SNIPERCULTURE. To10 August.

Edinburgh - Fringe.

SNIPERCULTURE
by Johny Brown.

Traverse 2 To 10 August 2003.
Tue-Sun Various times.
Runs 1hr 15min No interval.

TICKETS: 0131 228 1404.
www.traverse.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 5 August.

Transplanted Medea can't help seeming contrived.Classic stories are ones we can mine repeatedly for new relevances andfurther potential. But attempting to relocate a story from a mythic to more specific setting is very hard. Some bits clinch convincingly; others are left hanging out like sore thumbs - or other appendages.

Medea's revenge on husband Jason when he deserts her for a princess has both feminist and racist connotations (to refer to two '-ism's used with opposite effect). She's a woman unnaturally asserting herself and she's an alien, primitive and savage to the ancient Greek social orthodoxy.

Tanushka Marah's Medea-figure fits the bill visually, and in temperament. Outre as the latest Madonna-kind undergoing 1,000 volt shock treatment, this slut-glam figure's believable as fiery revenger.

And the modern rock business, with its deals and opportunism, provides a suitable setting for betrayal and revenge. Tam Dean Burn's well-cast as the man who changes his tune to fit a new deal, a force comparable to Marah's.

But good ideas have a long way to go before they make good as even a shortish play. Johny Brown scores momentarily but the need to keep to predestined story and character-bases leads to too many unconvincing moments, when the action seems contrived rather than developing naturally.

With an unknown cast at a side venue on the Fringe, Sniperculture might be seen as promising. As part of the Traverse programme it's distinctly downbeat.

Furious: Tanushka Marah.
Frank: Tam Dean Burn.
Lisa Jones: Denise Evans.
Calvin: Frank Frenzy.

Directors: Denise Evans, Tam Dean Burn.
Lighting: Jules Deering.
Sounmd: Frank Frenzy, Guy Jackson.

2003-08-06 19:38:37