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fringereport.com Reviewed by John Park The Dutch Elm Conservatoire are five gifted actors, who create a set of sparkling and original sketches. The destination's Edinburgh 04, with hopefully plenty of London gigs en route. Jim Field Smith's the red-haired, bearded gent with glasses; Jordan Long's the slightly podgy one with wild curly hair (overtones of Henry Spencer in David Lynch's movie Eraserhead); Stephen Evans the shorter man with black hair; Renton Skinner the very tall chap with glasses (sometimes) and black hair; Rufus Jones the honest-looking one, of medium height and dark hair. They launch into a tour version of Sweeney Todd, but an argument about footwear aborts it. Three of them as film censors watch porn films, counting obscenities while discussing their unusual family lives; Jordan Long stars briefly as Sheena Easton (in hair net with beer can) at Caesar's Palace in 1977; Stephen Evans stars as a waiter mistaken for a spy who, well, turns the tables. There's a fine sketch on how doctors announce terminal cancer via cartoon mime; five police officers sing 'Deo - Daylight Come And We Want To Come Home' after losing a suicide talk-down; a soft felt hat gets lost, purloined, and found; a kleptomaniac posing as a survivor of the Gresford Coal Mining Disaster gets come-uppance. An office team-bonding spoof involves cowboy practice; the Vicar of Dimchurch is revealed as a 1784 smuggler with a penchant for mobile phones; a manipulative photographer gets unusual school-photo poses; the annual performance review's satirised in an all-too-accurate parody of uninterest. There's plenty more, and, being a Sunday, they end with a tribute to the Son of God. There are no accurate comparisons to Dutch Elm Conservatoire's comedy. It's well-written, invigoratingly fresh, taut and funny. The scope of the sketches is wide, and there's a risky use of nuance, rather than going always for the obvious (though there are some cracking belly-laughs too). Exciting, and a lot of fun. © www.fringereport.com |