Review of Chicken
 | "Witty, fast paced, naturalistic production" by Anna Pickles for remotegoat on 03/12/08 |  |
Set amongst a naturalistic splattering of random household junk, as messy as these characters lives, the cast drawl in-between mouthfuls of fast food, beers, cigarettes and toilet trips!
The first half of this witty, fast paced production was almost faultless with excellent, naturalistic performances all round, and despite some faltering accents, the four strong audience were totally absorbed in this grimy, slightly desperate world. The culmination of the act, and the highlight of the play for me, was an outstanding scene between Georgiou and Jonathan Coyne (playing his father) that was as moving as it was horrific.
Even with the introduction of Melissa Collier's fantastically brash and feisty Rosalind, the second act seemed to loose it's direction a little. Having watched this wonderful first act with so much promise, it was as if, during the second act, someone had pressed fast forward, and raced us through a fight, a birth, a windfall, a few drugs, a couple of deaths, endless amounts of KFC and a half baked resolution in a matter of minutes. Whether this was solely down to the writing or combination of a few oversights in the direction and the actors rushing in light of the very small audience, I'm not sure.
Regardless of this, Chicken is well worth watching, and by far the best fringe production I've seen this year.
Professional actors, performing professional writing to a professional standard doesn't happen often enough in these smaller venues, so for that alone it a must see.
| Event Venues & Times | |
| finished | Hackney Empire Studio | 291 Mare Street, London, E8 1EG |
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