Fringe Reviews: DisTRUTHed, Under Milk Wood, Hardcore Pussy & TJ Dawe

Yabu No Naka: Distruthed

There are always a couple of light-hearted murder mysteries at the Fringe so the chalk outline ads and the words “horific crime” in this play’s write up did not mentally prepare me for Yabu No Naka: Distruthed. This show does not make light of it’s subject matter: the murder on this stage is bloody, violent, psychotic and terrifying.

The story goes like this: a young Japanese woman and her husband set out on a journey through the woods. Neither returns. One is dead, one is missing - anything could have happened and this piece takes us through the attack, violation, betrayal and murder again and again from every angle. Maybe the truth about the events is clear if you can understand Japanese and Swedish as well as English and French. More likely, no language can make sense of the gruesome act. The four tongues fade into the whine and chatter of forest creepy-crawlies and the dark, hot, crazy-making cahos of the jungle (suitably located in Mainline Theatre) doesn’t let up from the moment the play begins.

Creative sets add realism and symbolism to the scenes and impressive physical theatre makes Distruthed extremely effective - it is just kind of Hellish to witness.
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Under Milk Wood

The third time you watch Under Milk Wood is the best, says director Colin Lalonde, and I see what he means. It takes a certain amount of concentration and commitment to resolve the dozens of characters from Dylan Thomas’ slip-slidey poetic narrative. As original and cool as the opening dream sequence was, I found myself thinking I hope it’s not 90 minutes of this.

But when the sun rises, the audience is thrust into the midst of the gossiping, flirting, plotting and pining of a tiny fishing village. The briefest glimpses into the inhabitants’ lives expose their illicit pleasures and quiet tragedies - even if you only get a chance to catch one showing of Under Milk Wood, some of the characters are bound to stick with you.

Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914-53) originally wrote this piece for radio and, Lalonde says, it took a certain amount of trial and error to determine that staging the piece requires no less than 11 actors. That alone is probably worth the trip to Geordie Space.
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Harcore Pussy

Mirror covergirl Amy Elizabeth Blackmore is one talented babe. She can sing, she can dance, she can write, she can act, and I wasn’t surprised to learn that she also directed for her play Hardcore Pussy. To swipe Sarah’s observation, the whole spectacle felt kind of like the Amy Blackwell Talent Show, with the story-line being a minor preoccupation.

On a lighter note, Sean Baichoo, who plays the title role, provides most of the laughs and I never get tired of seeing him in leather and whiskers. Rrrrow!
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Maxim and Cosmo

As Zack Winters of the 13th hour put it, TJ Dawe is probably the only person who can be referred to as a fringe legend. He’s an incredible story teller, well known for his elaborate and though-provoking tangents. But this year’s production Maxim and Cosmo, a rant about genter stereotypes, is all tangent and no story. His piece is certainly interesting but even with the best of presentor, a 90 minute lecture starts to feel a little on the long side.

If you want a smaller dose of TJ, check out his 10-minute piece opening Indyish’s Assembly Friday and Saturday (june 15-16) evening at Club Lambi