Like an existentialist footballer, Michael Pinchbeck trains for weeks, gets into the mindset required for his part, wears his costume for one limelight moment – but finds himself repeating the same dissatisfied, hackneyed words, “At the end of the day, I didn’t perform.” ‘The End’ is not really the end, but rather a warm-up for his final premiership, his dramatic swansong. It is a humorous, albeit sometimes clichéd and repetitive, exploration of what stage entrances and exits mean for Shakespeare’s most side-line character: ‘The Winter’s Tale’s’ bear. Ridiculous yet rational, Pinchbeck and co-star Ollie Smith channel the spirit of Beckett as their relationship disintegrates. Let’s hope this isn’t their swansong.
Pleasance Courtyard, 22 – 27 Aug, 11.25am (12.30pm), £8.00 – £10.00, fpp259.
tw rating 4/5
[pc]
Sections: by Paul Collins - ED2011 Theatre Reviews - tw rating 4/5 | Tags: Michael Pinchbeck, The Pleasance
Also from ThreeWeeks...
ED2011 Theatre Review: Shylock (Assembly Theatre Presents Guy Masterson – Theatre Tours International)
Although a take on Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’, the main character in this intriguing one man show is not the infamous Skylock, but Tubal, the Jewish antihero’s friend –...
ED2011 Theatre Review: Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo (Scamp Theatre)
This beautifully poignant adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s well-loved children’s book is an absolute joy to watch on stage. The child’s take on love, death and war are captured perfectly by...
ED2011 Comedy Review: Phil Mann’s Full Mind And Michael Keane: Intelligent Shuffle – Free (Phil Mann and Michael Keane)
Phil Mann is here to educate you. He is currently learning one topic per day, at the behest of audience members, with which to entertain and illuminate the next day’s...
GET ALERTS OF NEW THREEWEEKS CONTENT: Click here to sign up to the free ThreeWeeks email
