Oliver Gaywood from Allthefestivals.com reviews
Matinee Ensemble: Superhero Saves The Stage
Pleasance Dome
Edinburgh Fringe Festival
**** 4 STARS
Matinee, an Israeli based theatre group, showcase a slick and humorous performance. With four short stories and a thrilling finale, Matinee entertained from start to finish.
Incorporating easily recognisable characters into their close-to-mime-but-not-quite stories – including Superman, Inspector Clouseau and King Kong inspired creations – makes it easy for the audience to get into the plots quickly. Throughout, the acting seemed well rehearsed with polished choreography as the crew gave a slick performance. Each section was well acted and with touches of humour sprinkled throughout it’s the cast who are remembered as the stars of the tales, not the characters.
Comedy is found in a variety of manners – whether it’s in the movements of the actors, the KAPOW!-style sound effects or the overall effect of the Hollywood parodies – and there was never a story or a scene that I wanted to end quickly.
The quintet – made up of four men and a delightful sole woman – showed a wide range of acting talent and produced a soundtrack without the need for any fancy equipment or much in the way of props. The majority of the hour was without dialogue – and the little dialogue that was used was spoken in a Simlish style tongue – meaning extra pressure was focussed on the actors’ physical performances. The cast passed with flying colours and by the end Matinee had their audience clapping until their hands stung.
Reviewed by: Oliver Gaywood
