Review of The Platform
 | "Five Acts Pre View Show" by Philip Herbert for remotegoat on 28/06/10 |  |
Always funny with a dry dark tale about his failings as a teenager and his first WOMAD weekend; love/lust, rejection and even his mate deserted him. He was most funny as he came into the audience and serenaded a senior member of the audience. "Catch the rest at the Edinburgh Fest"; I think I shall. Dry, witty, Jewish and with a sad hung dog expression this veteran comic stood his ground and got his laughs.
Next Up was a play by Saviour Theatre, an Anglo-American enterprise that showed us the effects of a school yard shooting. Think Columbine High School - where the Mom was there as student and saw it all and her daughter now attends but is told nothing. They are doing a play about THAT day and our girlie wants to audition. She doesn't tell her Mom. She gets the part - she doesn't tell her MOM. But MOM finds out and asks her to quit. That's as far as we got but both actresses - no names given in notes - gave credible and moving performances. Called 'At The Broken Places', there are no laughs here but again it left me wanting more.
Next came another Jewish chap, Daniel Cainer, presenting Jewish Chronicles. He briefly explained the story so far and then got on with the singing. What a fine voice he has; charming, charismatic and very clever lyrics. Jewish gags, his parents affairs, him in the middle, the brilliant line "about as Kosher as a Wall's pork pie", the launderette in Surbiton where he began to grow up and a hearty singalong with Oi Vay and some Hebrew wailing in the bargain. He brought the house down from a mostly non-Jewish audience as far as I could tell. He had asked if there were any Jews in but there was a resounding silence - unlike his act; funny, flirty and a likable mixture of Victoria Wood and Jake Thackeray if you know what I mean.
During the interval I had been kindly given a free drinks token (a rare treat) so I had time for a quick one before a shorter Act 2 kicked off with Salute Theatre Company; a youth group supporting the charity Warchild who gave us a deep and dark view of a hostage and her keeper. "I know you" she says, "You know me- we were friends". "I am a freedom fighter now" he responds. Tied up in war and turmoil both captor and captive struggle to keep sane. "Let me go - untie me, we can escape together. I heard my three year old baby brother cry as they burnt my house to the ground". Will he or won't he? Again we are left needing to know what happens. Eliciting a very enthusiastic response from other members of the youth group this was disturbing and daunting from a talented again unnamed cast.
And Finally Checkley Bush a female double act who really excelled. First as conjoined twins Sletvienna and Slotienna who clean other peoples homes and live in Charpads Bush, they also cover other services it seems; to Hampstead bachelors. ("We have two mouths you see"). I suppose it is OK to laugh at conjoined (Siamese) twins?
It certainly is alright to laugh at The Lanarkshire Lezzas - a pair of Scottish, keep-fit, radical lesbians who run a local women's grope - sorry group. Every gay slang for a lesbian is used with glee and these two ended with a rousing chorus of 'Nobody Is Gonna Piss On My Parade'. Unique and clever comic timing and sheer guts and gusto won us over. Well done all. See you in Edinburgh for more of the same.
| Event Venues & Times | |
| Showing until 25/12/12 | Sway | 61 - 65 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5BZ |
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