Daniel Vigilante
Sandra 1
Michael ItaliaTheatre: Almost, Maine
@ Locusta
Fringe Festival, Oct 2007
The fictional town of Almost, in Maine, USA, is the setting for 9 separate but inter-connected tales of love, in it’s various forms. It’s a delightful play pertinently set amongst a wintry background of perhaps love’s most formidable attribute: its coldness.
The vignette approach used by writer, John Cariani, fits well with the intention to disclose the randomness that takes place in love and life, and the tying in altogether makes it doubly sweet. There are clever gimmicks and play on words, some of which include falling in love (literally falling over), loosing Hope (a girl’s name who gets lost), living with a broken heart (the pieces of the heart are carried around in a sack), and even bags of love (big red ones) get returned when a couple breaks-up. While the canny writing is certainly the strongest point, the play looses a lot of its merit in the acting.
The American accents seem a little unnecessary, if entirely unconvincing on occasions, and you can’t help but think how much better this would have been had it been set in Almost, Maroochydore. While Marijana Kresno and Maria Polyviou have a firm good grasp on the (sometimes annoying) elocution, and clearly standout in their respective scenes, Drew Lindo struggles to convince us that he’s not from Wagga Wagga; though his burly slow-witted characters do seem congruent with the clichéd alpine lumberjack, which he does fittingly. Adric Ayson’s character Steve, with congenital analgesia, is his shining moment.
Despite feeling a little short-changed when it finishes 30 minutes earlier than the promised 2hours, this play is a bit of romantic fun and a trip out to Locusta restaurant to enjoy a meal before the show make it a brilliant night . . . almost.
Fringe Festival, Oct 2007
The American accents seem a little unnecessary, if entirely unconvincing on occasions, and you can’t help but think how much better this would have been had it been set in Almost, Maroochydore. While Marijana Kresno and Maria Polyviou have a firm good grasp on the (sometimes annoying) elocution, and clearly standout in their respective scenes, Drew Lindo struggles to convince us that he’s not from Wagga Wagga; though his burly slow-witted characters do seem congruent with the clichéd alpine lumberjack, which he does fittingly. Adric Ayson’s character Steve, with congenital analgesia, is his shining moment.
