Skip to content

FringeGuru

 
The World Over
Published on Thursday, 16 August 2012
2

2 stars

theSpace on North Bridge (venue website)
Theatre
13-15, 17-18, 20-25 Aug, 10:25pm-11:55pm
Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory

 Recommended for age 14+ only.
 Free and unticketed. No pre-booking required.

The World Over is an enthusiastic production of a tale of destiny. In this fairy-tale/Homer/Shakespeare-inspired story, lost prince Adam wanders the world in search of his island kingdom – a land believed lost in myth. (Why no one believes this place exists is never explained; Adam can only have been away a couple of decades when we begin.) After many adventures – essentially being washed up on island after island, and encountering numerous coincidences – he finds his way home, but home is not what he dreamed of at all.

The cast of six play various roles, with wildly different degrees of success. Sadly, one cast member is very hard to understand and creates a severe obstacle to enjoying the show; he is practically unintelligible. The piece also seems unsure if it is playing for laughs or not. Some actors are keen to give heightened, comical performances, while others don’t; at times it is as if not all of them are actually in the same show.

The script of full of similar inconsistencies. Some deaths are intense tragedies, others seem unimportant. Characters experience unexplained transformations, such as the lost prince’s mother, who gives up everything for him in one moment yet later seems unconcerned about his fate. Various kings behave extraordinarily ruthlessly to their own children, with no particular motivation. This is 90 minute version of a 2 hour show, but it’s hard to believe that the dropped material would explain it all. In fact, cuts or not, it really does feel too long… as we wind up on yet another island.

One charming aspect of the show is the welcome from an academic, who introduces the story with some newly discovered maps. This was a delight, and seemed to promise a far more involving and intriguing play. But the maps amount to little, being mainly connected with a sudden introduction of a new set of characters about ten minutes before the show ends.

In the end, the moral of the story is that you shouldn’t steer a ship containing your family into a tidal wave, just because you think it might the way to get to be king of somewhere. And the final result is a show that leaves as much trace as one of its washed-away islands. It really could have used more maps.

<< Still Life (or Brief Enco...   A Midsummer Night's Dream >>

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

These are archived reviews of shows from Edinburgh 2012.  We keep our archives online as a courtesy to performers, and for readers who'd like to research previous years' reviews.

Edinburgh 2012 Five Stars

5 stars Comedy
Totally Tom


5 stars Comedy
The Magical Adventures of Pete Heat


5 stars Theatre
Bye Bye World


5 stars Comedy
Barbershopera: The Three Musketeers


5 stars Comedy
Truth


5 stars Theatre
The House of Shadows


5 stars Cabaret
Briefs


5 stars Theatre
Made for Each Other - Free


5 stars Comedy
Tony Law: Nonsense Overdrive


5 stars Comedy
Ivo Graham and Liam Williams


5 stars Comedy
Hannibal Buress: Still Saying Stuff


5 stars Comedy
The Blanks' Big Break


5 stars Theatre
A Clockwork Orange


5 stars Comedy
Richard Wiseman: Psychobabble


5 stars Comedy
Martin Mor: A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday


5 stars Theatre
1984


5 stars Comedy
Swedenborg, the Devil and Me


5 stars Theatre
The Trench


5 stars Theatre
Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut


5 stars Theatre
Joyced!


5 stars Theatre
An Evening With Dementia


5 stars Comedy
Scott Agnew: Tales of the Sauna


5 stars Theatre
Comedian Dies in the Middle of Joke


5 stars Comedy
Chris Ramsey: Feeling Lucky


5 stars Comedy
The Horne Section - Live at the Grand!


5 stars Theatre
How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found


5 stars Theatre
The Life and Sort of Death of Eric Argyle


5 stars Theatre
Songs of Lear


5 stars Cabaret
Jonny Woo: Wonder Woo-Man


5 stars Comedy
Josie Long: Romance and Adventure


5 stars Comedy
10 Films With My Dad


5 stars Theatre
4.48 Psychosis


5 stars Theatre
As You Like It


5 stars Theatre
Appointment With The Wicker Man


5 stars Comedy
Jessie Cave: Bookworm


5 stars Comedy
Morgan & West: Lying, Cheating Scoundrels


5 stars Theatre
Hearts on Fire


5 stars Theatre
Rainbow


5 stars Comedy
Chris Dangerfield: Sex Tourist


5 stars Comedy
Chris McCausland: Not Blind Enough


5 stars Theatre
Chatroom


5 stars Comedy
Peacock & Gamble Don't Even Want To Be On Telly Anyway


5 stars Theatre
I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I'm Afraid to Tell You


5 stars Comedy
John Robertson - The Dark Room - Free


5 stars Kids'
Dr Brown Brown Brown Brown Brown and His Singing Tiger