Skip to main content

113 review

Written by Ethan McLucas 113 is a play about memory and identity. It follows characters 49 and 64 - trapped in a room, separated by a wall - as they try to recall and piece together their past forgotten lives. The performance I saw was at the Hope Theatre, but has previously played other venues, and has plans for continued performances elsewhere including the Edinburgh Fringe.  

The most significant element of 113 is the set, due to the wall that separates our two protagonists.  Depending on where you sit you may only see just one of the protagonists for the entirety of the play, mimicking the experience of the characters. From where I was positioned I could see both sides. I wonder if the wall was extended, cutting through the audience, separating friends and family, it would feel much more intentional. Instead I came away feeling like I had the definitive "better" view. 

The slightly creepy music of Xiu Xiu played on entrance was well chosen to set the atmosphere (though perhaps I am biased being a fan). I found the sound design through the play to be a positive addition . Although completely unintentional, the sounds of the pub downstairs or busy street outside would often bleed through into the venue. This gives the feeling that there is this world out there we are trapped from seeing - again putting us into the shoes of the characters. 

For 133 to really stand out it needs to go further in its radicalism, and to adopt a stronger directorial vision that better immerses the audience with the claustrophobia of the situation. It feels as if there is the opportunity to disorientate, or even sicken the viewer, and it is unfortunate that 113 feels limited by budget (among other things) in this regard. 

The humour interspersed feels very natural - often like playful banter between friends - and is an element that keeps 113 engaging. The surrealist clowning of Sali Adams is a personal highlight, she plays this hallucinatory(?) figure that torments 49. Taylor takes on this role alongside a number of other roles in the production. 

The quality of the acting across the board is very good. Both lead characters have well developed stylistic identities, but they run the risk of being caricatures - at least near the start of the play. In the case of 49 (Isobel Glover) the huffing and eyerolling are somewhat excessive, and they often read as too self-assured when considering the situation. 64 (George Loynes) perhaps goes too far the other way - and is the resident crybaby of the show; greater opportunities must be taken to explore a more multifaceted characterisation

113 seems to walk a well-trodden path and it must have the guts to go further. Despite its flaws however, I found 113 to be a rather enjoyable way to spend 60 minutes, mostly thanks to the unreserved performances of Glover, Loynes and Adams. I see no reason why it should not fill a gap in an Edinburgh Fringe schedule. ★★★☆☆



Thank you to Deja Vu Productions for inviting me. Tickets were provided free of charge and I was given full control over the content of the review.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Father, Away She Goes review

Father, Away She Goes, is a funny, and in many unfortunate ways, a painfully relatable production. Performed at "Pickle Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court" the play follows Sarah, a rather insufferable art school reject. Sarah is coded as slightly vulgar, middle-class, and is a character which I dare say satirises fringe performers and audiences alike. She is messy and unmotivated, she seemingly presides over the breakdown of relationships both with her life-long friend, and with her own mother. As the play unfolds, we learn the horror of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father as a teenager.  Father, Away She Goes, is a one woman play conceived by Electra Kolb. Kolb puts in a real tour-de-force performance, holding the complete attention of the room for the entire duration of the show. On occasion she will interact more directly with audience members, and I think when considering the small space in which the production currently takes place, lea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tuck! review

An abstracted amalgam of comedy, sex and biological disgust, Tuck! (directed by Lou Bristow-Bell) describes itself as a "boun dary-pushing psycho-dream" play. An apt epithet. On this occasion, Tuck!  takes residence in the Baron's Court Theatre, nestling itself under the black painted brick arches of the pub cellar venue - a suitably unsettling setting.  The cast of Tuck! is exemplary. Of particular note are Jack Heffran and Samantha Begeman, who manage to effortlessly recreate the awkward flirting of a couple - in this scene the dialogue shines too. The comic timing and ability to enthral an audience that the entire cast possesses has to be commended.  The play's disturbing moments include: the description of a group ritualistically sucking the blood out of a used tampon, a woman achieving orgasm through being told by how petite she is, and the question "are you wet?" answered not with words - but by reaching between their legs and discovering copious amo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prudence Play review

Prudence Play is a one-woman show written and performed by Caroline Dunn. It follows Prudence, a nun grappling with her sexuality. She is adamant she is not gay though.  The play begins as Dunn enters the theatre through the back of the room (audience entrance) with a chaotic timidity, as if almost late to her own show, apologising and readjusting her flapper dress skittishly. Brittney Spears plays and Dunn takes the stage and tap dances for us. Iconic.  It is this moment that totally sets the scene for Prudence Play. Within barely a minute Prudence is established as a messy and down to earth individual; brilliance. Some of the lines early on are rather lyrical and are delivered with an slam-poetry like cadence, which is hyper-engaging. The show is funny, with a distinctly American style of humour. Prudence Play almost seems to transport a high-school dramedy mood to the nunnery, with this awkward coming-of-age lilt to everything. This seems to parallel the queer experience, w...
Post a Comment
Read more