Ed Fringe 2010: Sparkleshark – Space @ Surgeons Hall

Writer: Philip Ridley

Director: Aumna Iqbal

Reviewer: John Roberts

The Public Reviews Rating:

I have seen several productions during this year’s festival that have been performed and produced by school/college groups and it must be applauded for taking the risk and producing work to showcase in Edinburgh, but just like the quality of some of the ‘Professional’ productions some of the amateur productions could also use a little help from more seasoned performers or indeed directors.

Bouncy Castle Productions is one such company, bringing Philip Ridley’s story of adolescent teens escaping the pitfalls of daily life through the art of story telling…well that is the basic elements to the piece however that is all we got in this well meant production of ‘Sparkleshark.’ The beauty of Ridley’s script is how deep the subtext really is, and how much of the teens lives unintentionally (to them) is shared through their joint experience.

Iqbal’s direction is a little heavy handed going for broad strokes, and missing out on the finer details of honing her actors in for example Alex Harding’s portrayal of Jake is a little over the top – we really don’t have people that stereotypically geeky in any walk of life, so why we should believe the truth of his character on stage is a little puzzling – likewise if you are going to have defined roof space where it is possible you can fall down and kill yourself – don’t have your actors crossing the line – it really is the simple things that make all the difference.

However the production is saved by two fantastic performances the first from Julia McLaren as Natasha – not only is she focused throughout but her native Scott’s accent gives a real weight and gravitas to her character. Rafaella Marcus gives a wonderfully understated performance and shines from beginning to end, this is an actress that has real talent and could go far (though it may be wise for her to turn up half hour before the show, not 1 minute before curtain up- yes I did see- and making the show start late!)

Overall a valiant effort, but one that really does fall short on many levels.