Chit Chat Lounge
The Chit Chat Lounge is a near-nightly talk show hosted from every Tuesday to Saturday in Fringe 08 from February 8 - 29, 10pm till late, at the Paramount Theatre. And 'cos you just can't put a price on the talent oozed by Flores and Burns, it's free!Fringe Artist Reviews
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Fringe Artist Blog
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Tue 12 Feb12.02.08 18:02
Posted by: Fringe
Chit Chat Lounge 10pm feat. Vundabra, Vula, Six O'clock Swill, Steve Wrigley.
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Chit Chat Lounge 9 Feb09.02.08 15:02
Posted by: Fringe
Tonight: The Man, the Pie and the Taxi Guy, Beckoning of Hope, Tap That II, 21 Reasons, comedian Jerome Chandrahausen
Plus Vinyl Burns' new music video!!
Be there or be boring...
Luv Fringe. -
Chat Chat Lounge opens tonight!08.02.08 13:02
Posted by: Fringe
It's all on!! Join Vinyl Burns and Derek Flores for some hot Fringe action.
Tonight: Babyshads And They Did, Sleep/Wake, The Man, the Pie and the Taxi Guy, Sex + Murder = Play, Project Exiles. (yes...a very full show!!).
See you there!
Luv Fringe.
- February
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10:00pm
- 8 F
- 9 S
- 12 T
- 13 W
- 14 T
- 15 F
- 16 S
- 19 T
- 20 W
- 21 T
- 22 F
- 23 S
- 26 T
- 27 W
- 28 T
- 29 F
- Venue
- 25 Courtenay Place, Wellington
- Info
- Tuesday to Saturday 8-29 February
10pm - LATE
SlightlyTouching's Extremely Touching There's You13.02.08
Posted by: Nat Burgess
The Wellington Performing Arts Centre is an intimate venue with the audience on tiered seats which extend onto the stage allowing easy interaction between actor and patron. Black drapes covering all the walls and a variety of different coloured lights give drama groups a blank canvas to work with. SlightlyTouching used this theatre superbly for their provocative performance of There's You.
The title in itself is thought provoking. “There's you!” is a stock phrase used by many a parent upon the discovery of their child during a game of hide-and-seek. “There's you” clearly separates and defines a person. Both meanings can clearly be seen within the play's narrative.
The play's backdrop is of a disfunctional and violent relationship between the parents, Reihana and Carol, of a young child, Michael. To deal with this reality, Michael enters a fantasy world inside the fridge which is populated by clowns and a charasmatic bunch of grapes. This new world, Michaelopolis, is in the midst of a war between the red-nosed clowns and the blue-nosed – the latter led by Auntie Queenie, who has the power to denose clowns and turn them into sensible adults.
The intimacy of the production and the superb acting of the cast dragged the audience in. We laughed at the jokes and shuddered everytime an act of violence was hurled – verbal or physical. But it was more than this. We wanted to repremand Reihana for his actions – wishing to step onto the stage and catch his balled fist. We wanted to open Carol's eyes to the dangers around her. We dearly wanted to take Michael away from the malice of the house and care for him.
Perhaps the most difficult theatre to watch is that which mixes comedy and tragedy – the guilt of laughing just moments before an horrific act is committed is unbearable. Yet, it's theatre like this which makes us look just that little bit differently at the real world – which is a constant undulation of comedy and tragedy. We should question whether the ability to laugh at times of sorrow is actually infinately more powerful than dwelling on tragedy.
The play examines the issues around living life through a fantasy. Yet it's not just Michael who escapes through imagination, his parents are also guilty of living in a fantasy world. Carol so badly wishes to be a family she puts both herself and Michael at risk by staying with Reihana. Whereas Reihana has the delusion of being all powerful and rightly able to abuse or ignore anyone he desires. And all these fantasies are linked, each one perpertrating another. Escapism and imagination are a healthy process of exploring the world but every so often there must be a reconnection with reality.
