The Prague Post Online: Prague Fringe weblog

May 17th, 2008

Endowment Fund Book of Lists ONLINE Reservations Classifieds Subscriptions

Prague Fringe weblog 2006
Prague Fringe weblog 2007
By Steffen Silvis
Staff Writer, The Prague Post

The Prague Fringe Festival wrap-up
June 4, 2006

This year's Prague Fringe Festival ended on a few high notes. Attendance was up considerably from past years, as was the level of enthusiasm. Other than the SRO late nights with Topping and Butch Friday and Saturday night, there was still plenty of good performances to catch...as well as a few bad ones.

Of the ones that I'm sorry not to have gotten to sooner there was the Pretty Good Girl Dance Theatre's Morning, Noon and Marilyn Monroe, Beautiful Confusion Productions' Savage/Love, and Baba Yaga Theatre's Very Short Stories of Creatures and Their Journey Towards a Home. Both the pieces by Pretty Good Girl and Baba Yaga could have used some judicious editing (particularly Morning, Noon and Marilyn Monroe), but the performances themselves were powerful. Though not all of the performances in Savage/Love were at the same level of skill, it was superbly staged, and was enhanced by the live music supplied by Ellie Cummins.

A consistent level of talent was the primary problem with Crooked House Theatre Company's play, Broken Hallelujah. The script itself, by playwright Sharman MacDonald, is well written and always intriguing, and director Peter Hussey did a fine job of staging this very episodic piece (backed by a fine score). However, not all of the actors were up to it, though, admittedly, there were more of them than there were of us in the house, which is always a depressing situation.

In the race to the bottom was Theatre Suspendu's Sepia Quartet, which was embarrassingly inadequate and amateurish. It takes more than masks and a few classes at the Marcel Marceau Pantomime School to make an artist, which was ably proven here.

It has to be said, though, that the majority of the work on offer this year at the Fringe Festival was of an extremely high calibre. In no particular order, the most memorable performances this year were from Theatre de la Paupi�re (the excellent Decay Unlimited), Krepsko (Erorrism and The Smallest Woman in the World), Ines Wurth (I Miss Communism), Maria Tecce (Night and the City), Quick Silver Productions (Quick), and Scott Capurro (Yankee Dog Pig). The chance to see that much good theatre in one week is a marvelous treat. I'm looking forward to next year already.

Photos by Kurt Vinion:

Creatures



Sepia

The Prague Fringe Festival, Fourth Night
June 1, 2006

6 p.m. The Ancient Geeks' Poetically Speaking
All the praise you might have heard about this circle of young writers and readers is deserved. I haughtily went along thinking that the evening would certainly be "worthy", and wound up being floored by the talent and intellect of these kids. The group is helmed by British writer Clare Wigfall, who has instructed her charges in everything from horror genre fiction writing to the Petrachan sonnet, and her writers are fully on to mastering it all. If you're a writer who fully remembers your own juvenilia, these kids will seem depressingly accomplished. Writing in English (even though a few members have it as their second tongue), the Ancient Geeks are a favorite at readings at Shakespeare and Sons off Krymska, and now I know why. More than anything else, an evening with these young scribes makes you feel that the future of literature is in good hands.
The Ancient Geeks at Divadlo na Pr�dle. Poetically Speaking plays at 4:30 p.m. June 3 and 4.

8 p.m. Krepsko's The Smallest Woman on Earth
Krepsko is simply astonishing. Vastly different from their wonderful piece Erorrism that opened the festival, The Smallest Woman on Earth is a phantasmagoria of incredibly shrinking women, complete with music, puppetry and film, backed by a wunderkabinet of pickled monstrosities and abortions in brine. A dark Coney Island, but not a freak noir. This is a hilarious tour of a magical midway where lovers will scissor-off their legs for their lovers, and where an inviting gypsy barker harbours inside her a discerning cannibal, who prefers having miniature people on the menu. Company members Linnea Happonen and Petr Lorenc, both excellent in Erorrism, are joined by their colleagues Anna Pol�vkov� and Vojta �vejda. The first, a comic genius, the second a master of the straight face and the concertina. Even a technical cock-up with a film projector was smoothly made a part of the action. I'm a Krepsko convert.
Krepsko at Divadlo na Pr�dle. The Smallest Woman plays at 8 p.m. June 2 to 4.

