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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Take 2
Verdict: Fascinating one-act plays
The one-act play is a sadly neglected genre (writes Peter Benedict). One can think of famous exceptions, such as The Real Inspector Hound, Black Comedy, The Private Ear - but as with these examples, the problem is finding the perfect match to make up a double bill.
In Take 2, that match is forged not so much by the plays as by the remarkable performances of the two actors, Mark Eden and Kevin Moore.
What makes them so fascinating to watch is that their acting styles are quite different, and yet perfectly complementary. Mark Eden uses a level of naturalism which points up Kevin Moore's characterisations, without ever undercutting them.
In Autumn, adapted by Mark Eden from a story by Irish novelist Keith Ridgway, a chance meeting in a Dublin park sets off a troubling search to recover memories of a past encounter. Have they met before? Were they briefly lovers? There is a reminder of Beckett as the two men struggle to recapture the past. They do so with a poetic poignancy that subtly conjures up the beach of fifty years earlier.
Props is a witty, bitchy, nostalgic comedy about the film industry and the people who work in it. Written by Mark Eden with Steve Nallon, this is another piece dealing with the ambiguity in relationships.
Two men have worked together as props men in a film studio for 21 years. Now the studio is closing down, what lies ahead? Are they lovers, or something more complicated?
For those who get a frisson from hearing someone rattle off the films in which Gladys Henson played the maid, or who simply enjoy plays which lift the spirits with their straightforward optimism about human nature, Props is what characters in those old British movies would describe as 'a tonic'.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Mark Eden. Kevin Moore.
Company Credits: Autumn - adapted by Mark Eden from original story by Keith Ridgway. Props - written by Mark Eden & Steve Nallon. Both plays: Director - Nigel Plaskitt. Designer - Mark Friend. Technical Operator - Venue Staff. Venue: Jermyn Street Theatre: Artistic Director - Penny Horner.
END
(c) Peter Benedict 2004
reviewed Saturday 11 December 04 / Jermyn Street Theatre
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
