Those Who Can’t Do, Laughing Horse @ The Brass Monkey.
Balancing a life as a responsible teacher on the one hand, and a party larrikin on the other is a tricky business, as Ty Gray’s very funny Those Who Can’t Do shows. Making sure the kids don’t see your social media, trying to avoid being caught out hungover, and avoiding visits from your partygoing mother are all vital personal goals! Ty is a very likeable guy and has some excellent material with some great punchlines. In Saturday’s show he had a very awkward moment when he dropped his glass of water and it smashed everywhere, causing the show to be suspended for a good five minutes; but he used the hiatus as a strength and came back fighting – which a less confident performer would have found a struggle. A strong performer and a funny show!
Santi and Naz, Pleasance Courtyard.
The partition of India is a frequent inspiration for drama; and in Santi and Naz it is used as the backdrop for the tale of two best friends. To what extent will they be separated by religion, partition and sexuality? Santi was always fascinated by books and wanting to know more about the world – even though she always expected to spend her life in the village and working with the sugar cane. Naz had no interest in reading; all she wanted was to be Santi’s best friend. But as the two grow older into adulthood, and an arranged marriage is on the cards, what does the future hold for both of them? Rose-Marie Christian and Karendip Phull play Santi and Naz with great conviction and affection, and the text has some beautiful passages of lyrical writing. But it is too long; too much time is spent establishing the girls’ childhood friendship, and the issue of Naz’s sexuality is only lightly touched upon. Enjoyable performances, but it could all be a little tighter and pack a greater punch.
Stark Bollock Naked, Assembly Roxy.
Two very engaging performers deliver an innovative and imaginative show about that age old issue of the female body’s ticking clock and the right of the woman to choose her own destiny. The first part of the show involves video and imagery projection on one of their (naked) bodies and is funny, telling and very clever. The second part loses impact as the two performers become the woman’s brain – it took me a long time to realise they were her brain; I thought the unusual headgear suggested her intestines, which made no sense at all. There’s also a very silly song that potentially trivialises the importance of its earlier message – although maybe that was its intent.
A very good idea for a show that starts strongly and then disintegrates as it progresses.
The Quality of Mercy: Concerning the Life and Crimes of Dr Harold Frederick Shipman, The Space @ Surgeon’s Hall.
Shipman is in his prison cell, reciting his thoughts into a tape recorder to set the record straight – he doesn’t want to be associated with that louse Ian Brady, after all. His first thoughts are to his mother, who died of cancer at the age of 43, and who suffered terribly from the illness. If only he could have shortened her suffering by bringing her life to an end earlier? This gives him the justification for committing the unspeakable series of murders for which he was responsible, hiding behind the facade of benevolent euthanasia. As his crimes increase, the names of his victims appear on a projected backdrop; eventually you are mesmerised by the sheer numbers involved. Edwin Flay’s magnificent writing allows Shipman’s true motivations to seep out, despite whatever the wretched man may pretend; and his performance as the vain, megalomaniac arbiter of life or death stands out as one of the best I’ve seen for a very long time.
Andrew Frank: Ecstatic Blasphemy, Hill Street Theatre.
Andrew Frank was educated – for want of a better word – at a school – if you can call it that – subjugated within a Christian Fundamentalist church, adjacent to a highway in Arkansas, where their father was the pastor. And if that isn’t a recipe for a disastrous childhood, they don’t know what is. Ecstatic Blasphemy is a hilarious hour revisiting their upbringing, family life, and all the little repressions and – let’s be honest – lies that blighted their childhood. With a mass of very funny material constantly on hand, Andrew is a naturally very funny and ebullient performer whose main purpose on stage is to show the ridiculousness of strict religious adherence, which they do with charm, personality and a huge amount of laughs. Terrific stuff.
