Dublin Fringe

Festical reviews

125 Live

St Stephen's Green

The short sketches performed in St Stephen's Green to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the park bring a whole new meaning to a promenade performance, as rather than the audience following the actors around an open stage, the "audience" simply happen upon the vignettes as they wander through the park. It's a clever idea to portray historical events through live theatre but one that wasn't developed enough for 125 Live. The actors did their best to draw us back in time so we could witness such events as the unveiling of the statue of Arthur Guinness or how a young girl was executed in 1729 for stealing a dress. But, the performances were so short (lasting five minutes or less), they needed to be backed up with historical notes so people could contextualise such episodes and thereby reflect on St Stephen's Green differently on subsequent visits. - Sylvia Thompson

Runs Sat/Sun, Sept 24/25 noon, 2pm & 4pm admission free

Dying For It

Players Theatre, Trinity College

Theatre designed for the edification of a particular section of society always runs the danger of being patronising. When the same project also intends to carry a serious sociological message, it risks sacrificing its aesthetic integrity to the earnestness of its agenda. Scottish Youth Theatre's Dying For It is a drama for young people about the ever increasing proliferation of sexually transmitted infections. Thanks largely to the fact that the company is also run by younger folk, Dying For It avoids any coy and preachy treatment of its subject. Framed by a visit by two friends to the GUM (Genital Urinary Medicine) ward of a hospital, Dying For It delivers a kaleidoscope of well-developed characters, from the permissive to the confused to those not sexually active at all. Through effective humour and simplicity it rises to a moving, surprising climax which endorses its central idea that there is never ever anything simple about sex. - Patrick Brennan

Still Alive

The Ark

According to its website, Sandkorn-Theater Berlin performs in English to assist German children in learning that language. And performed in that milieu, its one-man show Still Alive is probably an entertaining production. Unfortunately, in this country, a lot is lost in the translation - which is a pity, as you get hints and glimpses of its worth. Reiner Anding tells an imaginative story, through monologue and puppetry, about Dino Valley, where dinosaurs once lived, which seeks to attract tourist cash through its association with the extinct reptiles. The set is very clever and surprising, and the way Anding tells his story with its imaginative elements shows great skill and an ability to understand and reach young people with a wise parable. But the text is stilted, and you frequently get the sense that important information has been lost or left out. It's likely a mistake to bring a piece devised to assist language instruction somewhere that the language is actually spoken - the plot and dialogue are too contrived. - Christine Madden

The Blue Ointment

Meeting House Square

BareBones have set themselves the difficult task of transforming The Ointment Blue, George Fitzmaurice's broad 1914 drama, into a virtually wordless performance which will play satisfactorily to the diners, strollers and culture junkies who inhabit Meeting House Square at dusk. The cast also seek to get across some sense of the increasingly multicultural nature of the city. That they don't quite succeed in these ambitions is no surprise; that they come so close is to their credit. The play tells the story of a wrestler whose abilities are entirely due to the patronage of a witch and her magic blue ointment. Tuula Voutilainen, with a disconcertingly piercing shriek, brings eerie grace to the enchantress, while Jim Roche spreads impressive vulnerability as the hero. But, elegantly carried off as this free performance is, the story is a little too obscurely told to hold the attention in an open space. - Donald Clarke

Until Sun