The Big Bite-Size Show

White Room Theatre - The Pleasance

This show is like a box of Celebrations; it's a selection of mini shows, that vary in quality, and everyone will have different preferences. It's playful... but a little disjointed.

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What's on the menu at the theatre tonight? A selection of eight 10 - 12 minute 'bitesize' shows and there's something for everyone. As you enter the theatre, you're warmly welcomed by cast members, the theatre staff and handed a strawberry in a little cake case. Reminding you of the small theatre treats you'll be receiving.

The idea of this review is to explain the show as whole; not analyse each different show one by one. If you are curious about what other shows, that aren't mentioned are like... you'll have to go along and see for yourself!

Each show was miles different from the next and the only similarity was actors rotating and the stage. It was a very playful evening. However, there is not a huge amount of depth to the shows and because they are so short; a lot of content is squished into a small chunk of time. Some were strong and others felt like filler. There was no common thread between the shows, but this kept the audience excited, because you didn't know what to expect next.

One of the strongest scenes was called 'The Interpreter' by Johnathan Kaufman. The concept was two countries representatives meeting to discuss their plans and the interpreter translating their conversations. As the piece goes on, the interpreter almost plays a mediator, as he knows that their heated in the moment responses could spark conflict. Actor, Andy Bell plays the representative from another country and speaks in an accent, his responses to the US representative are shown through his non-verbal body language and the way he delivers his lines, when he raises his voice in a sharp tone and uses more hand gestures, this is where you can tell that he is negatively responding to the US representative. Stephen Povey plays the interpreter, and you can see how he struggles with translating slang and offensive comments through his facial expressions. The pauses between the translation displays his inner fear of what he translates being wrong or too far; he doesn't want to escalate the tainted relationship. Comedy is created from the two representatives giving long insults to each other, with offensive gestures and the interpreter translating it into something short and less explosive. This was a unique scene and in terms of the skill from the actors shone brightly compared to the other scenes.

Set was minimal and between each scenes the actors from the previous shows would rearrange the set for the next piece. Whether it be setting up chairs and tables or removing items; like the flag in the interpreter scene for instance. The minimal staging meant the transitions between each scene were quick and smooth. The most interesting use of set was in 'Keeping Annabelle' by Rachel Welch. They used a rope and a bag over Hana Vincent, this was to give the idea of a kidnapping, and they used a small section of the staging to portray the cramped basement room. Even with a bag over her head you could still get a sense of Vincent's facial expressions and reactions. This is a very comic scene, because there is a power struggle between the two characters and the power shockingly shifts from the kidnapper to the person who is kidnapped. The comedy comes from the use of the rope and how it shows the shift in power.

This show is one where you don't know what to expect next. It's playful, unique and very funny. However, as so much is fit into 10 - 12 minutes at times it is not always an easy watch and some of the jokes do go over your head. There is no over-arching theme, it's hard to understand the message or if there even is one and this makes the show disjointed. Though, it is enjoyable to watch the cast enjoy themselves and see some of the out-there concepts within the show... there are some crazy ones! It's also a great addition that they have a whole new 8 set of shows for their next week of showings, so it will be a whole new show!

If you want a bit of unexpected, playful theatre AND if you buy 5 tickets you get one free! CLICK HERE for tickets.