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FairLy Tales |
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Munira Mirza |
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FairLy Tales is an interesting experiment in improvisation that is intended to stretch the relationship between audience and performers. A one hour show themed around storytelling, the performers take their inspiration from words given to them by members of the audience. The result is a series of bizarre and often surreal stories which jerk unexpectedly from one line to the next. Improvisation is the most difficult and demanding kind of comedy theatre and should not be entered into lightly. The performer must be comic scriptwriter, director and actor all in one, as well as interacting seamlessly with the other performers who are going off in their own unpredictable directions. FairLy Tales has a clever format, sticking with one kind of genre and fleshing it out for all its weird and wonderful qualities. As it was a festive performance, we went from tales about the third world exploitation of elves by Santa Claus, to the loneliness of a woman who did not want to spend Christmas alone and so befriended some turkeys. The show was kept at a frenetic pace as performers filled the interludes between tales with word games and improvised monologues to the audience. However, improvisation is ultimately dependent on the talents of the performers and the Black Sheep cast on the night was simply not strong enough to carry the audience's expectations. Like stand-up comedy, there is no such thing as mediocre improvisation. It either has to be brilliant, robust and engaging, or else it is awkward, uncomfortable and distracting. The experience at some points was like watching a tightrope artist, sincerely hoping they will make it to the end of the sentence without losing the plot, but feeling extremely anxious that they would not. At this point, you really do feel that audience response is vital and that when nobody is laughing, the show loses its raison d'être. That said, there are some occasional moments of sublime humour in the show, principally from the two male performers. Unfortunately, these were not enough. FairLy tales does not innovate the relationship between the audience and performers, so much as increase the anxiety and tension between them. In a show like this, performers need the audience to react positively, which perhaps explains why I felt guilty after the show rather than exhilarated. Run over.
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