Michael Cox reviews The Thinking Drinker's Guide to Alcohol, Thread and Gulliver's Travels.
A bit of variety in today’s viewing, from the quiet and intimate to the boisterous and over-the-top.
Over at the Assembly Rooms is a show that should appeal to any fan of 'the drink' or pub culture. The Thinking Drinker's Guide to Alcohol (***) is a blast. The audience are not only taken on a crash course of alcohol's history but also get samples throughout the hour.
Thinking Drinker's is an easy show to pick apart. The show suffers a bit of an identity crisis as it sits somewhere in the middle of theatre, comedy show and lecture without ever being completely claimed by any side. One can be cynical and wonder how much love the two speakers actually have for the companies that have sponsored them. Also, some of the facts do seem a little suspect.
But the show has a few things in its corner. Most importantly, the two presenters are great fun, full of contagious energy and a cheeky air that never dissipates. True, some of the gags and innuendos fizzle out, but most of the show is rather fun. Silly, slightly offensive at times but always entertaining, the duo's passionate mantra of 'drink less but drink better' is certainly wise advice.
Nutshell's Thread (****) is a rather gorgeous, and delicate, production about love, friendship and nostalgia. It is easy to describe, but doing so would kill the little bit of suspense concerning its plot and direction. What I can say is this: it’s about two lifelong friends and the husband of one of them, and through its short running time, we see their lives unfold.
Perhaps it’s slight, and the ‘beetle game’ that starts the show seems a bit gimmicky, but it’s all rather well done, and actors Claire Dargo, Stephen Docherty and Mary Gapinski not only play their characters convincingly but also make a beautiful ensemble, and it is for them and their joint performance that this show comes recommended.
Radu Stanca National Theatre of Sibiu’s production of Gulliver’s Travels (****) is not really a staging of Gulliver’s Travels. It is a production that is inspired by the work of Jonathan Swift, with a heavy tilt towards Travels. If anything, it feels like a staged final exam for a course on Swift’s writing, and the more you know the more rewarded you are.
In the programme notes, Edinburgh International Festival’s director, Jonathan Mills, says that he thinks this production will ‘shock, delight and surprises audiences’, and he is certainly right. The fragmented production is full of scenes that are only tied together by exhibiting great imagination, with some scenes coming across as charming and others downright horrific. Swift’s famous satirical essay about eating children is staged here and makes for rather grim viewing, where Gulliver’s encounter at Lilliput is very funny.
For those familiar with Swift, or for those who love the experimental, there is an abundance of admirable creativity on show here, and it is a mostly enjoyable and unforgettable journey. Those who aren’t so familiar with Swift or like their theatre on the safe, structured side…um…good luck!
The Thinking Drinker’s Guide to Alcohol is on at the Assembly Rooms and Thread is at St Marks through Assembly. Check programme or website for details. Gulliver’s Travels has completed its run.
RSS