9:30 p.m. Ines Wurth's I Miss Communism
Tito meets Oliver Twist in Ines Wurth's powerful I Miss Communism. The title and photographs of the show lead one to believe that this will be a light-hearted piece of Ostalgia, and there is some great humour here. But Wurth's piece is also a serious consideration of what happened when her native Yugoslavia broke-up, when she suddenly found herself as a stranger in her own land. Wurth charts the decline and fall of Yugloslavia through three generations of women: her grandmother, her mother, and herself. Wurth dexterously moves back and forth between her decrepit nana, her obese mother and herself as a young girl, who identified with Oliver Twist from Carol Reed's film musical (as, interestingly, did American performance artist Tim Miller, who has also worked scenes and lyrics from Oliver! in one of his shows). Wurth also jumps from a musical send-up of her Young Pioneer days (complete with uniform) to a more harrowing moment in her life during the war, a difficult transition in mood that she handles expertly. I Miss Communism is a valuable tour of history through the lives of three women.
Ines Wurth at Divadlo na Pr�dle. I Miss Communism plays at 9:30 p.m. June 2-4.

Photos by Rene Jakl:

I Miss Communism


Ancient Geeks

The Prague Fringe Festival, Third Night
May 31, 2006

6:30 p.m. Head-Langue Theatre's Voyage: One Woman's Odyssey in a Bathtub

Nydia Hetherington's training is apparent in her one-woman show. Physically agile and vocally strong, she could be a presence to reckon with on stage. However, her One Woman's Odyssey in a Bathtub would be better titled One Character in Search of an Author. This reportedly fanciful quest to explore the connections between women and the sea is a substantial theme. Travelling from a Tiamat-like creation myth to Dame Ellen McArthur (the contemporary British sportswoman who has broken many sailing records), is a lot of ocean to cover, and Hetherington energetically gives it a try. But serving as the connecting tissue to these various scenes is the tired old "hatbox approach," a clich� beloved by lone-actors on a stage, where they rifle through boxes and suitcases, dragging out new props to propel the action forward. It doesn't work for Hetherington, which she realizes at some level, but then how could she not when a few members of her audience are starting to nod off? And so a certain manic desperation sets in, which makes the piece even more like a round of water torture. Hetherington , like too many solo performers, is a promising talent that needs to be captained by other people's words and direction.
Head-Langue Theatre at Divadlo Nabl�zko. Voyage: One Woman's Odyssey in a Bathtub plays at 6:30 June 1 to June 4.

8 p.m. Quick Silver Production's Quick A man dying of mercury poisoning, Gaga Stark, is fashioned from scrap wood and rusted cogs. His boss, Mr. Zaworski, the king of the hat capital of the world and the man responsible for Gaga's illness, has a refrigerator for a gut. Jim Schwartz, a would-be Upton Sinclair on the trail of hat factory miseries, has an iron's bottom for his torso (well, he is the press after all). These are just some of the marvelous puppets that populate Quick Silver's surreal universe. Cleverly constructed from a mound of found objects, the company's puppets look like frightening fetish figures from some ancient dystopia, which is apt as the story does have a Depression Era American, Rust Belt feel to it. A troupe of three actors, Charles Schuminski, Louise Smith and Brent Doyle, all dressed in workman overalls, become this tragic hat town's denizens, utilizing almost every conceivable object as a puppet. In a place where the river turns different colors depending on what hats are being dyed that day, there is a somberness to Quick. And yet there is also some great black humor. With an excellent script and animations by playwright Kira Obolensky (who is the writer of one of my favorite plays, Lobster Alice), strong direction from Bonnie Schock, Eric Jensen's haunting musical score, and Irve Dell's striking puppet and visual designs, Quick is that astonishing rarity: a brilliant puppet show for adults.
Quick Silver Productions at Divadlo Nabl�zko. Quick plays at 8 p.m. June 1 to June 4

