HORSE COUNTRY & THE COMPLETE LOST WORKS OF SAMUEL BECKETT... To 12 April.

London

HORSE COUNTRY: C.J. HOPKINS
&
THE COMPLETE LOST WORKS OF SAMUEL BECKETT AS FOUND IN AN ENVELOPE (PARTIALLY BURNED) IN A DUSTBIN IN PARIS LABELED “NEVER TO BE PERFORMED. NEVER. EVER. EVER! OR I’LL SUE! I’LL SUE FROM THE GRAVE!!!”: ‘discovered’ by GREG ALLAN, BEN SCHNEIDER & DANNY THOMPSON
Theatre Tours International & Guy Masterson Productions in association with Clancy Productions (NYC) & Riverside Studios

Riverside Studios (Studio 3) To 12 April 2003
Mon-Sat 7.30pm (Horse Country and 9.15pm (Complete Lost Works...)
Runs 3hr One interval

TICKETS: 020 8237 1111
Review: Ian Willox: 27th March 2003

Even the title is too long.This is a double bill that first saw the light of day at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. As is appropriate to the ecology of the Fringe both shows are short and can be seen individually. Neither are quite short enough however.

Horse Country won a slew of awards including a Scotsman Fringe First and the Scotsman Best of the Firsts. The director’s introduction in the programme insists that it's not a play. So what is it? Well think Twin Peaks, Waiting for Godot or Men in Black done by Tarantino.

Bob and Sam start the show with the punchline of a joke. 75 minutes later they supply the feed to the punchline. Between times they talk. About seals. Horses (of course). Fishing. And other stuff. You can see why director John Clancy and actor David Calvitto won awards for their work. Some of the show is funny, some weird, and some so elliptical as to defy comprehension. And if that was the end to it, all would be well. But there is the other show…

For the sake of brevity let’s just call it The Complete Lost Works of Samuel Beckett. This is classic late night Edinburgh Fringe – which means it should only be approached after a skinful and a mutton pie supper. Without that preparation the conceit – that these are a series of undiscovered Samuel Beckett playlets – can seem a little threadbare. I was rather taken by Happy Happy Bunny Visits Sad Sad Owl (by Samuel Beckett, aged 6 1/2), which displayed some authentically Beckettian puppetry, and mildly amused by Table Talk – a monologue from a brain in a jar plagiarising Barbara Cartland whilst being supported by an incontinent table leg. The rest was not so good.

You don’t need a deep understanding of the oeuvre of Mr. Beckett to get the jokes. Such as they are. But I had the distinct impression that the cast were having more fun than the audience (another hallmark of authentic Edinburgh Fringe productions). Perhaps the best use of this show is as a test to see which members of the audience had had a smoke before hand. Who needs urine tests?

Horse Country
Performer: David Calvitto
Performer: Ben Schneider

Director: John Clancy

The Complete Lost Works of Samuel Beckett…
The Actor: Ben Schneider
Presenter: Mr Coelius
Presenter: Mr Thompson

Discoverer/Original Performer: Greg Allen
Outside Eye: John Clancy

2003-03-30 11:58:34