Literally no sooner had my plane landed this week than I was heading straight to the Fringe Theatre, or more accurately The Space in Mudchute. Those of you unfamiliar with the venue might find it very much worth a look, although it is situated at a rather inconvenient postcode on the Isle of Dogs. The quickest way to get there is by bus from Canary Wharf.
Baby Jesus Freak by Ian Winterton covers an interesting premise set in motion by the death of an evangelist and the reaction of her two adult sons. The younger son had long since joined his mothers cause whilst the elder appears to have spent a lifetime battling demons of a different sort. Winterton's play raises many questions but thankfully he has woven a human story that plays particularly well on stage.
The performances are good too with particularly astute work from Adam Lowe and Claire Dean who have the oft difficult task of making Christian fundamentalism appear rational in a modern world.
Stage Kiss is a slightly less successful, albeit extremely short play from Andrew Jones. Despite the very few major successes, audiences will rarely be interested in backstage stories. Actors are singularly peculiar creatures anyway and showing their existence off the stage rarely excites and audience.
This said, the tale tells of Amy's return to the stage before committing to marriage with her bullish fiance, Henry. The central dilemma is the emotion behind a stage kiss as opposed to a real one and quite frankly, it's not a particularly engaging argument either way. At only forty minutes however the play still manages to run out of steam.
Danny Wainwright is excellent as the pragmatic Henry and it is always a joy to see Lisa Baird on stage but this is a blunt piece of writing that needs to go back to the drawing board.
Both plays have been cleanly and clearly directed by Matthew Gould. If you get an opportunity, visit The Space. It is a great venue that appears to be desperately seeking an audience.
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