Forget Walls, I Was Floored
The premise of If Walls Could Talk is deceptively simple. Five twenty-somethings sit around and each tell two real stories from their life, and a guest speaker is also invited from the audience to share a story from their own lives. As I said, deceptively simple.
Astonishingly, this simple format provides for some of the best theatre I have not only seen at the Fringe, but some of the best theatre I have seen this year. It is heartfelt, passionate, funny and inspirational. The selection of stories the young cast have chosen to share are perfect (and some are particularly brave). They are punctuated with spurts of live music by the talented cast. If Walls Could Talk has a lovely home-made feel about it and by the time you leave, you feel like you've made five new friends. The actors laugh and cry with their friend's stories. The performance was completely devoid of pretension and the atmosphere was very relaxed.
Usually this is the paragraph in which I point out flaws in the performance; but to criticise anything in this show would be pedantry of the highest order. The relaxed nature and direct relationship with the audience means that this show can be forgiven for faults other plays may be criticised for. The sheer power of the performer's storytelling is enough to outweigh any possible criticisms. I only give five-star reviews to shows that either keep me thinking for hours afterwards or affect me emotionally in some way. If Walls Could Talk did both - I laughed, I cried and I spent hours wondering how something so simple could be so powerful.
I absolutely implore you to go and see this show at any cost, you will be as surprised as I to see how something so basic can be so impressive. It is a testament to the cast that just by telling stories for an hour without high dramatics they can produce something far more incredible and entertaining than a big-budget, over-rehearsed production.
Astonishingly, this simple format provides for some of the best theatre I have not only seen at the Fringe, but some of the best theatre I have seen this year. It is heartfelt, passionate, funny and inspirational. The selection of stories the young cast have chosen to share are perfect (and some are particularly brave). They are punctuated with spurts of live music by the talented cast. If Walls Could Talk has a lovely home-made feel about it and by the time you leave, you feel like you've made five new friends. The actors laugh and cry with their friend's stories. The performance was completely devoid of pretension and the atmosphere was very relaxed.
Usually this is the paragraph in which I point out flaws in the performance; but to criticise anything in this show would be pedantry of the highest order. The relaxed nature and direct relationship with the audience means that this show can be forgiven for faults other plays may be criticised for. The sheer power of the performer's storytelling is enough to outweigh any possible criticisms. I only give five-star reviews to shows that either keep me thinking for hours afterwards or affect me emotionally in some way. If Walls Could Talk did both - I laughed, I cried and I spent hours wondering how something so simple could be so powerful.
I absolutely implore you to go and see this show at any cost, you will be as surprised as I to see how something so basic can be so impressive. It is a testament to the cast that just by telling stories for an hour without high dramatics they can produce something far more incredible and entertaining than a big-budget, over-rehearsed production.
Stephanie Bartlett
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