The SlightlyTouching team put together an extremely touching performance with each actor playing their characters with energy and emotion. Special mention must go to Jessica Aaltonen who played the role of Michael. “Life's tough when you're seven- especially when you're a clown.” the show's programme clearly states but acting as a seven year old boy who's also pretending to be a clown is no small feat. Aaltonen pulled it off fantastically – at no point was the illusion broken that she was anything but her character.
This was my introduction to the Fringe Festival if all the events are as good as There's You it's gunna be a stunna. Bring on the laughter, bring on the tears.
Review by Nat Burgess
Seeking Strangers on Wellington's Familiar Streets13.02.08
Posted by: Nat Burgess
I've been to outdoor performances before: MacBeth in the grounds of a delapidated castle, A Midsummer Night's Dream on the lawns of a botanical garden, an adaption of Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters on the edge of a cliff and such like. These settings simply amplify the fantastic, allowing you to reach a state of suspended disbelief realitively easily. The romanticism of this scenery helps disconnect you from reality and pull you into the play. But still there was a separation between actor and audience.
Familiar Stranges gives none of this comfort zone – you stand upon the stage with the actors – that stage being the streets of Wellington. In this theatrical performance, “All the world's a stage” is genuinely reenacted.
The production only hints at romanticism – you have to read between the yellow painted lines or glance up a tree – for most performances are deeply rooted in reality.
Yet it's not just you who's pulled into the theatre, so are the 'innocent' passers-by. They become part of the drama. The reactions of the unknowing citizen is almost as absorbing as the action going on in each sketch. This is an example of the raw reaction generally expressed towards a street dwelling familiar stranger. This is exactly what it's all about. It's not about just passing-by and questioning with a raised eyebrow but delving deeper and following that stranger on a short journey.
Familiar Strangers does not invite you to blur the line between reality and fiction – it forces you to erase it completely. Was what just happened pure coincidence or was it scripted? Is it fact or fiction? Hardcore Truman Show philosophical debating. Yet, the real question is, does it matter? Fankly, I'd rather not know. Either way it creates a deeper image of the observed person.
The sketches allow you to begin examining your surroundings carefully and you will start people watching – a passionate pasttime for many. Soon the people on the streets are no longer simply the backdrop of your own existence. Quickly you acknowledge not only that these street dwellers truly exist but there is a reason why they are here and why they are who they are. We've all seen that nutty woman, that lost man, that busker and those backpackers, and perhaps even been one of them, before, but have we ever questioned them or their existence?
Another thing Familiar Strangers offers is a completely unique tour of Wellington. It is a requirement of the performance to find the actors amongst the crowds like a gigantic Easter Egg hunt. If you're new in town, as I am, you'll find this production an intreging insight into the city and you'll learn how to safely naviagate the streets. Locals might find it a way to rekindle their enthusiasm for the city's streets which are so fimilar they are now forgotten. It's healthy to take a different perspective – to familiarise the strange or estrange the familiar – defamiliarisation being the buzz word.
The creation of all this illusion-blurred reality is down to the superb characterisation of the actors. They give a voice to these familiar strangers and allow us to interact with them. Their ability to stay in character while interacting and moving in a real live setting is spectacular to watch and genuinely inspiring. Their ability to adlib portrays the depth to which they have researched, discussed, developed and believe in these characters.
Every actor should be commended on the immense courage they possess to undertake an event of this scale and exposure. Not only must they trust in the paid audience to work with them, but they must also believe in themselves to deal with any outside influence such as the uncontrolable weather or disruptions from confused passers-by. Yet, would all of this not add something to the performance? Perhaps only those who experience it will be able to answer that.
I expect Shakespeare would have been impressed if he'd walked the streets of Wellington with a yellow band on his arm looking for entertainment, for in Familiar Strangers his words come alive. “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts...”
Go and see Familiar Strangers but don't forget to take a warm sweater, an observant eye and a completely open mind. You won't be disappointed.
Review by Nat Burgess
Mmmmmmmmm Free!15.02.08
Posted by: Steve Wrigley
Thanks for the good times Chit Chat! If you havn't been to then get there man, it's free!!! And I think it's cool.
Woot!