Lucky Nurse and Other Short Musical Plays is four separate short plays each telling a story about everyday people and their unusual and surprising encounters. Two women (Lucy Barnett, Charlotte Grace) and two men (Christopher Allen, Charlotte Grace) play all the characters.

Eulogy for Mister Hamm. The characters queue for the only-available bathroom - which is broken. They find themselves bonding when they fear that their landlord may be dead.

Break. Two construction workers are paid an unexpected and confused visit by the Blessed Virgin Mary (Charlotte Grace), leaving them with new insight into their mundane lives.

Agnes. Agnes (Lucy Barnett) persuades a stranger to kill her - releasing her from her restricted and unhappy life, trapped in a wheelchair and dependant on a rather grumpy nurse.

Lucky Nurse. Four events take place on a single rainy night, each tied to the next by the passing of an umbrella. Nurse Madge (Lucy Barnett) passes it to her nurse friend Jerry (Dominic Brewer). After his shift, Jerry meets and seduces Sherri (Charlotte Grace) in a bar. The umbrella passes to Sherri who leaves it in the taxi home. The taxi driver (Christopher Allen) ends up at the hospital, returning the umbrella to its starting point.

The set is kept fairly simple, with only a door and four black boxes to create different scenes. At times this works perfectly, but some of the scene changes are rather clunky. The four actors are all reasonably skilled singers, especially Dominic Brewer who stands out throughout the performance with a powerful and resonating voice. At times the other three actors seem to struggle a bit with projection, making it difficult to hear the words. The cast's acting is flawless. Each moves effortlessly through the characters producing an engaging whole. Christopher Allen makes a great grumpy man, but shines as the cabbie who has lost his child. Lucy Barnett gives a moving and emotional performance as Agnes. Dominic Brewer delivers four characters with passion, skill and flair. Charlotte Grace shows a fine comic talent in each character, while giving each a depth and reality - particularly Sherri.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Christopher Allen - Man #2 / Man in Bathrobe / Cabbie. Lucy Barnett - Agnes / Woman with a Boot / Madge. Dominic Brewer - Man #1 / Man / Man in Dirty Dungarees / Jerry. Charlotte Grace - The Blessed Virgin Mary / Woman / Girl with a Kidney-Thing / Sherri.

Company Credits: Crew Credits: Music and Lyrics - Michael John LaChiusa. Director - Russ Hope. Musical Director - Andy Ralls. Lighting Design & Technical Manager - Ed Borgnis. Rehearsal Pianist - Richard Bates. Poster Design - Sarah Green. Production Assistant - Sarah Green. Producer - Tim Connor & Stephanie Hay. Company - Throwaway Theatre. Website - www.throwaway.org.uk.

END

(c) Trine Garrett 2008

reviewed Wednesday 20 Aug 08 / C cubed, Edinburgh

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

www.fringereport.com