The Review - THEATRE by NATALIE LI Published: 13 August 2009
Chairs cheered at Fringe
CAMDEN FRINGE
Various venues
FORGET Edinburgh, north London’s very own fringe festival swung into action last week. First up it was off to the Camden Head as The Silky Pair served up their show The Reunion. Comedy duo Lorna Shaw and Kathryn Bond shone brightly as two haughty journalists Sue and Auds who club together to deliver a reality documentary. Desperate to sniff out some grabbing stories to hook their viewers, the scurrilous pair jostled at madcap velocity, playing all manner of characters. Off-the-wall and gagged up to the max, it was a hilarious, fast-paced hour in which the wacky pair, who rarely paused for breath, impressed a packed house.
One round of drinks later it was off to the Camden People’s Theatre for Lumenis Theatre’s latest production, Les Chaises.
Three short plays investigated the relationship the individual has with chairs. On the face of it, not the most enthralling subject. From Fiona Whitelaw’s Clearance, the story of one woman’s struggle to sell her late father’s chair to Sue Lernier’s Foreplay, in which a couple seek counselling, right through to Mary Mazzilli’s Attempts on a Missing Chair – an absurd drama about an elderly couple whose grandson has disappeared, it was light years away from the Camden Head’s offerings. Tinged with the sadness, it was a philosophical approach to theatre. All in all, an intriguing set, which, with some tightening up in direction, could flourish further.
084 4477 1000 Camden Fringe runs until August 30