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| Edinburgh : A&E : Theatre : Reviews |
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Theatre listings > Don Quixote. - Tour & World Premiere. Adapted and Directed - Martin Danziger from the novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Music and Lyrics - Nick Underwood. Company - Theatre Modo Company Website. Cast - here . 2006 Tour Dates and Times - here . Seen to review at Glasgow Citizens Theatre on 3 May 2006. Run Time - 1hours 20 mins no Interval. Reviewer - Graham Riach. Good Knight Out. The boundary between life and drama is not always distinct. Hanging sheets turn ladders to spooks, your coatstand sprouts tentacles, and candlelight makes a banquet of a breadstick. Three people sit on the stage, seemingly oblivious to the flow of people finding their seats around them. Arriving second is disconcerting; the spotlight seems turned on you. The stage is littered - instruments, crash helmets, and on centre stage, a screenless computer, looping an inane video-game theme tune. This is a peculiar start to a peculiar play, based on a thoroughly peculiar book. The story progresses through an edited selection of Don Quixote's adventures, which Don(ald) Robert Jack's boisterous acting pulls off with great success. Donald's exploits evoke feelings of compassion and sympathy as much as ridicule, and his resilience in the face of certain failure should strike a chord with all but the hardest hearted. No Don Quixote would be complete without his trusty steed, here ably supplied by his PC table, or indeed his Sancho Panza (Sandy to his friends), Simon Donaldson. Sandy's fate takes a melancholy turn towards the end of the play when Donald finally finds love, leaving Sandy on his own with the computer, to find his own destiny. Lucy, Hannah McPake, is quite captivating, subtly balancing Donald's romanticism with some down-to-earth common sense. The action of the play keeps the energy up - the piece is very physical, and the scenes flow naturally into one another. Bouts of accompanied serenading help create a romantic atmosphere, comically juxtaposed against the ridiculous costumes. Some occasional heavy-handedness with the story's moral lets the production down, but at least the message is a good one, and the schmaltzy scenes are brief. Clever use of props and piles of slapstick show inventiveness, not to mention awe-inspiringly high pain thresholds. It's worth going to see, just to keep Robert Jack in aspirin more than anything else. ©Graham Riach 3 March 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Cast - Donald - Robert Jack, Sandy - Simon Donaldson, Lucy - Hannah McPake. 2006 Tour Details of Theatre Modo's production of Don Quixote. Tour begins 2 – 6 May at 7.30pm Glasgow Citizens Theatre 0141 429 0022. 13 May at 7.30pm Newtonhill Bettridge Centre 01569 731 320. 17 May at 7.30pm Lossiemouth The Warehouse Theatre 01343 814 004. 18 May at 7.30pm The Scott Hall, Forgue 01466 730 314. 19 May at 7.30pm Banchory Woodend Barn Arts Centre 01330 825 431. 20 May at 8pm Dufftown Memorial Hall 01340 871 457. 25 May at 8pm Lochinver Village Hall On the door. 30 May at 7.30pm Lochside Theatre, Castle Douglas 01556 504 506. 31 May at 7.30pm tbc Middlebie Community Centre 01576 300 715. 1 June at 7.30pm North Edinburgh Arts Centre 0131 315 2151. 2 June at 7.45pm Cumbernauld Theatre 01236 732 887. 3 June at 8pm Melrose The Wynd Theatre 01896 820 028. 6 June at 7pm Strathpeffer Pavilion 01997 420 124. 7 June at 8pm Thurso Mill Theatre 01847 896956. 8 June at 8pm Hoy, Orkney Gable End Theatre 01856 791 200. 12 June at 7.30pm Ravenstone The Swallow Theatre 01988 850 368. 13 June at 7.30pm tbc Douglas Ewart High School Drama Studio. Tour ends. Theatre Editor, Thelma Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. |
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