Wednesday 3rd – Saturday 6th, 11.00 at the ADC Theatre. £5.
Directed by Max Barton.
Those of you who hate energetic, shouty, physical theatre should hate No Magic, this week’s schizophrenia-themed ADC Lateshow. But I don't and think it might just be the slickest, well-written, most interesting show you’ll see all term.
Writer and director Max Barton’s tale of insanity within the oh-so -appropriate borders of Cambridge University attempts to add a Fight Club twist to a life that we all recognise, and somehow it all works. The subtly rhyming script means that the action races to the end, and the convention of using the characters involved in a scene to narrate the action is simple but inspired. Most student drama has its moments of tedium and clunkiness, but No Magic is quite honestly faultless when it comes to its pacing and structure. Energetic scenes in nightclubs evaporate to form the-morning-after-the-night-before with such ease that there is not a moment where the audience is waiting for something to happen.
The play draws from everything from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to Harry Potter, taking a detour at Catcher in the Rye and stopping off for lunch at American Psycho, creating a mish-mash of themes which is oddly believable in the play’s familiar setting. The case maintain the same exhilarating level of energy which some may find exhausting, but is far better than the stodgy student acting that we are used to. The crowning success of the play is that a black-out is only used once, and it is for dramatic effect. The black-out is the enemy of any sophisticated director, and during the messy scene changes of most plays it is not uncommon to hear the agitated rustling of bums on seats. Top marks to Barton for finally making a stand against the black-out; we can only hope that others follow suit. Yes We Can.
Some will undoubtedly find No Magic's Skins Comes to Cambridge style just a wee bit pretentious. And in part it is - Tab reviewers I met in the bar certainly thought so. But, Barton has a concept, runs with it and pulls it off, aided by his superb cast who display such a range of vocal work that you’d think there were double the number of people on stage. Innovative stuff.
mate you must be an absolute retard
graham's right, you actually must be.
did you actually even see this show? it was the most egocentric wankfest of pretention i've ever encountered, and i'm a pretty egocentric pretentious wanker.