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Fringe Report is now closed. Fringe Report closed on its 10th anniversary, Thursday 12 July 2012. It remains online as a record of 10 exciting years in the arts. Till July 2013, previously unwritten content is being added to the site from the past 10 years, but we are no longer reviewing new material. You can still write to us on the existing email addresses. Good luck with your shows.
Green Grass
Verdict: Patchy script with no insights
Green Grass is set in a block of flats. Much of the first act takes place in darkness. The set features a tree pushing in through a window, and another tower block nearby. The play's theme is not so unusual - urban living and the pressures of life. Two couples feature. One is upwardly mobile, the other on a downward spiral. In the first part, they're seen apart. After the interval, they all have dinner together.
The upwardly-mobile-couple-wife is scared of the dark; the husband tries to be reassuring. They have a lively talk over a range of topics. The weird ones upstairs have a similarly disjointed discussion - quite fun to listen to. The conversations are fairly sharp and entertaining, but go nowhere. Writer Andrew Muir may be saying that urban living has its pressures; not too many surprises there. Or that people are competitive - not too radical a concept. Or that some people are odd - clearly, but there has to be something else other than putting them on display.
Green Grass lurches from kitchen sink comedy to urban despair, stopping at most stations along the way. Unfortunately, it's difficult to sympathise with any of the characters. There's some nice dialogue, some funny moments, some good performances. But the script is patchy and threadbare, and there are no insights.
Cast Credits: (alpha order): Olivia Darnley - Anna. Ian Groombridge - John. Gillian McCafferty - Claire. Andrew Obenay - Hugh.
Company Credits: Writer - Andrew Muir. Director - Ben De Wynter. Designer - Holly Best. Light Designer - Steve Miller. Technical Operator - uncredited. Stage Manager - Sorrell Moore. Producer - uncredited. Company - Slipstream Productions. Website - www.slipstreamproductions.webeden.co.uk/. Union Theatre: Artistic Director - Sasha Regan.
END
(c) Michael Spring 2009
reviewed Thursday 12 March 2009 / Union Theatre, London
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2013