The Kidnapper's Guide ****

Zoo, Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2011

Monday 15th August 2011

****

"This was a most enjoyable night: a slick, professional, fast-paced, fun and funny production that I can’t recommend enough - whatever your feelings are on farce."

Heaving with young people and with great reviews from last year’s production, this seemed promising. And it was almost too good to be true: with only a few productions left, I urge everyone who can to go and see this. Even if farcical drama isn’t really your scene, it was so well executed that it’s definitely worth seeing it so that you know what it’s like at the top of the tree.


About the attempted kidnapping of a famous actor by three incompetent stooges, and his revenge on his friends and family when no one wants him back, the play contained all the classic ingredients of a farce – an improbable plot, exaggerated characters, and a whole flurry of entrances and exits – yet it never grated as I find farces can often do. This was down to the supremely talented cast, whose acting abilities across the board were solid and, in some cases, quite exceptional.

The ironically named ‘Smart’, George McFadyen, was quite phenomenal – he managed to engage with all the classic stereotypes of the thickie yet simultaneously present himself in a different acting league to the usual idiots. His lisp was spot on, his mannerisms deftly done, his comic timing superb, and his fixation on a cheese sandwich endearingly ridiculous. His lines could easily have dragged as they became more predictable, yet his quickness prevented anything from seeming stale. Lewis Doherty, who played Leo, was another gem. You would have thought that his blindness would make for one hysterical joke – tops two – yet despite being used repeatedly throughout the play, it never failed to amuse. I’m not talking tired, bedraggled laughter here, I’m talking the big resounding stuff, coming from all sides of the audience, bouncing off the walls in its enthusiasm. Doherty really did have a quite outstanding sense of timing and delivery, commanding the audience’s attention with masterful precision. The rest of the cast were talented, but it was these two that pulled it up to a first notch production and were primarily responsible for keeping the audience giggling throughout. The fishing father, Alex Butler, let the side down a bit, but perhaps his scene dragged so much because his purposefully extensive monologue cut too stark a contrast with the fast and witty exchanges which characterised the rest of the production. Full of diverse and well acted parts, I loved the Girl Scout Antonia Bourdillon with her whistling enthusiasm, Adam Hartnell with his mesmerizingly high and tightly wedged trousers, Patricia Ferran as the terrifying Spanish lady (accent just right), and Chazz Redhead as the repulsively lecherous ‘feeler’. This was a most enjoyable night: a slick, professional, fast-paced, fun and funny production that I can’t recommend enough - whatever your feelings are on farce.


Published on edfringereview.com