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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Katherine Jakeways
in
Lost In Bank Station
Verdict: Witty & inventive
Anyone who bemoans the shortage of truly funny women in live comedy should
see Katherine Jakeways's Lost in Bank Station. It's an impressive and highly inventive show (writes Greta Russell), marrying well-observed, witty material with faultless
performances.
Jakeways introduces three characters: Elaine - the hospital volunteer
and unwitting affliction to the terminally ill; Fay Waddington - a driving
instructor who can't stop interfering with her pupils; and the abysmal impersonator - Sylvia Fox - who bears no resemblance to her subjects, but is desperate to make her impressionist agency a success.
Driving instructor Fay Waddington has an unmistakable resemblance to The Office's David Brent. While acknowledging that she is twice the age of her 17-year-old pupils, Fay is desperate to keep up with their youthful drinking and clubbing.
Like Brent, Fay is oblivious to the embarrassment she causes. Her desire to be close to her pupils is not fuelled by lust: sadly, it's from a desire to stay young. There's a feeling of pity for her unawareness.
Her inevitable rejection, as she waits outside a mortified teenager's house, is sincerely tragic. This is because Jakeways does not make Fay grotesque or extreme. She's a recognisable individual, but not a
stereotype.
Elaine is the most funny and the most disturbing of Jakeways's creations. With the demeanour of a 1950's, middle-class housewife, she befriends 'terminals' on hospital wards. She supposes they are grateful for her constant presence and interference.
Elaine films her 'boyfriends' during their last moments. She catalogues them at home and - if the family aren't quick enough - organises and conducts their funerals.
She is given real credence by Katherine Jakeways's subtle and skilful performance - even in the character's crudest moments (as when Elaine explains how she gives hand-relief to unconscious patients). It's a dark and convincing creation, with evident mileage beyond Katherine Jakeways's one-woman show.
Sylvia Fox seems the weakest character - there isn't the same feeling of intimate knowledge. Her comedy comes from the distance between her subject and her impression - not from Sylvia as an individual.
Sylvia comes alive when she's begging her bank manager for £300 to travel to Keith in Scotland for her first gig, but not when she's trying to mimic Cilla Black or Tina Turner. Her naivety is endearing: it's clear that both the engagement and the business venture must fail.
All the characters are accompanied by film footage. It's skilfully used - integral to rounding the characters. Seeing Elaine at the bedside of terminally ill Edward doesn't feel out-of-place. Fay's hackneyed banter with her learners and favouritism towards the male pupils adds to her delineation.
A criticism of the show would be its length. Once the characters are fully understood and their individual stories completed - it would be good to be left wanting more. There seems a wish to tie up too many loose ends: it begins to feel a little long. But tonight's a month before Edinburgh, with more previews for evolution.
Katherine Jakeways's previous Edinburgh show and her work with Ealing Live! has sparked a great deal of industry interest. It can only be a matter of time before her character-work transfers to television and a much bigger audience.
Cast Credits (alpha order): Katherine Jakeways.
Company Credits: Venue Credits: Artistic Director - James Wren.
END
(C) Greta Russell July 04
reviewed 2 July 04 / Hen & Chickens
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
