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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
I Live In Tribeca
Verdict: Almost a love story
I Live In Tribeca is light(ish) drama about the relationship between a teacher, tramp and cat. There's a cast of 2 (1F, 1M) and it runs for 80 minutes without interval.
Gay teacher David Green's distraught about his cat, deserted in his New York flat because the nearby Twin Towers have just been destroyed. Jacinta lives on the street, where they meet - united by homelessness and the hunt for pussy.
Alistair Cope delights in his frisky delivery of camp and caring David. It's a believable characterisation of a kind man, who fully sees that it's a luxury of looking for a cat when up the road thousands are dead - but makes his affection credible.
Angelique Fernandez breathes earthy sexuality into Jacinta. It's a strong and delightful performance, with mastery of an at times fast and complex set of words - which seem exactly right for the character. There's a fine pathos, again without sentimentality, in Angelique Fernandez's portrayal of a warm, resourceful, subtle and loveable woman.
Although the play happens in the shadow of the Twin Towers destruction, it's not about that. That's just the glue between the characters, trapping them in their temporary predicament. The play's essentially a relationship story - almost a love story - and a moving one - between two strong characters with more emotionally in common than at first they know. The development of that relationship, and the feelings it allows to blossom, is the strength of Sarah Diamond's new script - this is the world premiere.
The play's in 3 acts without interval - street, apartment, street. Some may feel the story ends with the end of the apartment scene. Certainly the third part is weaker - it may seem to some to dribble away to a limpish end, after the first two strong sections. There's a deathly moralising monologue from David's character starting the third section which could be scissored.
At a present 80 minutes, there could be a robust 45-55 minute play inside. Certainly Sarah Diamond's fine writing and sense of place and character would shine more brightly with a ruthless though affectionate edit.
Michael Longhurst directs with a strong sense of the story. The White Bear Pub adjacent to the auditorium tonight offers music and other noise, and surprisingly long, detailed conversations from the adjacent mens lavatory to drown out the quieter parts of the play.
There's also the unscheduled arrival of a drunk on stage from the stage's fire-escape door leading to a confrontation with the stage manager as the cast struggle gamely on. So Toby Knowles's fine sound design and the whispered voice of the cat may need a dramatic increase in volume. And the patient and gifted director Michael Longhurst either Valium or a gun.
Polly Webb-Wilson delivers an excellent design, exactly catching the mood of the play. It's a superb design, in thought and execution, down to the texture of the dust.
Lighting designer Prema Mehta is a star of the production. Her breathtaking lighting schemes, simple, subtle, and feeling at all times exactly right are a major ingredient of the show's success. There's a fine combination of candles and subtly-raised stage lights that exactly evoke the abandoned flat; and her sunrises and night-lighting sequences are a creative delight.
Credit for the all-round strength of the production belongs to the show's ebullient and creatively-gifted producer Eloise Emanuel, who assembles here an excellent team of artists, both on and off stage.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Alistair Cope - David Green. Angelique Fernandez - Jacinta.
Company Credits: Sarah Diamond - Writer. Michael Longhurst - Director. Roy Wentzel - Production Manager. Prema Mehta - Lighting Designer. Toby Knowles - Sound Designer. Polly Webb-Wilson - Set Designer. Jason Miseldine - Stage Manager. Laura Jazwinski - Design Assistant. Presented by Eloise Emanuel - Producer. Company - Te Deum Productions. Thanks: Stage Electrics, Michael Kingsbury, Adam Burns, MJ Diamond, Peter Morris, Triona Adams, Stuart Melton, Pia Furtardo, Timber Mouldings - Sutton-at-Hone, C& S Packaging - Otford. Venue Credits: White Bear Theatre Artistic Director - Michael Kingsbury.
END
John Park
reviewed 9 December 04 / White Bear
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
