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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
The Aquatic Ape
Verdict: Relationship deteriorating underwater
The Aquatic Ape opens with two wetsuit-clad divers treading water - and charts their deteriorating relationship at breakneck speed (writes Eloise Emanuel).
Stylistically, some nice choices are made. Sound is used to good effect – especially the Jaws sound-bite to coincide with the diver's 'Shark beware' hand signal. Unfortunately, the cast keep fluctuating in their dedication to the slow-motion reality of underwater movement. But when it is used properly, it becomes a great way to define different locations.
The play also presents one of the oddest challenges for a director - how to show a wounded shark on stage. The choice of a dodgily-attired, silver-suited woman is a disturbing one. And loses the audience - the theatre rustles to the sound of lots of programme-consulting.
Alexander Kirk recovers from a shaky start - with lines delivered faster than a runaway train - to deliver a dependable, repressed Barney. Felicity Wren plays a bitchy Pippa well, although she doesn’t do dumb convincingly. The character might be helped by being a little less knowing.
Joy Wilkinson has a sharp eye for dialogue, and her characters have even sharper tongues. There are several laugh-out-loud moments: 'Pippa means blow-job in Italian'.
Although the individual performances are effective, the characters seem an unconvincing couple and hard to warm to. So when retribution comes, there's a feeling of being left a bit non-plussed.
Cast Credits (alpha order): Barney - Alexander Kirk. Pippa - Felicity Wren.
Company Credits: Writer - Joy Wilkinson. Director - Sam Hoyle. 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
