Reviewed: The Heart of Darkness, The Bus Projectand Kurt Weill Kabaret
The Heart of Darkness
The Winding Stair
A theatrical performance or an endurance feat? Gavin Kostick's recitation (from memory!) of Joseph Conrad's The Heart of Darkness is both.
The narrative style of Conrad's book, essentially a long speech to a group of friends, benefit's enormously from Kostick's intimate, natural performance, and Conrad's colloquial colonial style is matched perfectly by Kostick's Cheshire cadences. The riverside setting of The Winding Stair evokes a perfect atmosphere for the unfolding tale, the natural light darkening above the Liffey as Charlie Marlow penetrates the forest, while the shadows of fear and madness begin to flicker in the candles' pale flames.
The novel's climax is brilliantly done, a real surprise for the audience, who have bonded with each other as much as with the storyteller over the 5½ hours of the story's evolution. Five stars for their stamina, then. And five stars for Kostick's endurance. But most importantly, five stars for his wonderfully theatrical performance.
(Run finished) ... Sara Keating
The Bus Project
From Teachers' Club
This is what the Fringe is for. A collaboration between Ballymun Regional Youth Resource and the Tower of Babel, Bus Project places the audience on a double-decker and drives them around north Dublin while 12 short dramas by playwrights such as Dermot Bolger, Gavin Kostick and Louise Lowe unfold noisily in the aisles and staircase. A few of the writers fail to make anything useful of the environment and fall back on monologues that could as easily be delivered from behind a proscenium arch. But, for the most part, the action remains properly intrusive - a hijacking by a tattooed maniac with an iron bar in Kostick's odd adventure is particularly unnerving - and the performances buzz with raw, profane energy. Particular mention should be made of young Deirdre Burke (loud) and Nicola Moore (louder) who, like the piece's captive audience, should both go a long way.
(Runs until Sept 23) ... Donald Clarke
Kurt Weill Kabaret
Cobalt Café
Little Dark Star, a new musical theatre company, has put together a brilliant composer, gifted lyricists and three seriously talented performers. The combination is irresistible.
Weill is best known for his early partnerships with Brecht, reflected in the first half of the show. Old favourites such as Mack the Knife and Surabaya Johnny blend with others such as Benares Song and The Ballad of Immoral Earnings, underpinned by the social concerns of their creators.
The post-interval songs are mostly from Weill's American period, with lyricists such as Ira Gershwin and Maxwell Anderson. Lovely melodies such as Speak Low, My Ship and September Song are given their full due.
Jody Trehy and Alexandre Bonstein are fine baritones with an interpretative gift. Soprano Amy Creighten has manifest star quality; when this lady sings a song, it stays sung. They harmonise in a memorable evening, directed by Declan Drohan.
(Run finished)... Gerry Colgan
