WHILE I'M AWAY
A short, simple but utterly charming production, While I'm Away sees writer/performer Telia Nevile build a solo show around the Poet Laureate character she's developed over the last 18-odd months at The Last Tuesday Society. Gently mocking the pretentions of bad performance poetry while simultaneously using poetry to explore themes of love, life and contemporary angst is no mean feat, but Nevile manages it with aplomb, while simultaneously screening a series of antique slides which counterpoint and compliment the verses and stories she presents. There's a bittersweet tenderness to this production that I found utterly disarming, as well as a sharp, dry wit and subtle, goofy, fragile charm. Highly recommended.Rating: Three and a half stars
ASLEEP IN A SECRET
A solo performance by Skye Gellmann, which like his co-devised 2008 show Scattered Tacks takes the traditional tropes of circus and refines them down into a marvellous minimalism. With only a slide projector, a bowling ball and a couple of wooden blocks to assist him, Gellmann focuses the audience's to focus on the human body and contemplate what it is capable of. There's a cold purity to Asleep in a Secret that some may find offputting, but which I found enthralling; it's like Skye has boiled away all the extraneous elements of physical performance to focus on the heart of circus, with an entertaining game of Chinese Whispers added to the mix.Rating: Three and a half stars
For more Fringe reviews, check out the new blog by 'John Bailey', Capital Idea, Express Media's Buzzcuts, and the excellent Spark Online; while The Groggy Squirrel is running reviews from the comedy stream of the Fringe program.
2 comments:
Thanks again for coming and supporting. I particularly like how you wrote - there is a purity some might find offputting. Could I use parts of this review in my promotion in the future?
Skye
No need to ask, Skye - of course you can - and thanks for an enthralling performance!
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