Reviews

Tom Stoppard’s 2005 comedy Heroes is as fragile as the wounded egos of its three protagonists. Set in a French veterans home in 1959, and based on the original play by Gerald Sibleyas, three World War 1 vets plan a fanciful escape from their restricted environment: first to Indochina, then to a picnic outside, and finally to a copse of poplars on the far horizon. That it’ll never happen is in no doubt, but their daily cantankerous musings about it on the porch of the retirement home are the basis of the play.

Luke Townson’s Green Tea is a ‘psychological thriller’ based on the 19th Century book by Sheridan Le Fanu.

In this intriguing one-man show Luke Townson plays the ‘philosophic physician’ Dr. Martin Hesselius, as well as a number other characters. He is absolutely terrific, not only in his performance but also in contending with a rather difficult venue that is not really ‘friendly’ for this creepy ‘gothic’ tale.

Super Woman Money Program, delivered with pizazz and pathos by Elizabeth Davie, is one of the particularly raw and thought-provoking pieces in the Fringe. Davie confronts us through comedy, song and storytelling about the harsh financial realities of being a woman. She raises the audience’s awareness that women truly are disadvantaged when it comes to superannuation-building as they are the ones who stop work to have and raise children, whilst their husbands continue to thrive in the work force.

Four men playing every part (with a little help from a willing audience) race hilariously through the famous Shakespearean comedy of misdirected love and gender swaps, Twelfth Night. Colour-coded in knee-high socks and braces, they engage the audience with warmth and wit and keep them there through ninety minutes that pass too quickly.