(Fringe 2007)

The Angel and the Woodcutter (Fringe 2007)

A performance undermined by its uneven mixture of charm and brutality
The Angel and the Woodcutter is disarmingly unsophisticated. Telling its story through movement, it is distressing, sentimental, and melodramatic. Accompanied by a score combining oriental instrumentation with excessive synthesizer, it leads a folk tale through the horror of war.

The first act is simplistic and cloyingly childish. In an over-extended comic dumb show, a woodcutter and his mother live happily in the woods. Their idyllic existence ends when the mother captures a passing angel and initiates her into the household and her son’s bed. The angel duly becomes pregnant.

At this point, the woodcutter is conscripted into the Army, leaving the women behind. The mood becomes increasingly dark, the music swells and strains, the performers' facial expressions become more serious. The tableaux are increasingly poetic and evocative and show the angel's dissolution and redemption. After the silliness of the earlier scenes - where any sort of moral perspective or consistency of character was sacrificed for facile humour- the finale is bewildering and affecting.

Despite the stunning impact of the final scenes, the performance is undermined by its uneven mixture of charm and brutality.

Night Time (Fringe 2007)

Fails to deliver any new insights on either fantasy or domestic violence and plays safe with theatrical convention

Held together by Lorne Campbell’s steady direction and four excellent performances, Night Time is far from typical Fringe theatre: it had a preview run and the Traverse’s professional support. Sadly, the show is weakened by a script that slips between naturalistic and symbolic.

Over the course of the night, protagonist Christina meets two very different men as she escapes her abusive husband.

Although billed as ‘a hypnotic thriller’, Night Time only examines the consequences of Christina’s abuse, removing the "thrill" element. The dialogue is stilted in Harold Pinter-esque style. Male-female relationships are portrayed only as pitched battles and, indeed, the male characters are seen simply as mere foils for the lead character to play off. Also, a teasing suggestion that the events are all played out in Christina's imagination is one that is not, at any later point, explored and the questions it poses are neither answered nor, as it turns out, at all relevant.

As something of a consolation, Kananu Kirimi is majestic as Christina, convincing throughout her character's various mood-swings and investing her monologues with a thrilling pathos. Her scene with husband Bowman (Benny Young) is a tense battle of wills, their age-gap making it appear more like a conflict between teacher and pupil rather than of equals.

Yet Night Time fails to deliver any new insights on either fantasy or domestic violence and plays safe with theatrical convention.

State of Matter

A fusion of contemporary dance and street-dancing, this performance astounds with its libidinous energy

State of Matter is balanced carefully between the considered finesse of contemporary dance and the pyrotechnics of break-dancing. The company of eight astound the audience with acrobatics and fierce solos, building to a powerful finale that deserves its standing ovation.

2Faced Dance are a young company, and there are weaknesses. The group pieces tend to be sloppy and unconvincing, and the reflective pieces slacken the pace. Drab lighting leaves the dancers lurking in shadow, obscuring their libidinous energy.

Despite this, the company is animated by stunning passion, hurling themselves across the stage and towards each other, spinning on their heads, human beatboxing, locking and popping in a relentless onslaught of physical prowess. More traditional interludes - including pieces that are subtle reworkings of abstract ballet - demonstrate that the company are more than street dancers; Tamsin Fitzgerald’s choreography straddles modern and ancient forms, allowing the spectacular break-dance space to impress without swamping the discipline of classical dance.

The cast are undoubtedly future stars, and State of Matter marks another step on the journey to integrate hip-hop with theatre. Cool enough for kids, and smart enough for the cognoscenti, State of Matter challenges the staid stereotype of modern dance.