Review: James Son Of James
April 23, 2008
Venue: The Lowry
Date Reviewed: 23rd April, 2008
I was looking forward to seeing this strange hybrid of dance, dialogue and high drama, as I was blown away by the dazzling production, Park, which was part of the Dance Touring Partnership; bringing high-quality shows to theatres all over the country.
But Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre’s production is such a muddled mess, that I cannot see it having the same effect. The main problem here is that this show incorporates musical theatre, drama, comedy and dance, resulting in a chaotic piece of theatre, which although different, is not necessarily any good.
Many of the songs are pretentious and unfunny, leaving you thinking “bring on the dance.” In complete contrast, Park was an inventive dance-piece which was kooky, erotic and highly charged. But, here you are left with cringe-worthy dialogue and a bunch of loosely connected characters; all of them unappealing and fairly dull.
Towards the final half hour, you do get what you paid for as there are some neatly choreographed folk dance scenes. But it is a case of too little, too late. The lack of passion really grates as you do not care about the menagerie of folk, all jostling for your attention.
We have a doctor in underpants who longs to be a hairdresser, an Inspector Clouseau style police-man, a Politician, his Kevin-The-Teenager son, and screeching wife, all rushing on and off the stage, in quick succession. These characters are linked via a stunning scene, designed to make you gasp, at the close. But, by this stage you may be too busy looking at your watch to notice.
The performers are all energetic enough and try hard to make their poorly written characters appealing. But although director, Michael Keegan-Dolan has strived to find a “really honest and clear marriage between dance and theatre” - this experimental, but deeply flawed show ends up pleasing fans of neither, as it is too long and uneventful, lacking the emotion to carry you through.
It requires Jasmin Vardimon’s visual flair and provocative subject matter, to stop it from becoming one of those pieces of dance that you think you should like. As a result, James simply irritates.
-Glenn Meads
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