ED2013 1/5 Reviews ED2013 Theatre Reviews

Rough Magic (International Collegiate Theatre Festival)

By | Published on Sunday 18 August 2013

I don’t know what the thinking was behind this spectacularly uneven car-crash of a play. It manages to foul up not one, but two intriguing premises – the characters of ‘The Tempest’ are real, and end up in modern Manhattan, and the only person who can stop them is a woman who can bring characters from plays to life. The biggest problem is that it can’t settle on a tone. The comedy is forced and banal, the pathos is unearned and the drama is undermined by the poor comedy and some appallingly stiff performances. If it were a fully-fledged farce that would be one thing, but as is it tries to do it all, but does nothing well. A woeful mess.

theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall, until 10 Aug (not 9), times vary.
tw rating 1/5 [Andrew Leask]



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