WE CAN BE HEROES: Company FZ: Tour to 29th October 2009
Tour
WE CAN BE HEROES
Company FZ
Nuffield Theatre, Southampton to 22nd October 2009 then tour to 29th October 2009.
Tue- Thur 7.30 pm
Runs 2 hours. One interval.
Tickets: 023 8067 1771.
www.nuffieldtheatre.co.uk
www.companyfz.com
Review: Mark Courtice 21st October 2009.
Unheroic
Having been an only child for twenty or so years Andy advertises for a brother to replace his stuffed rabbit as a psychological prop. From such fey beginnings Company FZ's new show sets out on a story of companionship, support and betrayal. Helped by his new "brother" Andy has a chance to be a hero of sorts, but ends up betraying and betrayed.
This is a new departure by Flick Ferdinando and John-Paul Zaccarini - who make up company FZ - as they move into larger theatres with a full-length story. Ferdinando directs and Zaccarini performs with Jake Norton.
Sadly it all seems a stretch too far. The slight story is over extended, the imagination of the staging runs out, and ideas are thin on the ground. As a two-hander the performers don't do much to populate the story with characters.
A clever opening sequence has crimson wool stretched across the stage like laser beams. This looks terrific but the effect of this good theatrical idea is weakened as the performers lack the physical precision to only touch the wool when they mean to.
The music by Brighton-based band The Hat is clever. It’s apt and economical in helping the story, and different enough to make listening to it interesting. However too often it has to cover great gaps in the show where not much else is happening.
The dialogue doesn't do much more than tell the story, the performers often swallow phrases, tending to inaudibility. The technology is clunky 70s reel-to-reel (for plot reasons) so it’s difficult to tell if Mark Morreau's uninspiring visuals (shown on screens far too small for a 500 seat theatre) are meant to be like that or not.
In the past the company has used aerial work to great effect, but here it's disappointing. A silk looking like a huge scarf is only really used to climb up, a long zero-gravity space flying sequence only uses one gag. There is a genuinely exciting moment in a chase when they scramble across a frame in flight, but in 2 hours this doesn't seem quite enough.
Actors Alex Norton, John-Paul Zaccarini
Written by Company F.Z
Directed by Flick Ferdinando
Writing Mentor Drew Pautz
Set and Lighting Design Charlie Camm
Film Mark Morreau
Costume Lucy Bradbridge
Original Score The Hat
2009-10-22 22:20:37