Ed Fringe 2010: Thoroughly Modern Willie – C Venue
Reviewer: Elizabeth Vile
The Public Reviews Rating: 
Set in a finishing school for young, gay, debutantes Far From Kansas tell the story of one new teacher’s attempt to ‘shake up’ the head master and pupils of the school. Through a selection of show songs laced together with short scenes a fun, humorous and poignant show is created.
The hour long show bubbles over with enthusiasm and special praise needs to go to the character of the headmaster who was the lynch pin of the production. His comic timing and connection with the audience was brilliant and the audience participation initiated by him was fun and enjoyable. The characters of the students were also lovingly created and enthusiastically portrayed and the choice of surnames for the pupils was a lovely comic touch. The story was very simple but gave a strong message to the audience about stereotyping and the importance of individuality and being who you are not what others want you to be. This could have come across as trite and unoriginal but it somehow didn’t and somehow all the jokes (some quite corny ones) also worked within the structure of the piece.
Although the piece de resistance was the singing. The solo sections were confidently performed and tuneful but the part and ensemble singing was absolutely beautiful. The sound created when the whole choir was singing was a wonder to listen to and I found myself waiting expectantly for the next song to begin. A highlight for me was the rendition of ‘What I Did for Love’. It was gentle but powerful and the atmosphere created was heavenly.
The show was incredible fun and the cast seemed to enjoy the performance as much as the audience. It was an immensely enjoyable evening, with jokes a plenty, quirky characters and stunning music.
Tags: C Venue, Edinburgh Fringe 2010, Far from Kansas, London Gay Men's Chorus.
10:10 pm on August 16th, 2010
Great show with lots of laugh out loud moments, original songs and great singing! Look out for the surnames of the Characters, nice touch!