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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
United Biscuits
in
High Tea
Verdict: Comedy delight
High Tea is an hour of expert and outside-the-ordinary character comedy, sketches and film from what has the scent of a top show for Edinburgh 04.
Sarah Coomes, tonight with the longer hair, and black ra-ra dress, and
Belinda Stewart-Wilson, tonight with hair tied-back and black trousers, are the two adorable actresses who form United Biscuits
It's a simple set of chairs and minimal costume props. The art is in the performances and highly original script. It's extremely funny, and very clever - two words that for once aren't contradictory.
The show sets up situations, characters and conversations that at first appear real. Some stay like that, with occasional jarring edges signalling a bend in reality.
In others, the script keeps the shape of real sentences, but with increasingly bizarre words. The action develops to follow that twist in logic, with the characters continuing to seem reasonable.
The result is funny and often disturbing. It's very odd stuff, and delightful to experience - truly original and delightful comedy. And there are some real belly laughs.
A pair of Scottish literary agents - Maggie MacDonald and Hettie McPhee - make filthy changes to their star author's novel.
A flour-spattered old Welsh woman - Gwynn Williams (Sarah Coomes) - teaches the art of making a barabrith (Welsh fruit bread) on film, with awful accidents and stirring sound score from a male voice choir.
Delia, a shop assistant who can't use a tape-measure tries to measure the breasts of a horse-riding woman bent on seduction in a new bra, but distracted by the jealous ghost of Graham, her dead husband.
There are combative dry-land synchronous swimmers, shop assistants who dream of and become American tourists, one of whose husbands has been flattened on an airstrip while looking for the lavatory.
There are madrigals ('Melodic Instruments of Joy') sung a capella. There's enactment of the 40th World Dry Ice-Skating Championship to the music of Gustav Holst.
All presented by two remarkable actresses, gifted in performance, song, dance, and beauty. And that indefinable ingredient of charm - that allows the complete suspension of disbelief for their delightfully crackers campaign against reality.
Cast Credits Sarah Coomes & Belinda Stewart-Wilson.
Company Credits: Written by Sarah Coomes. Devised by Sarah Coomes & Belinda Stewart-Wilson. Technical manager - Elena Peńa. Director - Andy de la Tour. Special thanks to Julian Doyle, comedy mentor. Film: Gwynn William - performer Sarah Coomes. Director Julian Doyle.
END
John Park
reviewed Monday 19 July 04 / Canal Café Theatre
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
