Ghosts, there’s a lot of them about at this time of year. I was just at the cinema tonight to see Spirited, it was a singalong version, not that any of the dozen or so folk there bothered to sing along (I’d never seen it before, that’s my excuse). I was barely aware of it but seeing pictures on social media of Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, oh yes! Another retelling of A Christmas Carol with a modern setting and lots of liberties.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, Reynolds and Ferrell are both such fun playing to their usual types (but they do it so well). Overlong some say, but I was fine with it, the plot bounces along at full speed. The concept of the ghost organisation doing so much in the background put me in mind of The Cabin In The Woods. The humour is fast, sharp, clever, with some deep stuff in there. I’d definitely watch it again but I’m still not enticed to bother with subscription telly.
Sunday night I went along to Assembly Roxy to see Boris and Sergey’s Christmas Cabaret, another loose spin on Dickens’ classic. Oh, it was great to the pair again and fall into their disturbing surreal world. The old church hall was a perfect setting from them, with cabaret style seating around small tables.
Flabbergast Theatre are an brilliant company, their physicality is otherworldly, the long steady gazes and quick glances right at you can be disconcerting. Are they staying in character, or is this who they are? A ragtag bohemian troupe from another age; they’ll entertain, bemuse and slightly scare you. Oh, and they sing, what a rendition of We Three Kings at the start! Beautifully arranged harmonies, spellbindingly performed; but what on earth were the instruments? I’ve never seen them before, a sound to perfectly match the mood of Flabbergast.
Boris and Sergey are a great double act, Sergey is the cleverer, meaner one who tends to boss poor Boris around. It’s easy to become absorbed in their world, but then like a weird dream that doesn’t quite make sense, at times they acknowledge the puppeteers. Watching the two fight is always brilliant, they do fight a lot, and die on occasion, but they would go to hell and back for each other.
This is a cabaret show, so plenty of interaction with the audience (and a humbug if you’re lucky), a game of What’s In The Box and some breath-taking aerial rope acrobatics. A Christmas Carol weaves in and around the cabaret element. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, I’ll give 4 stars; it deserves a bigger audience than was there when I saw it. There’s three more performances 19th to 21st, treat yourself, it’s Christmas!
Bruce on the Fringe 