Helen Keen projects the enthusiasm of a school-girl and the assurance of an academic as she explains her passion for the stars, and human endeavours to explore space. It's easy to get excited, before the show even starts, by the shiny, aluminium set, complete with home-made spacesuit and rocket. Helen Keen even has her own worm-hole costume ready to be worn by some unsuspecting person. And there's the role of John F Kennedy up for grabs later on.

Helen Keen describes how her fascination for the stars began as a child. She says that it lay forgotten until years later, when - feeling unhappy and living in London - she turned back to them for inspiration and hope. She doesn't just focus on well-known names, and explores less-familiar stories of people who pioneered the space race - most of them bizarre and eccentric.

Using the human worm-hole she embarks on a voyage backwards and forwards in time, including the Cold War and the possibility of a visit from alien invaders. The show celebrates human achievements, and the dedication of scientists which made space travel possible.

There are charming props - made mainly from cardboard and sticky tape - and they don't disappoint. A make-shift rocket forms a screen for several shadow-puppet shows - illustrating what she's saying to great comic effect. Helen Keen even manages to make Venn Diagrams funny.

The subject is fascinating and the facts themselves are enough on their own. Coupled with the energy of the delivery and the humour in the writing, it makes for a clever show. It is well-researched, and still has plenty of laughs to avoid it turning into a lecture. Above all it is great fun.

Cast Credits: Performer - Helen Keen.

Company Credits: Writer - Helen Keen. Director - uncredited. Technical Operator - uncredited. Producer - Helen Keen. Company - Helen Keen. Website - www.itisrocketscience.co.uk

END

(c) Helen Johnson 2008

reviewed Friday 16 August 08 / Gilded Balloon , Edinburgh

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com