In a confined space, two men with identical moustaches examine in mime and frozen images what it is to be a man. They are Fatty (Matt Halliday) and Skinny (Gavin Harrington), though the characters they play are interchangeable. With two chairs and two boards they create all the trauma of babyhood, youth and adulthood with a macho edge.

This wordless play is uneven. It does work well with a very slow motion fight or during observations of size in a urinal. It does work brilliantly in a dance sequence and at a funeral. Often though the scenes created are glaringly obvious and carry little depth in their message. But overall the action is slick and watchable. The use of mirrored and separated images is good, the very loud music is a distraction most of the time.

When the behaviour has been carefully observed, such as the different way people behave sitting on the toilet, it is enjoyable. When the action has been observed but not carefully imitated enough, as in the ball game, it is annoying. What is done to the accompaniment of Wagner's Ride Of The Valkyries, Elgar's Enigma Variations, and the theme music for Hawaii Five-O is unexpected and amusing.

This show has great potential but the timing and subtlety are not quite there all the way through. There are striking snapshots of the pure terror of birth and how men become their own fathers. The whole piece sometimes feels like an extended exercise at drama school.

The blackouts and quick changes between scenes maintain interest. But the individual scenes are too disconnected from each other. This may be the intention yet there are too many bits of business some very short, others too long. Matt Halliday and Gavin Harrington have physical prowess which should develop into action that is better timed and a little more subtle. The potential is there.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Matt Halliday - Fatty. Gavin Harrington - Skinny.

Company Credits: Written / Devised By - the company. Technical Operator - Kat Gillett. Producer - uncredited. Company - Grimmace (New Zealand).

END

(c) Peter Andrews 2008

reviewed Monday 4 August 08 / Rocket@Roxburghe Hotel, Edinburgh

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com