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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Men In Coats
Verdict: Funny, subtle and endearing comedy
Edinburgh - George Street Theatre - August 03
Men In Coats are two gifted visual comedians. Mick Dow is the tall blond chap, Maddy Sparham the shorter one with glasses; the coats are parkas.
Not that they wear them all the time. We first meet the coats displayed stage left and right in portrait frames. The frames, like the curtained screen at the centre, are elements of a simple set used effectively to display Men In Coats's subtle line in humour.
They say nothing throughout, and convey a stunning range of situations through gesture and interchange of their limbs. They're generous that way, swapping hands and feet between themselves (and sometimes adding spares) to conjure up an extraordinary ensemble of characters doing an unlimited range of activities (which are mainly clean: the show's said to be suitable for 14+, though 8 and 9 year olds among the predominantly adult audience happily enjoy it tonight).
The show is partly like a puppet theatre - the art of Men In Coats is the creation of a world that breaks the rules of reality in a convincing way - with human puppets. Partly too, it's the world of silent films. Oddly, the lack of speech isn't apparent. Mick Dow and Maddy Sparham are engaging actors able to convince us that they've spent the evening talking to us, without uttering a word.
What's in their world? Jaws, for example, and The Omen, ET, levitation, ducks, testicular juggling, knife-throwing, Mission Impossible, crack-dealing horses, balloon blowing, Je t'aime, a fine tea-pouring sequence with detachable electric light switch, unstoppable orange pips, periscopes parkas, boxing, acrobatics, Colonel Bogey, Close Encounters, much more, and magic.
In fact, it's all magic. An evening of funny, subtle and endearing comedy.
Credits: Written, directed and performed by - Mick Dow, Maddy Sparham. Technicals - Bloomsbury Theatre staff. PR - Paul Sullivan. Promotion - Karushi. Management - Old Man Management.
END
John Park
reviewed Bloomsbury Theatre / Tuesday 27 May 03
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
