home
|
about
|
news
|
contents
|
gossip
|
photographs
|
venues
|
brighton
|
dublin
|
edinburgh
|
film
|
features
|
interviews
|
awards
|
fashion
|
recipes
|
no more drinks
|
newsletter
|
links
|
contact
Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
FRIGHT NIGHTS
Verdict: Late night horror
Edinburgh - Scotsman Hotel - August 02
(note Scotsman Hotel is the new venue, not as published in printed
Official Guide)
If you yearn for good old-fashioned B-Movie horror, and Hammer House of Horrors has
a stake in your heart, Fright Nights is for you.
The cast wanted to set it in Edinburgh's historic vaults, but Health and Safety
Regulations - in a twist with delicious irony - ruled them unsafe. So the coffins, ghouls, witches, hanging judges and child-murderers who make up this delightful romp in the
graveyard, have moved to the city's slickest new luxury hotel.
Here are four short plays by different directors. They're compered by a gloriously camp
demonic host (Matt Cooper) assisted by ghouls and occasional interruptions from the
local police.
MONTAGUE JOHN DRUITT
Montague has a hankering for ladies of the night. His catering arrangement with the
Devil cuts to the heart of this lively tale.
Montague John Druitt - Sebastian Lister; Prostitute - Lizeth Meazza;
Devil - Adrian Lloyd. Written and directed by - Steve Harris
VIY
A young philosopher monk relies on the protection of the Psalms and a chalk circle to
prevent unorthodox riding lessons from an astoundingly sexy witch. Russia can
confidently expect a drop in applications for the priesthood.
Witch - Jaime Lister; Philosopher - Simon Connolly; Cossack King - Nick O'Brien;
Cossack - Steve Randall; Cossack - Angus Scott; Ghoul - Adrian Lloyd; Ghoul -
Hannah Turkaslan; Ghoul - Sacha Grimsditch. Director - Andrew Byron. Writer - Nikolai
Gogol.
THE JUDGE'S HOUSE
A haunted house may not make the best place to study for one's maths exams. There's
an excellent rodent in this one, with a strong resemblance to Basil Brush. Moral -
put off the cleaning of old pictures, er, indefinitely.
Student - Nick West; Estate Agent - Matt Cooper; Estate Agent's Wife - Laura Vegad;
Doctor - David Bark-Jones; Cleaner - Claire Randall; Judge - Russell Collins. Director -
Alison Lewis. Writer - Bram Stoker.
PARTY GAMES
By far the darkest piece of the evening, and a fine choice as finale. If you liked
'Boys and Girls Come Out To Play', and 'Carrie', this one goes a step or two further.
Adults playing children give a disturbing edge to this powerful study of dementia and
exclusion.
Alice Jarman - Jaime Lister; Ronnie Jarman - Simon Connolly; Tom Jarman - Jatinder Sahi;
Maria Taylor - Lizeth Meazza; Danny Brown - Steve Randall; Timothy Good - Adrian Lloyd;
Holly Boole - Laura Vegad; Robert Pinkerton - Nick West; Mary Hacker - Claire Randall.
Director - Neil Sheffield. Writer - John Burke.
FRIGHT NIGHTS
Acting credits are given with each play above. The four playlets are directed with élan by Steve Harris, Andrew Byron, Alison Lewis and Neil Sheffield. Harris opens the evening with a light vignette of Victorian London, plunging into melodrama while keeping tight control. Byron, a fluent Russian speaker, picks a disturbing tale of enchantment in this intriguing English rendering of Gogol's story. Lewis presents an entertaining piece of enchantment, and dips adroitly into movie
techniques for unusual views of the stage. Sheffield delivers a gem of sinister
drama with remarkable insight; he uses a large cast on-stage with effortless precision,
building an excellently-layered story to a powerful climax.
Company credits - Stage Manager - Anthony Whitfield; Assistant Stage Manager - Matt Cooper; Lighting Operator - Heather Painter; Sound Operator - Eileen Nicholas. Producer - Sofa Productions.
END
John Park
reviewed Saturday 17 August 02 / Scotsman Hotel
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
