West End Reviews

Subject:	EGO (Edinburgh Festival, Pleasance Theatres)
Name:	johncunningham
Date Posted:	Aug 10, 03 - 1:21 PM
Email:	johncunningham@uktheatre.net
Message:	EGO starring Tar Hugo, Steven Crossley and Jeff Harding, directed by Andy Jordan, written by Carl Djerassi. Regular readers here know we never review plays we dislike, - which is why so little of the Edinburgh Fesitval has been reviewed so far! - However one play stands out already as the likely "Best play on the fringe": EGO. It is head and shoulders above the rest I have seen here. A thrilling plot, a gentle and hugely enjoyable (and funny) theme of the dangers faced by egotists, a starry cast and a beautiful production. I have seen nothing else to touch it. The story is an old one, but strangely exciting when set, as here, in modern times: a man plans to disappear - 'presumed dead' in order to see how people will regard him after he has 'passed away'. The twists and turns as his ex-wife and his nervous psychiatrist become involved in the plot are many and brilliant, and I will not spoil your fun or enlightment by saying more of them, but I MUST express my relief at finding the show at all here! I am sorry to carp, but so many current productions seem to revolve around last year's politics, undergraduate humour and amateur production values. ... EGO is theatre for grown-ups! Review by John Cunningham

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We review most of the productions in London including the major fringe shows, as well as others across the country. We only publish those which we feel will attract an audience to an enjoyable evening. We are not here to publish our criticism of shows. We publish reviews of the best. The box office details are also given, so you can book your tickets as soon as you've read the review.
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A CurtainUp Report
2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival
3 - 25 August
Updated 6th of August

by Ben Clover

A Word About the 57th Edinburgh International Festival

It's August and once more Edinburgh's population swells to double its off peak size as hundreds of shows and thousands of performers flood into the city. For those that don't know, the Edinburgh Festival is the largest arts festival in the world and comprises the subdivisions: Fringe, International, Comedy, Literature and Music - barely a muse goes unrepresented. Curtain Up will be bringing you reviews of some of the most interesting and important theatre in the city. Edinburgh is host to over five hundred listed theatre shows and hundreds more on the peripheries of theatre.

The Fringe Festival is the open forum festival and has an astonishing breadth of quality whereas the International Festival (10 - 30 August) is work by professionals. Curtain Up's policy is to review the more interesting and important Fringe shows whilst covering as much of the International Festival as possible. After all, today's Fringe First winners are tomorrow's innovators and professionals. Steven Berkoff has already been and gone but watch this space for reviews of new works and classics, new talents and old. We will also try and warn you what to steer clear of and get some sleep at some point. This year's motto is "On the FRINGE of good taste." -- 1500 events at 200 venues from church halls to a public toilet to the backseat of a car. The estimate is that it would take over four years to see all of the Fringe back to back.

Ego
Ego was written by Carl Djerassi a man best known for inventing the contraceptive pill. You'd think his ambition would be sated by such an enormous innovation but this is his second play at the festival in two years. Like last year's Oxygen, Ego is as cerebral as you might expect from a scientist and the premise is fascinating. A narcissistic author fakes his own death so he can read the obituaries in the papers. This play manages to pack a lot of thought and issue into an hour and a half and it does so with some good jokes and good will. The only problem is it achieves this at the cost of real emotional engagement with the characters. The effect of the writer faking his own death on his wife, himself and their psychiatrist is explored intellectually rather than emotionally. As Marks, the writer, reveals he has started a new life and a new career (as another writer), his psychologist is compromised by his feelings for the "dead" man's wife. From there, things get more complicated still - his wife finds out, edits his book "posthumously" and he comes back from the "dead" and everyone argues over the ethics of everything.

It works on a lot of levels and on a lot of those very well. The performances are very sharp and the production handsome but as a whole the piece lacked that farcical heart that makes a Tom Stoppard play come to life. But never mind, overall this is still a clever, witty and thought provoking piece. I mean you wouldn't want Medea every day would you? Pleasance 4:05 90 min

THE LIST (Edinburgh, 8/21/03)
***


EGO BY CARL DJERASSI

Does my brain look big in this?

No longer satisfied with fame and mere critical acclaim, narcissistic author, Steven Marx, fakes his own death to find out what the critics really think, to find out his real canonical worth. An interesting premise with a cleverly written script, Carl Djerassi’s latest offering is (in case you hadn’t guessed) all about egos. But just whose ego exactly? The show is in danger of getting a little too smug, and it’s hard to know how much of it is ironic. Is Djerassi parading his own academic qualifications or lambasting those who think they matter? Is he feeding his own ego or fattening it up for the kill? Ego gets the thinking man ‘s laugh – but exactly who is the joke on?

EXTRACTS OF REVIEWS FROM New York City PRODUCTION

(SoHo Playhouse, May-June 2008)

THREE ON A COUCH

BY Carl Djerassi

“The story follows a self-absorbed writer who fakes his own death in an ill-conceived attempt at posthumous canonization; the resulting banter among the writer, his perpetually anxious analyst, and his boisterous widow is both intellectually provocative and hilarious.”

Chelsea Bauch, www.flavorpill.com/newyork/events/2008/5/29

“… it [is] important to note that this play is a comedy and one of the funnier I've seen on stage in a long time. To say any more about the plot would be ruining a great theatrical treat. Djerassi's play expertly mixes the genres film noir, commedia dell'arte, and broad farce into a hilarious cocktail of theatre. Everything is working here: the jokes come from all directions, both high and lowbrow… Three On A Couch is only around for four weeks, and if you miss your chance to see it, seek professional help.”

Peter Schuyler, www.nytheatre.com (June 6, 2008)

“…sight gags and pratfalls convey the hilarious illogic of a man who fakes his own suicide, the brilliance of a woman who insists upon the uses of the mango fork, and the elastic Bill Irwin-type body of the doctor who treats them… his play brings to mind Beckett’s tragicomedy ‘Waiting for Godot’”

Regina Weinreich, www.gossipcentral.com (June 7, 2008)

“Redshift Productions’ new Off Broadway staging does absolute justice to this intelligent, witty, and very funny concoction of noir, psychodrama, and clowning.”

Jon Sobel, BC Blogcritics Magazine (June 8, 2008)

“Carl Djerassi’s literate script… with fairly substantial ideas about authorship, essence, and identity… plays funny due to the comic flair of the three-person cast.”

A. J. Mell, www.backstage.com (June 9, 2008)

“…surprisingly worth the short running time.”

Sam Thielman, Variety (June 9, 2008)

“… Djerassi and his director Elena Araoz lend the evening a surprisingly successful stylistic gloss…. These bold, complementary flourishes provide absurd entertainment….”

Adam R. Perlman, www.theatermania.com (June 9, 2008)

“‘Three on a Couch’ has lots of fun with noir clichés.”

Anita Gates, New York Times (June 10, 2008)

“… a wonderfully jocular piece of theatre. Djerassi gives the story weight and depth that only adds to the rich, comedic possibilities… so make a point to see this solidly funny production before its current run ends.”

Jim Halterman, Edge, New York (www.edgenewyork.com) (June 11, 2008)