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NEWSREVUE
Verdict: Hard-hitting political sketches
London - Canal Café Theatre
Run of 6 February to 9 March 03
NewsRevue parodies current affairs. It's written by
a team of about 30 writers. There are four actors,
a musical director (pianist) and a director who
change every 6 weeks.
The present cast are (alpha order)
Claire Barker,
Elizabeth Bower, Barnaby Power,
and Sy Thomas. Musical Director
Pete Smith. Script Editor
Marc Blakewill. Director James Harris.
Director James Harris rearranges the staging of
NewsRevue as 'NewsRevue 24/7'. He introduces a news
desk on stage, with a commentator providing live links
to the sketches.
The first night of the show (6 Feb 02) is filmed by
a BBC News At Ten crew, and excerpts broadcast next
night. The BBC's theme is how fringe political satire
covers the American (and British) determination to
invade Iraq.
The current run also differs in having a script editor
(Marc Blakewill), and a smaller pool of writers than
usual.
The sketches are written to a consistently high quality
and performed with élan by the talented cast. Barney
Power handles the difficult task of
satirising Prime Minister Blair; Sy Thomas, American
President Bush - two characters who so effectively
put themselves beyond comedy. Liz Bower delivers a
wide range of characters with flair; Claire Barker
handles a colourful spectrum of complex portrayals.
Pianist Pete Smith delivers lyrically creative piano to
the range of political songs, aiding and abetting the
excellence of the acting with subtle, original and
delightful delivery.
The oppressive presence of the impending invasion of
Iraq inevitably reduces topics for funny sketches, and
the best are related to the conflict to come:
Writer Noel Christopher's - Stuck in The Shuttle
places the deaths of a handful of Americans, and the
world-wide coverage of the crash of their spacecraft,
alongside the unsung deaths of thousands in (to the
Americans) less significant countries. Tightly written,
shrewdly directed, excellently performed and sung, it's
hilarious and brings riotous applause.
Marc Blakewill and James Harris's - Suicide for
Palestine highlights the conflict in the Middle
East in a powerful piece of writing that's wickedly
funny.
Highlight of this run of NewsRevue is the remarkable
song from Marc Blakewill and James Harris - Video
Games with Real Body Parts. Highly original
direction and stage-work by the cast reinforce the
horror of this magnificent piece of writing. Grimly portending the
destruction of Iraq, an American bomber pilot can't tell a PlayStation from a war crime.
Writers credited during this run of NewsRevue
include (alpha order) - Geoff Aymer, Martin Baum,
Marc Blakewill,
Liz Bower, The Cast, Noel Christopher, James Harris,
Paul Jones, Carol Kentish, Darren Lee, Philip Lunn,
Josie Melia, Terry Franks Newman, Simon Ounsworth,
Jason Peck, Barney Power, John Random, Jeremy Rommer,
Mike Tier, Tanya Tier, Ron Winkworth.
Technical Manager - expert lighting and sound by Jacob Wiltshire. Box Office - Louis Brownhill. Producer - Emma Taylor.
END
John Park
reviewed from shows seen 6 Feb and 8 Mar 03 / Canal
Café Theatre
Producer Emma
Taylor tells us that NewsRevue welcomes new
writers - contact her on 020 7289 6056 or email
mail@newsrevue.com.
(c) Fringe Report 2003
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008
