***** (5 stars)
“Simply Brilliant”
Life, the universe and Lothian buses conspired to make me miss this show yesterday: I am SO glad I was able to get to it today – it’s brilliant!
As one who’s spent a moderate amount of time auditioning for singing jobs, I was prepared to offer some sympathy to Sophie Fisher during her Ode to a casting director. I wasn’t prepared for this acutely observed and superbly acted show, which had the audience in fits and at times, I suspect, suppressed sobs. Certainly the applause at the end demonstrated appreciation both for the artistry of the show and the emotional rollercoaster ride its protagonist experienced.
Life as a struggling artist is bad enough if you have a loving, supportive family and dear ones. If you don’t it’s total hell…. It’s a miracle our aspiring actress has continued to turn up for anything and everything for which she gets an audition, while shelling out a small fortune on coaching sessions of questionable value. Her parents are eternally underwhelmed by all she is doing, convinced that she should have continued her law degree and become a solicitor, or at the very least an accountant. Her boyfriend of eight months has no interest in her career or her as a person. Her saccharine-voiced [and totally incompetent] agent can’t be bothered to ensure she has the script she needs for an audition: and as for offering any form of support or sympathy – forget it! We are rooting for her every inch of the way – but will she continue with her resolve to be an actor, or will the mounting tsunami of criticism and discouragement drown her?
The auditions and acting classes themselves are continual exercises in maximum humiliation with minimum return, every excruciating minute making us cringe still further. Crisps, screaming Viking warriors, riding a rainbow to land on a sofa, non-drumming, ‘ordinary person’ dancing…
You’d think it couldn’t get any worse – until you encounter the partner exercises with what must be the world’s most un-giving, un-supportive, most self-obsessed wannabe actors. And there is, of course, the boyfriend’s ‘caring and concerned’ ending of their relationship…. Sophie’s renditions of her acting partners [and the boyfriend] are absolutely spot-on: her co-star [and director]’s Method Acting á la Brando is priceless.
I don’t want to give anything away, but I must give a huge shoutout for the final two scenes – an absolute masterclass in transparent emotional sincerity.
Today’s show was a sell-out. Don’t delay, get your tickets today!
An Ode To The Casting Director, The Penny Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24), for more information go to: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/an-ode-to-the-casting-director
ScotsGay Arts 