The Prague Fringe Festival, Second Night
May 30, 2006

6 p.m. Scott Capurro, Yankee Dog Pig
Scott Capurro is crude, rude and out of line. He's also hilarious. There is nothing sacred in Capurro's world. In fact, everything from Anne Frank to racial stereotypes is fair game. Even Capurro's queerness is worth a lacerating look. Discovering at the ripe old age of 43 ("80 in gay years") that he's finally had sex with someone HIV-positive, Capurro can only say, "At last, I feel like a real gay man." He's of course not worried, as he is white, plus he takes echinacea, so...Capurro's quick wit cuts to the quick, and woe betide anyone with a thin skin who sits in the front row, as you, d�my a p�nov�, are part of the act. Actually, not everyone--only young men with good haircuts and interesting glasses (obviously gay) or women with short hair wearing casual clothes (obviously lesbian). He's the anti-Oprah (another favorite target), interacting with his audience as part psychotherapist, part assassin. Capurro is the type of person who plans to sue his Catholic school because the priests didn't molest him, and you feel for him. Such examples of his personal pain make you find this man with the dagger tongue endearing. Shame he only played Prague last night.

7:30 Claire Morgan, The Spiritual Injury Tour
The artist who is Claire Morgan is very talented. She's a great mimic, an excellent puppeteer and a good singer (she's also a game girl, as Scott Capurro singled her out in his show beforehand as the resident "lesbian" for the evening, which she happily played along with). However, all of these talents thrown into a one-hour show risks over-egging the pudding, and that's the primary problem with The Spiritual Injury Tour. It's a bit all over the place, which is a shame, as with a bit of focus (or given a director) this could have been a terrific show. Claire Morgan's primary character, somewhat lamely named "Jane Domain," is a conceptual artist trapped in a small Northern England hamlet. She's adopted both an American accent (frighteningly authentic) and the look one would associate with Liza Minnelli after a rough night at Studio 54. We meet her Geordie mum, her fellow punkrock colleagues from a defunkt band, and a rockographer following her contribution to local music history. There's film (cleverly done), music, not-always-quick changes, and, it has to be said, a bit too much bad verse. Had this been strictly a one-woman puppet show of these characters, or a mixed-media evening of Jane Domain interacting with film characters, there would probably be more to celebrate. As it is, the evening is ultimately diffuse and rather slipshod.
Claire Morgan at Divadlo na Pr�dle Kabaret Bar. The Spiritual Injury Tour plays at 9 pm May 31 to June 4.

9 p.m. Maria Tecce, Night and the City.
Had Audrey Hepburn ever learned how to sing (no, that wasn't her voice in My Fair Lady), she might have become Maria Tecce. As elegant as Sabrina and with the gamine earthiness of Holly Golightly, Tecce can command a room with her effortless poise and her occasional, ever so suggestive smile. But these attributes are secondary to a cool, seductive voice that transforms old jazz and torch standards into something fresh. Her vocal styling manages to reawaken words within shopworn lyrics, making audiences feel as if they are present at the birth of the song. "Two Sleepy People" and "One for my Baby" (the perfect finale) quickly lose their Sinatra associations and become Tecce's own. Here's a cabaret artist, who knows how to transform a close, smoke-clogged dive into an intimate, inviting room. Kill for tickets if you have to.
Maria Tecce at U Mal�ho Glena. Night and the City plays at 9 p.m. May 31 to June 4.

11 p.m. Theatre de la Paupi�re's Decay Unlimited
Hands down the best piece of theater I've seen at the Fringe Festival so far. Three expert performers from the LeCoq universe, Nathalie Baunaure, Jofre Carab�n and Emily Wilson, have concocted a hilarious evening of song, mime and dance all in the name of death. Yes, it's true, as Baunaure points out, we're all rotting away further every second, so we might as well enjoy the stay. And what better way than through Decay Unlimited? Baunaure's funny, fractured English, Carab�n's crazed choreography, and Wilson's...what, commanding aura?...make this an unforgettable evening of comedy that succeeds primarily because this is a very serious troupe of clowns. Die laughing.
Theatre de la Paupi�re at A Studio Rub�n. Decay Unlimited plays at 11 p.m. May 31 to June 4.

