Durang Durang is seven short plays by Christopher Durang, one after the other without an interval for an hour. There's a cast of 6 (3F, 3M) (Erica Fee, Natalie Haverstock, Victoria Lepper; Michael Cotton, Philip Lawrence, Owen Roberts).

1-900-Desperate. Three women and two men talk to each other in a telephone chat-room. It's portrayed by the five sitting on chairs facing front and speaking. Cast: Michael Cotton - Scuzzy. Erica Fee - Zelda. Natalie Haverstock - Sally. Victoria Lepper - Gretchen. Owen Roberts - Little Boy.

Nina In The Morning. There's a sofa, table with hoop-stand mirror, cup, milk jug. Nina reclines and issues orders, attended to by her servant Foote, as her mad children - James, Robert and LaLa - enter and leave. There's a narrator. Cast: Michael Cotton - Foote. Natalie Haverstock - Nina. Philip Lawrence - James-Robert-LaLa. Owen Roberts - Narrator.

Phyllis & Zenobia. Two sisters rake over the past. Xenobia wonders if she killed their mother. Cast: Erica Fee - Xenobia. Victoria Lepper - Phyllis.

Canker Sores And Other Distractions. Prunella and Martin meet in a restaurant ten years after their divorce. Will they reconcile? Will Martin's sore mouth get in the way? Will annoying waitress Midge? Cast: Michael Cotton - Martin. Erica Fee - Prunella. Natalie Haverstock - Midge.

Naomi In The Living Room. Eccentric mother mannish Naomi hosts her son John and his mannish wife Johnna. Naomi's husband Leonard is summoned but unseen - is he dead? Philip Lawrence - Naomi. Victoria Lepper - Johnna. Owen Roberts - John.

An Altar Boy Talks To God. God listens patiently as ex-altar-boy Robert tells him what he should be like, and how he should behave. God has other ideas. Cast: Michael Cotton - God. Owen Roberts - Robert.

Medea. How might a me-centred drama school handle an updated version of Greek classic The Trojan Women? Cast: Michael Cotton - Angel. Erica Fee - Medea. Natalie Haverstock - Chorus. Philip Lawrence - Chorus. Victoria Lepper - Chorus. Owen Roberts - Jason, Messenger.

Durang Durang has a strong, multi-talented cast handling around 30 parts, and the acting is consistently excellent. There's a few slow areas, and playing 7 plays end-to-end loses some of the impact of Christopher Durang's tart, funny, acid writing. Each of the plays is precisely-written with no spare words, and each is strikingly different. Each of them delivers the full impact of a 60-minute play, highly condensed. So after 7 of them, it's a bit like gorging on a lot of chocolates. It feels as if it would have been better to pick 5, or better 3, and relax the pace. But as presented, it's certainly an entertainment. Two of the best pieces tonight are Nina In The Morning and Naomi In The Living Room, and two of the best performances are the leading actors in these two sketches - Natalie Haverstock & Philip Lawrence, both of whom deliver outstandingly throughout the whole show. That's not to say the other actors follow behind, and another fine play has them all together - Medea, with a sparkling Erica Fee in the title role. Michael Cotton, Victoria Lepper, Owen Roberts complete the cast, each giving fine interpretations in their various sketches. Sketches that could be dropped, although interesting and as with all the others, well-acted, include Phyllis & Zenobia, Canker Sores And Other Distractions, An Altar Boy Talks To God. It's partly because they're slow, partly because they are a bit flat compared with the others - sister-sister, divorced couple, catholic memories are well-tried areas, and they don't get a radically new treatment here. 1-900-Desperate could be on the reserve list too. Medea is a great closer, with a pun on West Side Story - Medea, We Just Met A Girl Named Medea.

Design is consistently strong (set design assistant, Lucy Newholm; props design assistant, Oliver Hipwell). Tonight's is a minimal set, but what is there is perfect. The fabrics and furnishings conjure up each fragment exactly, with a precise setting of atmosphere. Every sketch has a costume change, and sometimes within the sketch, and the costumes are perfectly chosen. Direction is brisk, with an eye for action and the point of the piece - points, in a few of them - from Kat Gillett (except Medea) and Emma Douglas (Medea).

List of plays: (running order): 1-900-Desperate. Nina In The Morning. Phyllis & Zenobia. Canker Sores And Other Distractions. Naomi In The Living Room. An Altar Boy Talks To God. Medea.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Michael Cotton - Scuzzy, Foote, Martin, God, Angel. Erica Fee - Zelda, Xenobia, Prunella, Medea. Natalie Haverstock - Sally, Nina, Midge, Chorus. Philip Lawrence - Announcer, James-Robert-LaLa, Naomi, Chorus. Victoria Lepper - Gretchen, Phyllis, Johnna, Chorus. Owen Roberts - Little Boy, Narrator, John, Robert, Jason, Messenger.

Company Credits: Writer (all plays) - Christopher Durang. Director (except Medea) - Kat Gillett. Director (Medea) - Emma Douglas. Set Design Assistant - Lucy Newholm. Props Design Assistant - Oliver Hipwell. Technical Operator - uncredited. Poster / Flyer Design - Lynton Peddie. Producer - Bob. Company - Bob by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd. Websites - www.scratchsundays.com, www.durangdurang.com. Note: Originally produced in Edinburgh by Skullduggery. Thanks to: Work Group, Karushi. Hen & Chickens: Box Office - Mark Lyminster.

END

John Park

reviewed 3 June 08 / Hen & Chickens Theatre, London

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2011

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