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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
The Congress Of Oddities
Verdict: Original, filthy, very funny
Congress of Oddities is a 1-hour cabaret show from a cast of three (3F). It features characters Calamine and Chlamydia Lloyd-Haemhorrage, and a Biscuit-Eyed Lady
It is presented as a hold-over from live performance in the Victorian era. The show may not be historically accurate in every detail, but no-one knows the real thing anyway. It was apparently a bawdy era (it’s a show that loves to be filthy), and the entertainers specialise in freak shows (guess which one is the freak). In fact, they are all freaks, they would have believe, as Calamine and Chlamydia are a pair of famous ‘Siamese Twins’, though separated. Each was left with half a brain - and it’s clear which one got short-changed.
They deliver a fast-moving performance based on ‘slapstick, deformity, and racial dances’, lots of amazing magic tricks referred to as ‘Necromancy!’, and even demonstrations of ‘mentalism’ and palmistry. There is also a short play and a morality tale.
All this creative energy comes from Calamine and Chlamydia being on a mission. They are fomenting the New Victorian Revolution (after the New Romantics - why not?) They attempt to show what some entertainment formats from the present day might be like if transposed to the Victorian age. For example - telephone sex before telephones. Or a stand-up who tells jokes about child prostitutes and Zulu Wars. They also show Victorian entertainers might be like cracking jokes about present-day B-celebrities - especially good is the Satirical Impressions section.
Chlamydia and Calamine really are freaks. They’re a variation on a traditional theme a half-wit and exploiting sharpie. There are enough mentions of Whitechapel, Jack The Ripper, and prostitutes that a message of wretchedness soaks through. It is a tale of rejection and despair, and ultimate redemption. Zoë Gardner’s Calamine carries the burden of the melodramatic work as the wretch. But Margaret Cabourn-Smith’s Chlamydia can no more reject her than today’s society can reject its filthy Victorian roots. It’s highly original writing, and very entertaining.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Margaret Cabourn-Smith - Chlamydia Lloyd-Haemhorrage. Zoë Gardner - Calamine Lloyd-Haemhorrage. Leisa Rea - Biscuit-Eyed Lady.
Company Credits: Writers (alpha order) – Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Zoë Gardner, Hannah Mackay, Leisa Rea. Director - Hannah Mackay. Original music by Ben Walker. Technical Operator (tonight) - David Hale. Technical Operator (Edinburgh) – Venue Staff.
END
(c) Brad Hall 2005
reviewed 27 July 05 / Canal Café Theatre
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
