October 20, 2009
Wow. Decadence sure was one offensive play. It would have been inexcusably offensive only, like that one mate, it gets away with it because it was just so darn funny.
Essentially the play consisted of conversations which recounted, in gruesome detail, stories of violence, debauchery, drink and buggery. The dialog was a disturbingly effective cross between Irvine Welsh and the cadence of Dr. Seuss: it was dirty and it was nasty, but it also had a playfulness to it, and was delivered in subtle rhythm and occasional rhyme. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything quite like it, and I can't believe it worked so well.
If you happen to look past the outrageously dirty content there is loads of clever stuff here. For example, FrogFace Productions manages - with great style and humour - to use a screen/shadow setup to play out hilarious, and extremely suggestive, scenes which could otherwise simply not have been shown. Well, I say suggestive, but really they were downright blatant. Blatant and funny. The music was spot on and unobtrusive and, though I won’t say too much, the makeup was both bold and very well chosen.
The two actors, Jessica Edwards and Joe Robertson, were amazing in many ways. Both showed a real understanding of timing and rhythm, spouting their lines just right to keep the audience in peals of laughter. The choice of how to act, and subsequent acting, was also top notch. Rather than attempt any sort of realism, they chose to bring their miserable characters to life more like macabre cartoons; the caricature facial expression and accents were everything that was needed to keep the laughs coming. And did I mention their deft understanding of subtle, and not so subtle, physical theatre? There really was a lot of good stuff going on in Decadence, which is lucky, because without the skill, timing and cleverness it would have just been a shock-value play, and that really would have been inexcusable.
Decadence is not one to take your grandmother to. Unless of course she can handle it, at which point it would be a crime to deprive her. If you are a student then tickets are only £4 and you simply cannot miss this. Really. It’s just awesome.
That said, I’m going to have a shower now.
Essentially the play consisted of conversations which recounted, in gruesome detail, stories of violence, debauchery, drink and buggery. The dialog was a disturbingly effective cross between Irvine Welsh and the cadence of Dr. Seuss: it was dirty and it was nasty, but it also had a playfulness to it, and was delivered in subtle rhythm and occasional rhyme. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything quite like it, and I can't believe it worked so well.
If you happen to look past the outrageously dirty content there is loads of clever stuff here. For example, FrogFace Productions manages - with great style and humour - to use a screen/shadow setup to play out hilarious, and extremely suggestive, scenes which could otherwise simply not have been shown. Well, I say suggestive, but really they were downright blatant. Blatant and funny. The music was spot on and unobtrusive and, though I won’t say too much, the makeup was both bold and very well chosen.
The two actors, Jessica Edwards and Joe Robertson, were amazing in many ways. Both showed a real understanding of timing and rhythm, spouting their lines just right to keep the audience in peals of laughter. The choice of how to act, and subsequent acting, was also top notch. Rather than attempt any sort of realism, they chose to bring their miserable characters to life more like macabre cartoons; the caricature facial expression and accents were everything that was needed to keep the laughs coming. And did I mention their deft understanding of subtle, and not so subtle, physical theatre? There really was a lot of good stuff going on in Decadence, which is lucky, because without the skill, timing and cleverness it would have just been a shock-value play, and that really would have been inexcusable.
Decadence is not one to take your grandmother to. Unless of course she can handle it, at which point it would be a crime to deprive her. If you are a student then tickets are only £4 and you simply cannot miss this. Really. It’s just awesome.
That said, I’m going to have a shower now.