Opening to a bastardised piano medley of soap opera theme tunes, C’s concept improvised soap opera begins its daily life with suggestions from the previous days attendees, featuring star struck barmaids, vindictive love feuds and the obligatory Aussie part time backpacker. Different guests from around the Fringe, enhancing the variety of individual performances, join the cast daily.
The agenda obviously changes from show to show, dependent on the advice and scenarios set by yesterdays crowd, and the cast hastily run through the best and worst of plots, surprisingly close to those of the real thing. We are then treated to a preview of the following days show, based on today’s suggestions, which, although very thrown together, provides instant entertainment and feedback.
Daytime television watchers and soap fanatics should enjoy this brief interlude from theatre and stand up, as many of the characters present more than a passing nod of resemblance to some of the nations best loved TV characters, but for the mainstream Fringe goer it comes in a little limp. The biggest challenge for a daytime performance is to keep the innuendo to a minimum, no mean feat considering the standard content from the average festival show, but this ultimately leads to a dull but mercifully short melting pot of average and not-so ideas.
2/5
Simon Ferguson
