Skip to main content

Review of UoN Fringe 2019: Godspeed by Far From Home at The Platform Club, Northampton

I have always been a fan of a little science fiction. Not those sprawling space operas, or complicated detailed tales though, that you feel the need for a science degree to battle through. I am more about a simple tale, well told, not packed with scientific lingo, just well told. With Godspeed from performer Fox Neal and his Far From Home company, he ticks all the boxes on the good tale, well told, checklist.

Ishmael Constant is humanity's last hope and following a comprehensive training, and having survived a troubling childhood, he is ready to embark on a twelve-year journey to a hole in spacetime to see if beyond it there is any hope for the people of Earth.

Godspeed is an extremely well-written tale, told through Ismael's initial agreement and through his journey and told in chapters, and most impressively interspersed with some brilliant flashbacks, indicated via the screen in brilliantly realised video flashing between Space/War/Home, it's an incredibly good idea and forms just one part of what is a technically brilliant beast.

As well as this video, Neal performs expertly with rafts of pre-recorded audio sequences, perfectly timed, brilliantly edited, including muffled conversation and ill-fainted messages. It is a sublimely technically perfect piece and kudos to the tech team running the show as well, as timing and accuracy are key.

However, this is, of course, Neal's show, and as Ishmael he is superb, capturing the full life history of his creation, from an innocently confused youngster to one in love and then finally the journeyman of space, seeking humanities saviour, and perhaps more importantly for him, answers of his own. It's a brilliant performance, and his interaction with all the other invisible characters are immensely believable from Shay and to the HAL 2000 style ship computer "Virgil".

Godspeed is a classy show, clear, concise, effortlessly entertaining, and perhaps the very best show from this year's Fringe to take to the big proper Fringe up there in Scotland. Brilliantly written and perfectly performed.

Performance viewed: Sunday 5th May 2019

The Fringe Festival 2019 ran from Monday 29th April to Sunday 5th May 2019 at The Platform Club Northampton, and one show at Hazelrigg House.

Details here: Fringe Festival 2019

Popular posts from this blog

Review of The Jolly Christmas Postman at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The Northampton Royal and Derngate have a tradition of producing a family play in the Royal Theatre alongside a spectacular pantomime in the Derngate, offering a more subtle Christmas treat for a family audience. However, this calendar staple has been missing since 2019, when the fine Pippi Longstocking graced the Royal stage and an unmentionable virus reared its head. Based on this triumphant return this year in the guise of The Jolly Christmas Postman , it has been heartily missed. Adam Peck has truly lovingly adapted  The Jolly Christmas Postman  for the stage from the original story by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. From the beginning, this is a proper cracker of theatre entertainment that captivates an occasionally distractable audience of all ages. The story follows the adventures of a friendly postman beset by an influx of mail on Christmas Eve and his adventures with an assortment of Fairy-Tale characters. What is, in essence, a kid's show aimed primarily at young children ...

Review of Cinderella at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Over the last few years, the annual Royal & Derngate pantomime has been produced by Evolution Productions and from the pen of Paul Hendy. It is safe to say they have been crackers, bringing everything you expect and more from traditional pantomime. This year, they are all back, this time with their take on the very traditional story of Cinderella . So, does the magic dust fall once again successfully on the stage of the Derngate? The answer is yes, as Evolution and Hendy prove they have found the magic formula to create another successful pantomime for Derngate. There are moments this year, though, where it is too clever for its own good, with some exceptionally good jokes lost to the panto audience (yes, I got the Hacker joke, but the tumbleweed reaction suggested it didn't hit the audience present). Cast-wise, it is a solid and assured collection of performers who don't always hit the mark. Joanne Clifton, as the Fairy, is a perfect fit for panto with her infectious smile...

Review of Never Let Me Go at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Kazuo Ishiguro's 2005  Never Let Me Go is a slightly difficult novel to categorise at times, but most call it a science-fiction speculative piece. With some limited spoilers for those unfamiliar with the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted work, Ishiguro paints a world where people, clones, are created for the benefit of medical science, destined to become donors to rid the world of deaths from solvable diseases for the rich. It is a powerful piece and while it had a successful film version back in 2010, could a stage version, now running at Royal & Derngate, work similarly? The answer to that is yes, and perhaps even better than the film version. The intimate world of the theatre feels like a stronger location for the story to unfold, bringing the piece straight to the audience with no potential interruption or break to the tale. We learn of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy's (the main protagonists) fixed life through their eyes and live their life for the long, but never dr...