(5 / 5)

After previously seeing Jonny Cotsen and Mr and Mrs Clark with Louder Is Not Always Clearer, it is safe to say my interest in BSL performances and learning BSL has peaked more than ever before.

If we’re being honest, between us friends, I am not sure before Cotsen’s show, that I have ever seen a show with BSL. Not even a captioned performance. And for that I feel shame, but also think it makes a great point of what Cotsen and Handprint Theatre and trying to achieve and put across in the industry with these shows.

Moonbird is a gorgeous tale of a Prince whose parents begin to realise he is deaf. Their struggle is explored on how to connect with their child and their feelings of failure towards him, but we also explore Orla’s (the Prince) struggle with being deaf, the world around him and ultimately loneliness. Enter the Moonbird who introduces him to nature, where he learns how he can communicate, and rebuild hIS relationship with his parents.

Throughout the production, BSL is communicated, along with subtitles projected behind. They are patient and take their time, not rushing through this to fully fulfil the message coming across. As one who does not know BSL, the movements of communication are like a beautiful dance, and the performers throw their all into it, incredibly bringing emotion and feeling across. If there were not spoken word accompanying the signing, I believe that you would still understand the story and feel every emotion within it.

The performers do well to change characters – a small group of 4, the majority double, even triple up from humans in the palace, to deer roaming the fields and monkeys playfully prancing the stage. During this time, there is almost no speech at all, purely the communication through action, movement and facial expressions. And nothing is over the top – it is enough for the stage yet subtle enough to be realistic and understandable.

Use of puppetry (my favourite!) comes in the form of baby Orla and Moonbird, and every movement is carefully thought out and taken time with. There is total fluidity and realism with this and you forget that these are not real actors on stage.

Lastly, the staging, lighting and general composition of the aesthetics are magical and beautiful. Simple yet effective, it feels as if we have jumped into a story book, with purples and blues, peacock colours spanning the stage, and basic costuming and props to help the story along – but ultimately this story is about the physical and nothing draws away from this.

Moonbird, while a production for young families, is really for everyone. The story is what every child’s story should be – magical, engaging and with a moral to the story. Moonbird is such an important performance for theatre going forward, I dare anyone to come away without being mesmerised and championing BSL performances.

(2 / 5)

Think Whose Line Is It Anyway? Think classic British Sketch
shows. A combination of these is what the Oxford Revue are trying for.

A small group of performers from Oxford university, aside
from being some of the brainiest in the country, they are dabbling their hand
at acting and performance creation which is always commendable.

Quintessentially British, they tackle relatable subjects
from Dating to the Doctors, University life to sports which we all associate
with in one way or another as well as recognise from society. This gives easy
laughter, and interesting how they can easily roll through an hour long of 2
minute sketches without flagging energy.

As one can imagine, these guys are just starting out and so
have a long way to go. They are comical, full of passion and excitement, but
still with room to improve and hone their acting skills a little more.

Interaction with the audience comes in ebb’s and flows,
something a little different than what we expect from a sketch show. However,
the audience are as up for it as the performers which is a great sight to see,
boosting confidence and helping the show run smoothly. The performers interact
well with chosen contestants and do well to ad lib when necessary.

Oxford Revue, Switcheroo, is a good fun activity – a late night affair, if you are not ready to head home and up for sitting back for easy laughter, they are worth checking out. I would be interested to see how they progress professionally and perfect those already developing theatrical skills.

(4 / 5)

We are crammed into a hot corner of a pub, close and
snuggly, but the next hour proves why.

Dave Bibby is a Crazy Cat Lad-y – dressed in a onesie with a
giant cat face, his comedy is evidently popular but also completely wacky.

The name is however a misdemeanour – admitting he needed a
name for the show before writing it, his love for cats was what he thought of;
however, in between his show, we get to see cute cat pictures, videos and GIFs
to help us calm from the intensity – intensity of laughter.

Bibby talks to us about how he wishes he was Peter Pan – he unveils
a costume under his onesie to reveal he is really Peter Pan. He then cleverly
changes the characters in the original story to be accompanied by modern day
themed songs e.g. The Lost Boys, are actually Lads from love island and so a
song featuring full body waxing and ghosting girls begins.

The intelligence and thought into turning these characters
into more relatable people and modern scenarios is abundant and so is
completely hilarious in execution but also with how clever they are and how
much it makes sense.

Bibby is completely engaging, and while we are all sitting
almost on each other’s laps to see him, he makes us feel like close friends,
engaging with us, confidently making eye contact and effortlessly interacting
and ad libbing.

There’s at no point that we wonder what time it is or how long is left, because we are completely engaged and consistently laughing. The show is chocked full and Biddy even struggles to have a sip of cola as he is on an energetic roll.

Dave Bibby may be a crazy Cat Lad-y but he is also a talented, very funny comedian. Get there early to grab a seat, and don’t be surprised by how busy it is, because he truly brings a hilarious comedy show to the fringe. I look forward to seeing what his next show may contain.

(4 / 5)

For you Welsh readers, you would recognise Remy Beasley. But
it may take a while. I spent a huge amount of Do Our Best wondering where I had
seen her before, and it is a testament to her acting talent that I still did
not know till googling after. Known for her role in the Welsh show, Stella, her
character of Sephie could not be more far removed from her character opposite
Ruth Jones.

Written by Beasely, we are introduced to Sephie who has
decided to go back to girl guides to get her final badge. Dealing with the
death of her mother, her feeling of insecurity and failure, and her
relationship with her guide leader, we go through her motions of sadness, of
loss to reliving her past and realising how much of a star she is.

Beasley is full of beans and never seems to stop on stage. I
love this approach to the character, giving her a sense of still being
childlike and finding her way in the World. She finds her way on the floor, on
top of chairs, hugging the audience – she is as impatient as a child and we get
the sense she has not grown up since the guides.

Sephie is a confident character – her want to be a star and
her memory of being the centre of the world is evident, and she brings this to
us in the present, ordering us around, stating memories as facts, and all in
all being absolutely hilarious. Beasley shows through this her own confidence
and own get go – at times slipping her own giggle at an audience interaction
in, a little ad lib, and obviously enjoying her own performance, as much as we
are!

And these comical and loveable moments make the hard
moments, the sadness and the euphoric moments all the more poignant – when silence
comes after chaos, it is beautiful, and she relishes these moments, leaving us
feeling nicely energised and contemplative.

Do Our Best is a brilliant example of women running theatre – Beasley is a performer to be reckoned with, and it is guaranteed you will come out sore from laughter, from heart ache but with a new friend in Sephie.