• Advertise
  • Request Review
  • Write for Us
  • Privacy
  • Login

Theatre Bubble

The UK Theatre Network

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Reviews
  • News
  • Features
  • Spotlight
  • Opinions
  • Interviews
  • Guides

Ed Fringe 2016: Dropped at Pleasance Courtyard

August 24, 2016 by Alexander Hartley Leave a Comment

Review of: Dropped
Produced by:
Gobsmacked Theatre Company
Price:
£7.50 / £6.50

Reviewed by: Alexander Hartley
Rating:
2
On August 24, 2016
Last modified:August 26, 2016

Summary:

Something is here, but it's buried under the rubble

More Details

In a foreign battlefield, two women soldiers have been left alone to defend a compound. Their superior told them she would come back for them very soon. Days pass and begin to blur into one, accompanied by a monotone of sleep deprivation, distant bombs, a little vodka. The radio doesn’t work. Will anyone come?

Dropped is a new play by Katy Warner, produced by Australian outfit Gobsmacked. It arrives in Edinburgh fresh from the Adelaide Fringe, where it won the prize for best local theatre production.

30792_galleryJust because a play is about two people in an interminable situation doesn’t mean it should be interminable to watch—but here, when I say that nothing much happens, that’s all I mean.

Warner’s script trades in repeating strands layered on top of one another. Sometimes it works, but even then it demands to be handled quickly and crisply, which it isn’t. Every psycho-absurdist throwaway is here made into a way of plumbing the deepest depths of the characters, which becomes exhausting almost immediately.

The conversation runs laps around its dreary motifs so slowly and for so long that even when something does eventually threaten to happen, it’s too late for the play to regain our interest. “I keep dropping things,” one of the women keeps saying. The other thing they both keep saying is “they’re not mutually exclusive”, which might conceivably mean something about dogmatism, and is also about binarism, which is clever, because there are two characters. Do you see?

So the script isn’t perfect, but it’s also done no favours by this production’s misguided, plodding naturalism. The actors are caught in the middle of a script and a directing style incompatible with one another. The actors end up as isolated as the characters they’re playing. They are entirely unsupported by the production—an awkward box of a set, static lighting, and Edinburgh’s least convincing fake baby.

Author: Alexander Hartley

Filed Under: Review Tagged With: Edinburgh Fringe 2016

Join the discussion Cancel reply

INTERVIEW / Fraser Grace talks about Bliss at the Finborough Theatre

Written by Fraser Grace (Breakfast with Mugabe, RSC), Bliss is based on a short story by censored writer Andrey Platonov. It’s at Finborough [Read More]

NEWS / Japanese Romeo and Juliet to the songs of Queen announced

Coming to Sadler’s Wells in September as part of its world tour, A Night At The Kabuki is a retelling [Read More]

INTERVIEW / Paul O’Donnell talks about Shoot Festival

Shoot Festival returns this year with a mix of commissioned pieces and showcases of the best of Coventry’s arts scene. [Read More]

Review / The Man who Knew Too Much at Omnibus Theatre

A packed Omnibus Theatre lapped up the entertaining antics of The Man Who Knew Too Much. Co-Director and Co-writer Olivia [Read More]

Spotlight / Inua Ellams at 05Fest Lewisham

Inua Ellams, the Albany and WE ARE LEWISHAM  presents………. 05Fest, 10 – 19 March Poetry takes front and centre stage [Read More]

Top Posts & Pages

  • 10 Tips to Help You Prepare for Your Reality TV Auditions
  • 5 Stage Elements to Consider for a Rousing Theatrical Production
  • How to Applying for Arts Grants and Funding
  • Katy Owen: Auditioning for Oxford School of Drama
  • Terrible Thames (Horrible Histories live onboard)
  • Writing the Perfect Press Release
  • Angus Yellowlees on blindfold interactive digital theatre
  • Complicité's A Minute Too Late at the National Theatre
  • The Living Record Festival 2022 announces line up
  • The Caucasian Chalk Circle- Unicorn Theatre
  • Alexander Hartley
    Author

  • August 24th, 2016
  • comment iconNo Comments
  • Facebook34TweetLinkedInEmail

    Newsletter

    Enjoyed what you've read? Get even more great content directly to your inbox - Completely Free

    About Theatre Bubble

    Theatre Bubble is the news, review and blogging site created by Blue Pie Media and run by a dedicated team of outstanding editors and writers: we're always looking for new contributors - to find out more click here.

    Contact Us

    News: news@theatrebubble.com
    Reviews: reviews@theatrebubble.com
    Website: webmaster@theatrebubble.com

    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2022 · Blue Pie Media

     

    Loading Comments...
     

      Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

      Email sent!