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| Edinburgh : A&E : Theatre : Reviews |
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Theatre listings > Prince Unleashed. - Tour & World Premiere. Playwright - Robert Forrest. Director - Douglas Irvine. Associate Director & Radio Producer - Lu Kemp. Designer - Mark Leese. Sound Designer - Peter Gill. Lighting Designer - Paul Ancell. Cast - Here. Company - Visible Fictions & BBC Scotland. Full Tour details - Here 2006 Tour Dates and Times - here . Seen to review at Edinburgh Traverse Theatre on 18 March 2006. Run Time - 1 hrs 15 mins including sound check.NO interval. Reviewer - Thelma Good. Experiment shows possibilities. Played in traverse with the audience either side of a narrow slightly raised stage with stereo headphones for the audience this premiere production of Robert Forrest's play attempts to bring radio and theatre drama approaches together to create a new form - Rad-theatre anyone? Prince Unleashed directed by David Irvine with Lu Kemp, who is rapidly becoming a leading drama producer as his associate director, is an interesting and sometimes striking venture. Surprisingly the use of sound which can be moved from ear to ear is less exploited than it might be. Internal speech, not easily demoted in either medium works clearly here when the actor's lips don't move but our ears receive, we can also hear the voices of people as recalled or conjured up by onstage characters, technique used here. Sound effects too are much more immediate and intimate when they are delivered right in your ear. The story is supported by its presentation. Young Holly, the very watchable Helen MacAlpine, has had her world turned up side down. She's forced to live with her aunt, Barbara Rafferty, and the kindly but drink-attracted uncle, Jimmy Chisholm, (these actors we only hear), after Holly, her Mum and Dad, and German Shepherd Prince are in a car crash she knows her parents didn't survive. She's less certain about Prince, for he appears to her in her head at first aurally giving her a nudge or commenting on her changed, reduced circumstances. Holly had been living an affluent life now she's sleeping on the couch and going to the comprehensive school like her older cousin Callum, Steven Ritchie, who believes one day he's going to be a somebody. As we move inside Holly's imagination Prince starts to become apparent to him too and to us and we discover the velvet voiced Prince, Steven Cartwright moves in a foxy way of moving in his fur lined tailed suit and charms. All in all it is an interesting experiment. One which shows a possible way of bring radio and theatre audiences together. The play mostly avoids always plugging the cliche of rich - awful, working class - warm and supportive, and explores, not only grief and how we retreat inside, but the tensions and differences of these increasingly divided and separated ways of life in Britain today. © Thelma Good 18 March 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Additional note - Although the traverse layout works well for this play, I hope this touring production will be using more comfortable seating elsewhere. But I fear the padded narrow benches may be what you will encounter, younger audience members may have space to lean against their carers. In the 21 century it is possible to create comfortable travelling seats or benches for all ages - I've sat on them they had a generous width to them, a more generous use than these provide. This play will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 25 March 2006 at 2:30pm and will be available on their Listen Again facility at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/ for the week after. Cast of Prince Unleashed. - Holly - Helen McAlpine, Callum - Steven Ritchie, Prince - Steven Cartwright , Dave - Jimmy Chisholm and Isa - Barbara Rafferty. Full Tour Dates for Prince Unleashed. 9 March at 7.30pm, 10 March at 1pm & 7.30pm Glasgow GilmorehillG12 0141 330 5522. 14 & 15 March at 10.30am & 1.30pm Paisley Arts Centre 0141 887 1010. 16 - 18 March at 7.30pm also Sat mat at 2.30pm Edinburgh Traverse Theatre 0131 228 1404. 21 March at 1pm Wick Lyth Arts Centre 01955 641 270. 28 March at 2pm, 29 March at 2pm & 7pm Dundee Rep Theatre 01382 223530. 30 March 11am & 2pm Cumbernauld Theatre 01326 732 887. 1 April at 2pm Falkirk Town Hall 01324 506850. 8 April at 2pm & 7.30pm Kilmarnock, Palace Theatre 01563 554900. 18 April at 1.30pm, 19 April at 10.30am & 1.30pm Dunfermline, Carnegie Hall 01383 314 000. 21 April at 7pm Cambridge, The Junction 01223 511511. 22 April at 1.30pm Coventry Warwick Arts Centre 024 7652 4524. 4 May at 1.45pm Mallaig, Mallaig and Morar Community Centre 01687 460039. 8 May at 7.30pm Fraserburgh Dalrymple Hall Arts Centre 01346 515153 (9am – 5pm) 12 May at 1.45pm & 6.30pm Inverness Spectrum Centre 01463 234 234. 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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