Greenside at Riddles Court
2-10, 12-17 & 19-24 Aug
19:45
In terms of genuine theatre, I have never seen anything quite so ostentatiously energetic, so shimmering with ‘smartitude’ as Olivia Raine Atwood frolicking thro’ her ‘Faking It’ play. So vivid is her production, that at times I felt like I was being regaled with Beowulf in some Anglo-Saxon hall. She’s that good.
This one-woman autobiographical tale begins with Olivia supporting her acting career by working in a burger joint, before progressing to being a fake patient for trainee doctors. She was Asthma, a role which led to the cracking line, ‘I was just waiting for my Oscar for best supporting asthma.’
Then came the big break, when she was actually paid at the start of 2020 to pretend to be sick in New York, & her ‘flatmate’ had just flown in from Wuhan. As a student of the Covid psy-op myself, I found it absolutely fascinating, & I was wondering what side of the fence Olivia sat on – was her Fringe show some kind of covert method of getting the truth about the psy-op out to us all. I mean, she was basically admitting to being a crisis actor.
Dolphins at Seaworld make more than me & you know, maybe they should
Either way, it was absolutely brilliant – the lithe & sable-clad Olivia is quite marvellous & mesmerizing, & the way she contorts her body & moves her head posture about is an absolute thrill to watch. She’s also a hurricane composite of top class acting &, at times, she’s really funny. Pretty much a masterclass. There’s also the script, well one-way conversation really, which is a complete cut above, containing the immortal lines, ‘I felt the air stir with the stiffening of several penises as I stepped among them’ – quality!
As I left the room, I overheard two American chaps chatting about the show… “That girl certainly has a lot of energy,” said one…. “She’d make coffee nervous,” replied his pal, & I guess that says it all!
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