Please Right Back (EIF)
★★★★☆ Dizzying invention
The Studio: Fri 2 – Sun 11 Aug 2024
Review by Hugh Simpson
Kent-based company 1927 use their signature combination of live action and animation to great effect in the International Festival’s Please Right Back at the Studio.
A co-production between 1927 and Burgtheater Vienna, it was first seen in a German language version, but this iteration is decidedly closer to home.
A scene from Please Right Back at the EIF. Pic: Andrew Perry
A father called Mr E (Stefan Davis) communicates with his children Kim (the excellent Chardae Phillips) and Davey (represented by an animation) by letter, telling them about the dangerous and involved journeys which are stopping him getting home to them. The play’s title is a misspelling derived from Kim’s return letters.
Meanwhile the children’s mother Dee (Jenny Wills) has to deal with visits from the plausible but sinister Sally (Lara Cowin). The performers all take on various other roles with energy, wit and comic skill, to the extent that many of the audience are visibly surprised to see only four people taking a bow at the end.
We are informed before the show that Suzanne Andrade’s script may be ‘based on recognisable UK institutions’, so it is no surprise when harsh reality intrudes on the fantasy world depicted. This is a welcome development, as while the technical presentation is undeniably tremendous, there is a nagging doubt before too long that the level of invention will not be sustained.
fantasy worlds
Indeed, the second half – after the truth that the fantasy worlds are trying to hide becomes clearer – is probably more compelling. This is easy to judge in the Studio, with its simple equation of how much time you spend wrapped up in proceedings, and how much you spend just being aware that the seating does not seem to have been designed for human beings.
A scene from Please Right Back at the EIF. Pic: Andrew Perry
Suffice it to say that the barbs at regimented English Academy school chains, and at the austerity culture of victim-shaming, are done in a way that is suitable for the recommended audience of 10 plus. As is the judicious use of swearing (‘I’m doing it for emphasis’).
The use of childlike drawings in Paul Barritt’s (almost entirely) monochromatic animation also chimes nicely with that audience. The presentation of Davey, somewhat reminiscent of the boy from the ‘Charley says’ series of public animation films, is particularly immediate, but the rest of the material inspired by silent cinema or classic animation – circus animals, undersea worlds, Metropolis-like skyscrapers – is also impressive.
excellently timed
The interaction between the live performers and the three huge screens behind them is excellently timed, with the direction of Andrade and Esme Appleton constantly fresh and sympathetic. Laurence Owen’s music and Sarah Munro’s costumes contribute greatly to the successfully cartoonish aesthetic.
Striking a difficult balance between media, and between fantasy and reality, the production may not always convince, but gets most things spot on.
Running time: One hour 55 minutes including one interval
The Studio, 22 Potterrow, EH8 9BL
Friday 2– Sunday 11 August 2024
Daily at 7.00 pm; Matinees Mon 5, Wed 7, Sat 10, Sun 11 at 2.00 pm
Part of the Edinburgh International Festival
Details and tickets: Book here.
The production tours to Oxford, Newcastle, Exeter, Leeds, Derby, Coventry and Brighton:
Tour calendar here: www.19-27.co.uk.
1927 Website here: www.19-27.co.uk/.
A scene from Please Right Back at the EIF. Pic: Andrew Perry
ENDS
