Miriam Sallon Archives - Page 45 of 63

The Fishermen

Trafalgar Studios

Reviewed – 7th September

★★★½

“there are multiple scenes packed too tightly with action, making the plot slightly cumbersome to follow”

Jack McNamara’s The Fishermen has found success in multiple venues now: first at Home in Manchester, then at the Arcola in London; a sell-out stint at Edinburgh, and it’s back for another round in London at Trafalgar Studios.

Set in Southern Nigeria in the mid-90s, Obembe (Valentine Olukoga) returns home and is reunited with his younger brother Ben (David Alade) after eight years. Following a slightly tense first encounter, the two get to reminiscing, entertaining each other with impressions of family members and old faces from the community, and talking about old times. In doing so they unravel the incident which permanently scarred both their lives and led to Obembe’s running away.

Based on Chigozie Obioma’s Man Booker shortlisted novel by the same name, adaptor Gbolahan Obisesan has the unenviable task of condensing an entire novel in to a 75-minute play. It’s a lot to ask of a two-hander, however, and there are multiple scenes packed too tightly with action, making the plot slightly cumbersome to follow.

Alade and Olukoga do well to embody the roles of each of their family members as well as their younger selves, and for the most part it’s clear who is speaking and from when (the past or the present). The two find comic relief where they can, giving the audience an occasional reprieve from the play’s almost overwhelming intensity. But the device of looking back to times gone by, jokingly mimicking their mother and so on, doesn’t quite translate when they’re re-enacting serious family arguments or plots to murder for example – it’s not that the re-enactment doesn’t work for the plot, but rather the means by which they justify it. It might have been better if they had just performed it for the audience, rather than for each other.

The design (Amelia Jane Hankin) too is ambitious but overreaching: a curved row of metal poles imitates prison bars, and for the first ten minutes the brothers are divided by it. But thereafter, they’re walking through it, swapping places, standing side by side. It transpires that neither are in prison, rendering the bars just symbolic. Whilst I understand the gesture, the piecemeal manner by which the audience is trying to understand what happened means the bars are a red herring and quite distracting.

Both Alade and Olukoga are superb: Their familial bond is palpable as brotherly love grinds against old wounds. Whilst the novel’s nuanced tale doesn’t quite translate to such a short re-enactment, at least there’s no time to be distracted or bored, and the passion of the performances alone fully justifies The Fishermen’s adaptation.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Pamela Raith

The Fishermen

Trafalgar Studios until 12th October

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Coming Clean | ★★★★ | January 2019

Black Is The Color Of My Voice | ★★★ | February 2019

Soul Sessions | ★★★★ | February 2019

A Hundred Words For Snow | ★★★★★ | March 2019

Scary Bikers | ★★★★ | April 2019

Vincent River | ★★★★ | May 2019

Dark Sublime | ★★★ | June 2019

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★★★½

“packed with skill, showmanship and a great sense of fun”

Billed as circus for grownups, ‘Rouge’, directed by Elena Kirschbaum, certainly walks a very fine line between good fun and full on debauchery, displaying a combination of both traditional acrobatic circus performances, and very risqué burlesque acts. Take for example the dominatrix with a strap-on carrot, whipping roses with dangerous precision from the genitals of unicorn subs – not likely to be seen at the likes of Cirque du Soleil.

We’re introduced to the show by a very saucy leather-clad Paul Westbrook (also the show’s choreographer), who sets the playful and inclusive tone for the evening, welcoming “ladies, gentlemen, and friends beyond the binary.”

The soundtrack mirrors Westbrook’s welcome to all, varying drastically from bass-heavy electro swing to Shirley Bassey’s ‘Big Spender’; a hula-hoopist wearing a lampshade on her head performs first to Nora Jones’ inoffensive ‘Turn me On’ (Get it? Because she’s a lamp?) and later reappears topless, to Nicki Minaj’s much more raucous song by the same name.

There are no safety nets, and the space isn’t quite as lofty as a normal circus tent, so there are many occasions where the performers are higher than the lighting rigs, almost grazing the ceiling, and falling with what is no doubt a calculated risk, but to an untrained eye, looks genuinely treacherous. Of course there’s ne’er a moment where the acts themselves look worried, and all are clearly highly skilled but it does feel a little bit homespun and not quite as slick as it might be. This does seem, however, to be what keeps the evening from slipping into excessive seediness, despite the overt hedonism and sensuality of some of the acts: it’s the sense of community, and the enjoyment the cast clearly still takes from their joint performances, and their giddiness as they comes off stage.

The sense of danger and titillation is fairly consistent throughout, and there is a slight lacking in theatrical build. With a variety show of this nature, I would generally expect each act to top the next, and for the show to end in a giant extravaganza of shock and awe, which unfortunately it does not.

Regardless, ‘Rouge’ is packed with skill, showmanship and a great sense of fun. An excellent way to spend a late summer evening, but be sure to book a babysitter, this is not one for the kids.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Ian Georgeson

Trafalgar Studios

Reviewed – 7th September

★★★½

“there are multiple scenes packed too tightly with action, making the plot slightly cumbersome to follow”

Jack McNamara’s The Fishermen has found success in multiple venues now: first at Home in Manchester, then at the Arcola in London; a sell-out stint at Edinburgh, and it’s back for another round in London at Trafalgar Studios.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Pamela Raith

The Fishermen

Trafalgar Studios until 12th October

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Underbelly Festival Southbank

Reviewed – 29th August 2019

★★★½

“packed with skill, showmanship and a great sense of fun”

We’re introduced to the show by a very saucy leather-clad Paul Westbrook (also the show’s choreographer), who sets the playful and inclusive tone for the evening, welcoming “ladies, gentlemen, and friends beyond the binary.”

Regardless, ‘Rouge’ is packed with skill, showmanship and a great sense of fun. An excellent way to spend a late summer evening, but be sure to book a babysitter, this is not one for the kids.

Reviewed by Miriam Sallon

Photography by Ian Georgeson

Rouge

Underbelly Festival Southbank until 15th September

Previously reviewed at this venue:

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