| Absorbing Bi-Lingual Classic |
At the Other Room |
| A Good Clean Heart , Chapter , July 28, 2016 |
As an Englishman who can't speak Welsh but with an English wife who can speak we try and see as many bilingual plays as possible. Oddly, there aren't too many of them as the ones we do see are all very enjoyable and " A Good Clean Heart" is no exception. We duly headed to The Other Room at Porter's an intimate space ( very similar to a lot of venues at the Edinburgh theatre, which includes being hot). This means that there is nowhere to hide for the actors and if they, or the piece as a whole are not gripping. the audience will quickly become uncomfortable. From the minute that the characters of Hefin & Jay bounce onto stage you are hooked. The first thing that grabs your attention is the movement between the actors. In a small area it is beautifully choreographed and you cannot take your eyes of the performers. On Hefin's 18th birthday he is told by his adopted parents that he has a brother. Although they grew up together he was too young to remember Jay & rushes to London to meet him. Naturally, events do not unfold as he anticipated and to find out more you need to go. What I don't remember seeing in previous bilingual shows is that both languages are translated , which clearly makes sense. But if you haven't encountered this before don't be put off, you very quickly get used to it and it becomes very natural. The above may sound very dramatic and heavy but it is VERY, VERY funny, the audience were howling on the night we went. This can only be a credit to the writer " Alun Saunders" ( see his interview in our interview section, it is a fascinating read) and the 2 performers, James Ifan and Oliver Wellington. There are a lot of Welsh at the Edinburgh festivals, and from what I have see so far the quality is EXTREMELY high. This appears to be the only English/ Welsh bilingual show there so if you fancy a different ( and thoroughly enjoyable) theatrical experience please go And here's how : https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=%22A%20Good%20Clean%20Heart%22 |
Reviewed by: David Cox |
This review has been read 1657 times There are 38 other reviews of productions with this title in our database:
|
