Jeremy Welch reviews Ringer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
RINGER tells the tale of a callous, dissolute actor called Fabian Bevan, played by Fabian Bevan. Fabian Bevan as the character is an actor that has, and continues to have, endless problems in his life, all self-inflicted; his is the life of the uncontrolled Hollywood star.
His long-suffering agent, Fox, played by Hughie Shepherd-Cross who also wrote the script, spends his time covering Fabian’s misdemeanours by issuing endless non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in the vain hope that Fabian’s antic don’t leak out into the public domain. Whilst filming, Fabian is killed by his stunt double. Fox, desperate to keep the show on the road, and his agent’s fee rolling in, persuades the stunt man to become Fabian. The poor stunt man has no idea how awful Fabian has been in his career and as Fabian’s antics become public knowledge his craving to be a Hollywood star stands in contrast to the ghastly person that is Fabian.
As more and more incidents emerge of Fabian’s antics it puts the hapless stunt man in an awful predicament. His real personality colliding with the reality of the hideous Fabian.
It’s a jolly romp with Fabian Bevan, the actor, pulling off multiple roles with skill and adaptability. The writing is clever and shines a light on the subject that one’s desires are not necessarily that desirable when colliding with reality. The script also peers into the conflicting world of actors; the conflict that arises when an actor is identified by the role they play in a production rather than as a human being acting a role.
It’s amusing stuff.
3 STARS
Underbelly Bisto Square – Dexter, 13:15 – find out more about the show at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/ringer
Read more reviews on Scottish Field’s Fringe pages.
Plus, don’t miss the September issue of Scottish Field magazine.
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