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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2002 Reviews (15)Sympathy for a Psychopath It's an interesting idea: an exploration of the psychosis of a murderer who needs to care for people. Is she an heroic carer or a heartless criminal? Interesting, yes, but the play fails to grip. It lacks dramatic tension: there is no build up, little variation of pace. I was unhappy at the characterisation of the police inspector, and my criticisms are not directed at actor John Macmillan but at the writing, which has him completely aggressive right from the start, even when questioning the victim's wife. He takes major liberties with PACE (the Police and Criminal Evidence Act) which have no function, as far as I could see, within the story. For example, when giving the end time of a taped interview, he says that it doesn't matter - this would immediately disqualify the tape as evidence before a court. If this is an attempt, as I suspect, to generalise the piece, then it doesn't work: it just sounds odd! This is Ms Esler's first play and it shows. The paradoxical premise could make a for a fascinating play but the company needs the services of a good dramaturg. Peter Lathan Nothing to Declare This is a fascinating, rather surreal piece. The central character is an interior designer travelling in a lorry through a middle eastern war zone but all she can think of is interior design ideas, problems and solutions. She devises "crisis chic", the new thing! She even imagines her present predicament - the lorry is broken down in the middle of the desert - being reported, not by Kate Adie, but by Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen! She spends much of her time arranging and re-arranging her boots and mainly empty water bottles into "interesting" patterns, and even uses herself as part of the overall picture. The production values are very high. The set, the broken-down lorry which is draped with a red cross flag (which she'd taken from an over-turned red cross lorry, not for protection but to give a particular accent to the design), is beautifully realised by designer Richard Lowden, and both the soundtrack and the lighting are tremendously atmospheric. And all of this is achieved in the small black box Pleasance Cavern. But the real highlight is Liz Tomlin's acting. She manages to make this totally egocentric idiot totally believable, not an easy feat! An impeccable performance. Peter Lathan Personal Belongings For a number of years one-woman shows have been increasing proportion of Fringe shows and they have ranged from the truly awful to the superb. Julia Darling's play, performed by Zoë Lambert, is one of the best of the bunch. It's a train ride from London to Edinburgh, with music, and Ms Lambert plays all the characters: a Country and Western singing conductor, a sex-starved obese lady, a horrifying monster of a teenager, an Australian, a psychic chess player, a "mother" (who isn't a mother at all but a child snatcher). She also sings, and the songs have lyrics by herself and Julia Darling and she collaborated on the music with guitarist David Scott. Both Lambert and Darling are multi-talented (the latter also a successful novelist, as well as being writer-in-residence at Live Theatre, where she follows in the footsteps of, among others, Lee Hall). As the journey from London to Edinburgh progresses, more and more of the stories behind the characters emerge and the songs serve as a witty counterpoint to the action. At time I have to say that I was very much reminded of Victoria Wood, for the songs had the same sympathetically satirical air that characterises Wood's best work. An delightful hour or so, which just misses five stars because it sort of drifts to an end. Ride A man and a woman wake up in his bed. Neither remembers a thing about the night before, not even who the other is or how they met. They can't even remember if they "did it" or not. (One reviewer wrote, "We've all been there" - chance would be a fine thing!) We watch the relationship develop and memories start to come back as the day passes, even though initially she was determined to leave as soon as she found all her clothes - oddly enough two items are missing: her bra and one shoe. She stays, they talk, they play Scrabble, they eat toast and drink tea and wine. They don't even know each other's names until, right at the end of the day, she tells him her name. The play ends. It's a humorous observation of a developing relationship with a slightly acerbic edge. Excellent acting by Todd MacDonald and Fiona Macleod and a witty script by Jane Bodie involve us in the characters right to the end. Well worth seeing. Peter Lathan |
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