festival
theatre - dance 0 comedy
THEATRE REVIEW Howie The Rookie
*****
Playwright Mark O'Rowe tells the stories of a pair of young men and their experiences of lust, guilt, revenge and violence without attempting to glamorise them. The characters in Howie The Rookie are human, but not superhuman. their reactions are those of real people to painful, funny, and even tragic situations.
Taking the form of two extended monologues, Howie Lee and Rookie Lee - no relation, but sharing the same surname - tell differing sides of a story, from their vague connection through friends of friends to their inevitable meeting. One introduces the story, the other concludes it.
The language is fierce and coarse. but emotive, one word suffices where three might normally go. O'Rowe's script has very effectively created space to allow the audience to absorb the dialogue as opposed to being bombarded with it, which in turn gives the actors the room to roam and permit ebb and flow of each episode. The direction too is simple but effective, the set, minimal, perhaps so as not to detract from the two actors
as the focus.
While both characters wade through situations with huge male bravado, they both also harbour internal troubles which bubble below the surface
before unexpectedly exploding out.
The plot builds harmlessly enough on a simple handful of well-rounded, sometimes almost comic characters, linking a chain of events leading to an
almighty climax.
A prime example of less is more, showing how supreme acting ability and a phenomenal script win every time over any exotic sets and special effects.
(Mark Robertson)
. Howie The Rookie (Fringe) The Bush, Observer Assembly (Venue 3) 226 2428,
until 30 Aug (not 25) 8.10pm, £9 (£8).
Irish (black) eyes are smiling: Howie The Rookie
FESTIVAL 8-10pm continued
THEATRE REVIEW A Woman Alone *fiit
Chaos encroaches upon a banal suburban life in Dario F0 and Franca Rame's murderous farce. A lengthy monologue is handled with consummate skill by Helen Hewitt, who balances the absurdity of the piece with its underlying poignancy and horror. Her comic timing never wanes, yet she successfully engages our sympathy; we are caught up in her rising hysteria as her flat becomes the eye of a storm of sexual menace. There are points when the pace slips, when the direction is not as precise as such a claustrophobic play demands; but Hewitt's exceptional performance transcends this weakness of form. (Hannah McGill)
I A Woman Alone (Fringe) Hoot, Garage Theatre (Venue 87) 227 9009, until 30 Aug (not 16) 8. 75pm, £5 (£4).
COMEDY REVIEW The Mitchell And Webb Story
***** Within about 30 seconds you know that this show is going to be a winner.
Mitchell and Webb have, lets face it, got it all. The script, the comic interaction, the timing, the acting and most of all the clever, think-before- you-laugh kind of humour that you’d expect from the likes of Monty Python or Blackadder. This is British comedy how it should to be; the point where the sublime meets the ridiculous having picked up the intelligent on the way. A bitter old wizard, a suspicious- looking Latin dance teacher and a cereal designer; they're all here for your laughing pleasure. (Victoria Nutting)
No Limits 'l‘hentrc Company
Present
EXILE
16th - let August 21:00 (22:00) Venue 40, The Quaker Meeting House
Tickets £4.50/£2.50 Box Office 220 6109
I The Mitchell And Webb Story (Fringe) Observer Assembly (Venue 3) 226 2428, until 30 Aug (not 78, 25) 9.30pm, £9/£8 (£8/£ 7).
THEATRE REVIEW Illuminata shit
The story of Hildegard of Bingen - a 12th century nun whose reflections upon light, perspective and vision have occupied the attention of feminist thinkers and philosophers in recent years - is told, in this piece, in parallel with the story of a contemporary girl attending raves in the countryside. If you feel that the phrase ’German visionary' is an oxymoron, you might do well to see this and learn. The problems here are not with the quality of thought, nor with co-writer Deborah Proctor's performance, but with a script a little too top-heavy with words to fully make its physical imagery move. (Steve Cramer)
. Illuminata (Fringe) Clear Insight, Harry Younger Hall (Venue 73) 07050 761320, until 14 Aug, 8.15pm, £7 (£5).
STAR RATINGS
***** fiiii
Unrmssable
Very good
*i* Worth seeing
it Below average
* You've been warned
Continued over page
Steven Alan Green
.-lmerieu's Pants-down Best Stand-up (Imnie
I’r‘esenls . . .
(lenue 17 I 7 West Register Slreel . . .‘lulheniieully (murehie . . . Subversive. even. " THE LIST THURS, AUG 05 TO MON, AUG 30 AT 23:00:00 £7.00. £5.50 ' TICKETS: (H31 556 2549
vAHTIN suTHERLAND PRESENTS THE EUROPEAN PREMIERE C'v
SO, I KILLED A FEW PEOPLE...
By Gary Ruderman I Dana Summers
Meet Archie Nunn. advertising executive turned serial killer
"Both terrifying and oddly moving" The Village Voice
Until 29 August I999 @ 8.50pm
Komedia @ Southside Edinburgh
Venue 82
Box Office Ol3| 667 22l2/0l3l 226 5l38
12-19 Aug I999TII£U8155