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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Fanny And Faggot
Verdict: Teenage girls kill
Fanny And Faggot depicts the troubled lives and subsequent prosecution of two young teenage girls for the murder of a young boy (writes Eloise Emanuel).
It fully utilises the effective set from the outset: two posters with ‘Fuck off, we murder, watch out, fanny and faggot’ in childish scrawl. A stepladder and two crates become a judge’s seat and playground play-thing.
The audience freezes the moment the actors leap through the fourth wall and start directly interacting with them - using them as co-conspirators (and at times extra seating) to excellent effect. But there is a minor stylistic error. One of the actors sits in the audience, lit by a serious spot. It stays on for the entire duration of the play, blinding several audience members - who are visibly shaking from such severe treatment.
Elicia Daly is superb as Faggot, giving an understated, entirely-realised and well-crafted performance. She subtly hints at the character's twisted and sexualised childhood, maintaining a steely cool combined with desperate vulnerability. Sheena Irving gives a sound performance as Fanny, the dumber of the pair, but her sometimes over-the-top child-like gurning starts to irritate after a while.
The script is sharp and sparse, cleverly throwing out titbits of information that add a disquieting depth to the lives of the disturbed teenagers. Faggot casually makes a throw-away comment that her mother was a 'prozzy' and was paid to make her watch as an 'extra'.
The play is genuinely disturbing. In particular, there is a chilling scene in which Fanny becomes the figure of the abusive paedophile who has been targeting the young girls.
The production is well-realised. A clever script ensures that the children are at once both the mouth-pieces and victims of abuse and authority.
Cast Credits (alpha order): Sheena Irving - One, Fanny. Elicia Daly - Two, Faggot.
Company Credits: Writer - Jack Thorne. Director - Stephen Keyworth. Stage Managers - Rebecca Maltby, Anna Swain. Press - Wendy Richmond. Producer - Host Universal for Cafédirect 5065 Lift.
END
(c) Eloise Emanuel 2004
reviewed November 04 / Hen & Chickens Theatre
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
