[Photo: Hayley Carmichael (L) Paul Hunter (R) in The Fahrenheit Twins (c) Told By An Idiot 2009. Reviewed Tuesday 13 October 2009 / West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds UK]

This 90-minute adaptation of Michel Faber's short story is a relentlessly inventive display of imaginative staging. An astonishing quantity of locations, characters and atmospheres are summoned with only two actors, an infinitely-adaptable set, a well-timed soundtrack and innumerable changes of lighting.

The Fahrenheit Twins centres on the lives of a twin sister and brother who live with their scientist parents on a remote Arctic exploration station. As their parents spend their days studying indigenous tribes, the twins are often left to their own devices - racing huskies, inventing stories, wondering about their place in the universe. Isolated from the rest of the world, their existence is as clean as the surrounding snow. One day their mother falls unexpectedly ill, turning their world on its head.

The firm foundation upon which the story is played out is an extraordinary set designed by Naomi Wilkinson. A circular revolving platform, twenty-five feet in diameter, sits centre stage, covered in thick, wispy white fleece. Upon it, also covered in fleece, stand a manoeuvrable, oversized slide and two small stools. At first it looks like the rising stern of a small semi-submerged fishing vessel. Later when turned 90 degrees it becomes a wood plane or a high-heeled shoe. What initially seems rather abstract and limited is revealed to be limitless in its versatility. Countless trap-doors and cubby-holes are opened or shut to become anything from a bath to a crashed helicopter cockpit. With the addition of razor-sharp lighting shifts by Philip Gladwell and atmospheric sound effects by Gareth Fry, perspectives are never allowed to settle for too long. To be transported vividly from an icy, stormy exterior to the warmth of the twins' cosy home in the blink of an eye is a treat for the imagination.

Actors Hayley Carmichael and Paul Hunter are tireless in their efforts to carry the play through. They perform the roles of the scientist parents and the children as well as intermittent stints as tail-wagging huskies and sinister Arctic foxes. Playing a 10-year-old child patting a dog and then diving to the ground on all fours to become the dog being patted asks a lot of imagination; but it never becomes tiresome thanks to the technical precision of their performances. It's a hugely physical undertaking and one they carry off seamlessly.

But even with all of the technical excellence, the production still never quite emotionally engages. It often feels as barren and distant as the environment in which it's set. Without sufficient dialogue to relate to those involved in the story, it is hard to empathise. The parents' characters are only sketchily portrayed, and the twins seem two-dimensional. As adults playing children, Hayley Carmichael and Paul Hunter speak in a flat, regular monotone which successfully avoids sounding patronising but renders the characters cold. And there are moments of incongruous pantomime which reinforce that sense of superficiality. In portraying huskies, the actors bound around panting on all fours in an attempt to represent dogs as accurately as possible. In playing Arctic foxes however (the dream sequence excepted), they don fox-masks and creep around the stage like louche cads, waving knowingly to the audience. Overall though, The Fahrenheit Twins is a rewarding work-out for the imagination and an intriguing display of ingenious staging.

Cast Credits: (alpha order): Hayley Carmichael – Tainto'lilith (twin) / Una Fahrenheit (mother). Paul Hunter – Marko'cain (twin) / Boris Fahrenheit (father).

Company Credits: Writer - (based on the book by) Michel Faber. Adapted By - Told by an Idiot. Director - Matthew Dunster. Designer - Naomi Wilkinson. Lighting Designer - Philip Gladwell. Sound Designer - Gareth Fry. Technical Operator - uncredited. Assistant Producer - Lucia Latimer. Producer - Sebastian Warrack. Commissioned By - barbicanbite09 and unitytheatre. Supported By - The National Lottery through Arts Council England. Company - Drum Theatre Plymouth. Company - Told By An Idiot. Told By An Idiot: Co-Artistic Directors - Hayley Carmichael & Paul Hunter. Website - www.toldbyanidiot.org. West Yorkshire Playhouse: Head of Press - Paula Rabbitt. Press Officer - Jane Verity. Website - www.wyp.org.uk.

END

(c) Jonny Lodge 2009

reviewed Tuesday 13 October 2009 / West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds UK

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

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