynical rough diamond who's seen it all before and Dolores, who is naïve and romantic. There's some superbly witty dialogue between these characters as they swap stories and read to each other from textbooks and a copy of The Lady.
Props are minimal but nothing fancy is needed. The cast manage to conjure up the oppressively rigid nature of St Saviour's in the early Sixties with little more than a handful of blankets, purely through their unforced natural acting skills and a powerful and moving script.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
Dream of Cat
Drum Cat: all female percussion group from Korea
- C-too venue
- 4 St Columba's by the Castle
- 31st July to 15th August
- Tickets £9.50 to £11.50
Over the years I have seen quite a few displays of drumming prowess; tremendous displays from the Different Drums of Ireland group, the Mourne Defenders Flute Band, Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band and a company of Japanese Tao drummers. All these are blown away by a very attractive troupe of improbably slim Korean women calling themselves Drum Cat.
The show starts with a wild virtuoso solo piece on a centrally-placed rock drum set. Did I say wild? That was nothing. The remaining players hit the stage running and dancing to bang out their high energy rhythms on six tall standing drums. Their timing and choreography was perfect. Their discipline must be enormous to keep up this pace.
Little time was made to contemplate any of the pieces. The players rushed off the stage from time to time to reappear with a variety of drums and cymbals. The crowd roared their approval. In most of the pieces, the drummers accompanied a series of fast-moving rock tracks. In one piece, however, they set up a steady rhythm to a man who played a traditional Korean wind instrument. Here, they processed around the stage with side drums and large base drum just like any drum corps of any band in Ulster. but no drummer I have ever seen could stick the pace Drum Cat set in that piece!
The finale to the show was a wild and energetic interpretation of the Ode to Joy, though it's doubtful that Beethoven would have recognised it!
My only regret is that the players did not have a DVD of their performance on sale afterwards. Judging by the universally favourable opinions of the departing audience, they could have sold loads.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
LIES HAVE BEEN TOLD: An evening with Robert Maxwell
by Rod Beacham, starring Philip York
- Assembly @ George Street
- July 31st – August 25th (not 12th and 119th)
- £13.00 and £11.00
Robert Maxwell died in mysterious circumstances in November 1991 when his body was found floating in the sea near his luxury yacht. Since then many people have wondered if his death was an accident, suicide or murder. The real truth is that nobody really knows for certain what really happened on that night.
Still, Captain Bob was a fascinating character; a socialist millionaire publisher who hated and despised the trade unions, a bombastic bully, liar and conman. What made him the man he was? Are there any answers in this one-man play? Lies have been told. This production probably incorporates many of them. You might find the real Captain Bob here. You might not.
What really comes across in this production is Maxwell's sense of outrage at being the perennial outsider. He felt that he was not really part of the Establishment but looked down upon by the insiders as not one of us, not really British, an upstart, a Jew as he tried to take control of the Daily Herald, the News of the World and finally the Daily Mirror.
Philip York's Maxwell berated members of the audience for not sitting up straight and paying attention. He offered useful tips on creative bullying by sniffing out natural targets and 'wounding' rather than 'killing' them. Don't go too far as people will start to sympathise with them. Just enough to get everyone else picking on the chosen target. He also gave useful tips for conning large amounts of cash from the banks.
York boasted about the price of Beluga caviar, chugged down champagne and belched as he paraded Maxwell's self-serving whinge for an hour and twenty minutes. York carried the role convincingly but it was hard to sit through this disjointed production and stay awake.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008
Lucky You
- July 31st – August 25th
- Assembly Hall
- £20.00 and £17.50
- www.seeluckyyou.com
Fans of Carl Hiassen's comedy thrillers worry that their favourite books might not fare too well as stage or screenplays. I think that Quentin Tarantino would do a good job on some of them. Perhaps that'll happen some day but fans can be reassured that when it comes to the world premiere of Lucky You in the Assembly Hall, they have nothing to fear.
