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Theatre listings >
Horse Country
- Tour
Playwright - C.J. Hopkins
Director - John Clancy
Company - Theatre
Tours International and guy masterton productions
Cast - Ben Schneider & David Calvitto
Venue - Traverse Theatre Edinburgh 0131
228 1404
In Cambridge St near the Usher Hall
Dates - 28 - 2 Feb at 8pm
Sat 1 Feb Matinee at 2:30pm
Tour Dates and Times - here
Seen to review at Traverse Theatre
Run Time - hours mins including 15 mins interval no Interval
Reviewer - Thelma Good
Sparkling piece of intellectual fun
Horse Country is a tour de force of existentialist comedy (i.e. a play
about nothing, but in a good way). Let me explain the plot: there is no
plot. Two men, Sam and Bob, talk. Just talk. About anything and everything.
They are looking for some meaning in life, or at least, a way to pass
the time. They don't find it, but they do some damn good looking.
C.J.Hopkins' script is sharp and clever, throwing out ideas at a furious
pace. It says nothing new, but it makes you think - and think fast. Whilst
not wildly funny, it has a decent number of laughs. With this kind of
play - all talk and no action - it can be hard to keep the audience's
attention. Director John Clancy succeeds though, keeping a quick pace
and mixing in some physical clowning. Sam, David Calvitto, and
Bob, Ben Schneider are a lively pair to watch, sometimes working
together, sometimes against each other - and always focused on the audience.
Sam has a touch of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction to him, whilst Bob is
dryly superior. Their antics and tics don't really complement the script,
but they do keep the audience alert.
The production's main flaw is that it lacks weight. Horse Country is intelligent
entertainment; nothing more. This material in the hands of, say, Pinter
could have had emotional impact too. But still it's a sparkling piece
of intellectual fun. Champagne for the mind.
© D.Winterstein, 29th January 2003. - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
This production of Horse Country came to the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe and
was awarded a Herald Angel, a Scotsman Fringe First and then Scotsman
Best of the Firsts that year. David Calvitto was awarded The Stage Best
Actor for his performance.
This production's EdinburghGuide festival review.
The text is published in Plays and Playwrights For The New Millennium.
Ed. Martin Denton.
2003 UK and Ireland tour of The Clancy production
of Horse County.
Tour begins
28 Jan - 2Feb at Edinburgh Traverse Theatre 0131 228
1404.
4 Feb at Hemel Hampstead Old Town Hall 01442 228091.
5 - 6 Feb at Harrow Arts Centre Middlesex 0208 428 0123.
7 Feb at Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre 01429 890000.
8 Feb at Chester Gateway 01244 340392.
12 Feb at Canford Magna Layard Theatre 01202 849134.
13 - 15 Feb at Salisbury Playhouse 01722 320333.
19 Feb at Kendal Brewery Arts Centre 01539 725133.
21 Feb at Wolverhampton Arena Studio 01902 321321.
25 Feb Nottingham Djanogly Theatre 01158 467777.
26 Feb at Letterkenny Eire An Grianan Theatre +353 74
20777.
27 Feb - 1 March at Belfast Old Museum AC 02890 233332.
4 March - 12 April at London Riverside Studios 020 8237
1111.
19 - 24 May at Brighton Komedia 01273 647100.
End of Tour.
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