All Over The Place And In Between

I popped over to the King's Head Theatre in Islington last night to catch the two productions that are currently running there. My hopes were fairly high, as the days of London lacking during the Edinburgh Festival had been all but dismissed thanks to several well placed productions and the Camden Fringe Festival, now in its 9th year.

Ruby In The Dust's production of Lady Windermere's Fan has been transformed to the 1930's because - according to the director Linnie Reedman -  the original period of the 1890's is not considered accessible any more. Personally I have to ask are the 1930's anymore accessible than the 1890's?

I don't think that they are and for me, the change makes the play seem remarkably thin. In her attempt to make Lady Windermere a 'modern' woman, she appears foolishly rash, oddly thick-skinned and I found Ellie Nunn's performance awkwardly anachronistic. And don't get me started on the hair! The men faired a little better although the dandy Cecil Graham seems slightly out of place in the 1930's but I particularly liked Graham Hoadly's Lord Augustus - who seems to transcend any era.

The second show of the evening proved a little more straight-forward. Between by Oskar Brown apparently had sell-out runs at Edinburgh, Brighton and Cape Town and bills itself as the 'Sexy South African, Sell-Out Sensation' - gotta love those marketing guys.

In actual fact Between is a sweet little story that touches on issues of male sexuality from puberty to adulthood. Author Brown also acts in the short play opposite Nicholas Campbell and while it is neatly delivered, with both lads switching tops as they slipped between characters, the narrative remains a little muddy and inconclusive in places.

Pretty to look at but not nearly as bright as it's rack of four and five stars might suggest, but certainly worth a look if you are in Islington late at night.