At Hijinx Theatre |
| Hijinx Theatre company- I Shot Buffalo Bill , Sherman Theatre, Cardiff , September 25, 2003 |
| Yee Ha! Just jump on your horse and gallop down to the Sherman Theatre, where you're sure to have a great time! And yes you will meet The Man That Shot Buffalo Bill! Buffalo Bill is back in Cardiff for the first time since his Wild West travelling show hit Sophia Gardens in 1903. I wasn’t there but I reckon my grandpa might have been. It was Emyr John's totally engaging and warm-hearted portrayal of Grandpa Dai Llewellyn that lay at the core of this truly entertaining production. Emyr is a Cardiff based actor that has grown in stature each time I have seen him, his big personality is now able to command and charm his audiences in a most compelling manner. At the beginning we appeared to be in fantasyland as the ageing hospitalised Dai recalls his time way out west at the turn of the twentieth century. He’d actually met all my childhood heroes from the black and white screen. He’d seem 'em all, I’'d seen 'em all: Wild Bill Hickok, Jesse James, Calamity Jane, Annie Oakley and all the others. I thrilled again at the memory and I galloped all the way home beating my rump with my left hand! In his battered suitcase he even had the blood stained pack of cards that Wyatt Earp was holding in his 'dead mans hand' when he was shot in the back! As Dai recounted his stories, with such a twinkle in his eye and sung and danced encouraged by Jessica Sandry who seemed to be taking the old man’s tales with 'a pinch of salt' it seemed that all these stories might be in his cartoon like imagination. They certainly captivated his young grandson Arwel who enthusiastically entered the game and quickly took on the role of the tenderfoot cowboy who eventually does shoot Buffalo Bill. A strong performance from Tom Englishby as Billy, Arwel' father and Dai' son made up the forth member of this excellent acting team. It turns out that Dai did go to America as a teenager, lured by early paperback excitement. Interspersed with the main story line, the actors re-enact lively incidents from those adventure, in a way that keeps us continually alive with warm laughter. Jessica Sandry, though small in stature, gives us a big performance as Calamity Jane. She sings, at one time with a captivating allure and at another with a real belting voice. I was wishing we could have had her rendition of 'he Deadwood Stage'Once again, as in his last production, associate director, "n his staging for Hijinx, Chris Morgan has invested the dream fantasy with a naïve charm that proves most appealing." But there’s more to it this time. There’s real human emotion at the heart of this play. Writer Paul Conway shocks us out of our revelry, the actors find a realistic and very convincing intensity as we learn of the consequences of Dai’s shooting of Buffalo Bill. Catch this great little company on its extensive tour through Wales and you can find out why "I Shot Buffalo Bill"! Check out the venues on www.hijinx.org.uk |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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