An Intimate and Exciting Experience
Frantic Redhead Productions founded by Ginger Perkins is a familiar, well-loved Fringe company of American and Scottish professional actors. They are presenting three outdoor promenade shows - Macbeth and two plays about the famous Victorian sleuth Sherlock Holmes. So wear suitable clothing for this thrilling and entertaining tale about a missing heiress, stolen jewellery and disreputable religious fanatics.
The Delicate Art of Murder is an adaptation of the Conan Doyle story, "The Disappearance of Lady Francis Carfax". Locations around the Dean Gallery and the Water of Leith were first selected before the script was written by the multi-talented Mark Erson, who also directs and understudies Simon Tait as Sherlock Holmes. Standing outside the gallery, Holmes and Watson (a comical James Yule) are discussing their latest mystery. A wealthy young American woman has disappeared from Edinburgh where she has been studying art history. Investigations then begin with the questioning of her tutor, the elegantly dressed Dr Parker, delightfully played by Sarah Newman, the maid and Cuban fiancé as the audience follow the intrepid duo on a dramatic walk along the river past the waterfall, visiting the hospital and undertakers around the Dean Village.
With the audience mingling around the actors against a real city backdrop makes the experience intimate and exciting. Characters appear from nowhere from behind trees and down alleyways. The very clear plot and characterisation makes this perfect for all ages - children 10+ would surely love it. Fresh, original theatre performed with panache - simply great fun.
Frantic Redhead are also performing Sherlock Holmes - Murder in Edinburgh and Macbeth - the latter is not in the Fringe programme.
When and Where
Outside Dean Gallery (Venue 69), Dean Gallery, 73 Belford Road. Performances 18-22, 25-26 August at noon.Vivien Devlin, August 2004
Return to Index of 2004 Fringe Reviews.
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