Photos by Vladimir Weiss:

Spiritual Injury

Capurro

Photos by Kurt Vinion:

Decay Unlimited



Maria Tecce

The Prague Fringe Festival, Opening Night
May 29, 2006

The torrential rains failed to keep audiences from seeking out the Fringe's first performances Monday night, a good indication of the high interest in the festival. Of the three pieces I saw, one was certainly worth braving the elements for, while the other two were less interesting than the weather. But theater festivals are always adventures, and so one good production out of three is pretty good odds when you consider the general quality of stage work.

5:30 p.m. Far Flung Theater's Berta la Larga:
Well, it sounded interesting, enough to make me add it to the paper's Fringe round-up. Unfortunately, Far Flung's adaptation of a story by Spanish writer Cuca Canals is a fairly amateurish affair. Billed as "magical and moving" it proved to be neither. The primary problem is that the piece seems under-rehearsed. Lines were flubbed and cues were missed throughout the hour. The attempts at puppetry are artless, the stilt-work (by far the most successful element of the show) is fairly rudimentary, and the inclusion of songs, none of which offered to highlight the Spanish motif, are heartily and earnestly bellowed hospoda-style, but add nothing to the show. James Wilson's guitar playing is just basic chord strumming, and even that defeated him on occasion (as did the pronunciation of "Navidad"). Huddled in the Fringe tent at Divadlo Nabl�zko, the story of an exceedingly tall girl, whose emotions actually effect the weather, could have been a perfect match with the storminess around us. But the real show was outside the tent.
Far Flung Theater at the Divadlo Nabl�zko tent. Berta La Larga plays at 5:30 from May 30 to June 4.

8 p.m. Krepsko's Erorrism:
I've heard a lot about the Prague-based Krepsko troupe, and so was eager to see their work (they have two different shows at this year's Fringe). I wasn't disappointed, and this charming piece of physical theater, Erorrism, is the performance that saved the day. Constructed as a series of connected black-out sketches, all performed like an Absurdist silent film (complete with piano player off at the side), Erorrism creates a complete world that is open to accidents and happenstance--to happy errors. What is it about? Love lost and love found, and the mystery of ice skating. The four Krepsko performers, Linnea Happonen, Petr Lorenc, Guy Dowsett and Ji�� Zeman, are excellent. Try and catch this piece, or see what you think of their second piece, The Smallest Woman on Earth, which I'm now looking forward to seeing.
Krepsko at Divadlo na Pr�dle. Erorrism plays at 8 p.m. May 30 and 31. The Smallest Woman on Earth plays at 8 p.m. from June 1 to June 3.

10 p.m. Eyeball Theater's The Tempest:
There are a few good ideas in this shortened version of Shakespeare's play. The idea of having four actors play Ariel (occasionally simultaneously) is clever and works well, especially vocally. The use of planks by Ariel to set scenes, or to use as a lever to drop other characters off into sleep is also a nice touch. While there is as much earnestness here as in Far Flung Theater's outing above, there is also clearer evidence of rehearsals having taken place before the performance. Yet, the company's youth kept getting in the way. Far too often the actors shout their lines rather than inhabit them. The young actor playing Prospero actually risks losing his voice in the run, as he never once dropped his tempestuous howling below his throat. A few dumbshow moments, such as Miranda's secret visit to Prospero's library, are clubfooted, as is the idea of grafting a rather equine dildo onto Caliban, as if he were an escapee from a humorless satyr play. I suppose it could work, though you would have to question Prospero's propriety as a father in insisting that he and his daughter visit the shlong-pulling monster. His Ken Rykerish appendage aside, the young actor playing Caliban tended to screech his lines as well, making the whole evening into so much sound and fury signifying nothing.
Eyeball Theater at the Divadlo Nabl�zko tent. The Tempest plays at 10 p.m. May 30 to June 4, with an added 3:30 p.m. show on June 3.

The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.