I had no idea what to expect out of a fringe show. Of course I had heard, mainly from Shawn, what the typical fringe show was supposed to look and feel like, yet I still had some doubts. Was it going to be some dimly lit, bad view, cramped pub theatre that I was supposed to see some great theatre in? It sounded a bit questionable to me, but I now know all my previous assumptions were wrong.
Reese, Jill, and I all went to see Glengarry Glen Ross, a show all about men and masculinity. What intrigued me about the show, however, was when Reese mentioned the entire cast would be female. Going into the show, I had no idea how they were going to pull off an all female cast, or even how that would come across to the audience. As the show started, I immediately picked up certain “quirks” that characters would portray to make the audience feel as though they were more masculine than they looked. I say this partially because of the costumes, which were all very different from one another. One character was wearing a pencil skirt, a blazer, and heels, another wearing a full suit and loafers, and yet another wearing slacks and a button up shirt. It was very interesting, to say the least. I thought the all female cast made the show more intriguing than it would’ve been if the show had been all male, like it was written as.
I will say that I absolutely loved the acting. I loved how each character embodied a very distinct personality trait and stuck to that for the entirety of the show; it made me feel as though I really knew the characters. Overall, I really enjoyed the Fringe show, and I would definitely recommend seeing one to anybody who hasn’t, especially in London.
-Emmy
Theatre in London U of A 