The script is lovingly adapted – and telescoped – from Hiassen's 1997 comedy thriller by Francis Matthews and Denis Calandra. Matthews also directs the production.
All the action from the small Florida town where miracles happen daily via the Hooters bar where two paranoid White Supremacist rednecks meet a lovely blonde long-legged waitress to the Florida Everglades take place on a large centre stage.
Matthews' direction is flawless. Changes of costume and roles takes place at the back and the edges until the appropriate characters take centre in this fast moving, scene-shifting production. Backgrounds are hinted at by a series of little televisions screens scattered around the stage. A catchy new song, Lucky You, is performed on screen by Louden Wainwright III to set the scene at the start and finish of the play.
Nichola Alexis comes across strongly as the Florida vet Jolayne Lucks who wins $14million in he state lottery only to have her winning ticket stolen by the holders of another wining ticket, Chub and Bode. Corey Johnston and Paul Reynolds steal the show (as well as Jolayne's ticket) in their roles as the hapless duo. As Jolayne sets off after the redneck thieves with a pressman in tow, she entrusts her turtles to her neighbours, two religious shysters who operate a weeping Madonna statue racket to con cash from credulous believers.
There are some real laugh-out-loud scenes in this madcap satirical thriller. Look out for Chub's encounter with an angry crab and some fine dialogue. Marvellous stuff.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Practical Magic Theatre Company
- Venue 186. Sweet ECA
- 2nd-9th August 19:15hrs
- £10.00
Some of the younger members of the audience at the Practical Magic Theatre Company's performance of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest were unfamiliar with the 1975 film starring Jack Nicholson. For them, this was a new story which they enjoyed enormously.
I was a bit apprehensive as I am familiar with that movie and wondered how this adaptation of the classic script would stack up against it. I need not have worried. On the strength of this play, Practical Magic's claim to a tradition of bringing high quality production values to the Fringe is not as boastful as it might at first appear. It's a fact.
Set in an insane asylum, Randle P McMurphy a petty crook has been committed after being diagnosed as psychopathic, although it seems likely that he's really shamming in order to escape hard field labour. He fits in well with his fellow inmates but runs up against the repressive order in the asylum, personified in the sinister Nurse Ratched.
Yvonne Waring exudes
barely concealed
malice as the vindictive head nurse. The happy-go-lucky McMurphy,
perpetual rebel and shit-stirrer, is carried off convincingly by Adam
P Tompkins (who bears a striking resemblance to Ulster's own James
Nesbitt). Iain Campbell narrates the story in his role as supposedly
catatonic Chief Bromden.
The supporting cast rise well to the demands of their roles as McMurphy's fellow inmates. Special mention needs to go to Francis Lyons as the stuttering innocent Billy and Gillian Souter as the good-time girl Candy Starr. There wasn't a duff part in the whole production.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW
DRUM DRAMA
China Drum Arts Ensemble
- City Edinburgh Night Club, 1A Market Street
- August 4th - 24th 16:00hrs £6.50
- August 4th - 15th 19:00hrs £10.00
This European premier brings a troupe of sixteen young performers to Edinburgh to tell dramatic traditional stories through drums and dance.
These drumming skills are native to the Shanxi province of China. Many of the cast first began to learn their drum techniques at the age of three. The ensemble has been performing to audiences in China and around the world and has won gold medals from the China National Arts council.
The show opens as girls, wearing gorgeous robes of silk and elaborate feathered headdresses take the stage. Two huge drums at either end easily matched their height in diameter. The choreography combined an ostentatious dance routine with a finely nuanced drumming style. These girls could make their drums almost talk – from a whisper to a roar.
The display was broken up into a number of short pieces in a variety of styles. One piece set up two youn No duo of lambeg drummers outside an Orange Hall on a Saturday night could hope to match this.
It's not just about loudness, though. Timing and technique are also important. Another setpiece represents a traditional Chinese rat fairy wedding (don't ask). Four young drummers, at first timid and tentative grow in confidence and exuberance as the party begins to swing. A cat is heard to yam in the background and the young rat fairies scatter. I loved this charming and amusing little sketch.
Drum Drama brings a variety of drumming styles to represent the weather, the harvest of walnuts, battles, family conversations and Chinese festivals. I loved one sketch where young boys and girls danced and paraded around the stage with two or more tiny drums strapped to their arms, legs and around the waist. The Chinese equivalent of Hallowe'en rhymers, this looked to be great fun as they bounced and pirouetted around the stage as if they were going round houses from door-to-door.
It's a shame that the performance was not too well attended. These fine performances by this young and enthusiastic ensemble deserves a wider audience.
The Carrick Biz was invited to the official opening party on Saturday, July 26th. A big crowd of well-wishers turned up to see the legendary guitarist from Them, Billy Harrison, cut the ribbon to open the shop for business. The shop was so crowded that the party spilled out onto the street outside. The crowd were entertained by an astonishing fire-eating display live singers including a hastily written tribute to Terri Hooley – The One-eyed Man is King. Passing drivers were goggle-eyed with amazement at the proceedings.
Look into your Carrick Biz for more scoops in the coming months.
One of my favourite sweeties - the Polo mint - has recently passed its sixtieth birthday. The first packet of Polo mints rolled off the production lines of James Rowntree and Sons in April 1948. At just tuppence a packet, Polo mints soon became Britain’s leading mint brand and remain so even today. Nothing seems likely to touch them in the forseeable future. They are a wee bit pricier today but these tasty sweets are still made to the same recipe. Enormous pressure is used to stamp out each Polo mint. Nestlé claim that it’s equivalent to the weight of three elephants!
Like a lot of early eighteenth century confectioners – Cadbury, Terry, Fox and Fry come to mind – the Rowntrees were Quakers, temperance campaigners determined to offer alternatives to strong liquor for the masses. Rowntree opened his first tea and coffee shop in York in 1725. Polo mints have outlived the company that spawned them. Rowntrees first merged with rival brand Mackintosh before being bought out by the Swiss-based giant Nestlé twenty years ago.
The mint with the hole actually imitated an earlier American sweet, the Lifesaver. These samll round mints resembled a life raft. Packets of these had been circulated in Britain during the war by American servicemen.
How do you eat a Polo mint? I like to suck them until they are smooth. I am one of those folk who can curl his tongue so I can enlarge the hole. When the mint becomes thin and brittle I then crunch it. Other folk I know just prefer to crunch them like ordinary boiled sweets. To me they’re missing the best bit!
What with the effects of rising prices and the so-called 'credit crunch' it might not be the right time to open a new cinema in Belfast. That remains to be seen. Nevertheless, cinemagoers now have a new venue in the city centre.
The new Odeon Cinema restores a name not seen in the city for over thirty years. The last Odeon cinema beside the Grand Opera House became the New Vic. It was eventually demolished. The new Odeon on the top floor of the recently opened Victoria Square shopping centre is a far cry from its shabby predecessor.
It's a well-appointed modern multiplex. The foyer is pleasantly laid out with a little café area for earlybirds to enjoy a cuppa and a bite to eat before heading through to see their picture. Naturally the prices of sweets, soft drinks and popcorn is outrageously prohibitive. Take my advice and bring your own with you. You'll not regret it.
Once you've made your way to the various theatres you will be impressed. Theatre 1, which was showing The Dark Knight is huge! I liked the fact that each row leaves you plenty of legroom to stretch out. It's not even too difficult to remain at your seat to allow someone with a weaker bladder to get by in a hurry to visit the loo. Users of wheelchairs have not been overlooked either. Quite a few gaps in the rows are provided in various parts of each theatre to allow them to see the screen clearly. Well done, Odeon for this fine touch.
