Tuesday, 11 March 2008

Guest Review - Elliot Kinsey Watches Gonzo Moose

After a few technical hitches, here's a great review of Gonzo Moose by Yr10 student, Elliot Kinsey. After all, You Don't Need To Know That;

Where do I start?
Gonzo Moose's 'You Don't Need To Know That' was absolutely brilliant. The characters, the set and the entire story were funny, well thought out and hilarious. All in all this show was superb and with the help of Rondo Theatre, Gonxo Moose have produced another great slap-stick show. The show, a comedy of human survival in the face of absurdity, is all based around one man, Beresford Jones, who is having a very bad day indeed. He is arrested and not told why and throughout the story must negotiate with torture mad policemen, pop singing lawyers an crazy, over-zealous librarians. His aims are to win his freedom, avoid his death at the hands of the deadly guillotine and last, but not least, win the girl.

Where Do I Come In?
I first heard of Gonzo Moose in my earlier school years at Bradon Forest when I went to see 'I Am A Viking', another exceptionally funny show. When I was told about 'You Don't Need to Know That' I was told it would be one of the funniest plays I would ever see in my life. I couldn't take someone else's word for it, I had to see it for myself to see if it was as good as they said.

On the night of the 5th February, I grabbed my tickets, settled down into one of Bradon Forest Theatre's many comfy chairs and tried to relax as I began to gaze and laugh at the sheer madness commencing through the show. What a rib ache! I was in fits of tears quite literally all the way through and found myself on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what funny action was about to happen next. That was the great thing that made this play the best for me; it was all comedy, just what I like... is there anything more you need in life?

The actors in that production had made the show one of the best comedies I have ever seen in my life... no joke! I too was also included in the play (aren't I great?!); Beresford Jones interacted with me and many of the other audience members, even including them in the dialogue and making the fatal cut throat signs at them. This made the show even better because you could see everyone, including the actors, were really enjoying themselves.

The set was a load of filing cabinets and this helped the audience pick up what kind of space the characters were in, be it an office, court room or library. Along with the comedy, this is also another thing that helped the show 'click'. It helped me understand where all this was happening and I thought it was a very good idea how they made them act as doors as well as actual filing cabinets.

What They Liked About It!
The audience's response was rather much like my own; most people were red in the face, hot under the collar and all nearly died of laughter. I asked two people what they thought of it:

Comedy has never been done this way before, the facial impressions were brilliant! Sarah Jane

I loved how they got everyone involved during one scene when they had to improvise. What a great show! - Sam

And Finally...
Well I think that's enough from me, but don't just read this and think 'oh yeah, it sounds OK'... get out there and see it wherever it is being shown. It is seriously that good and is definitely worth the price of a ticket. Thank you so much to the actors that performed for us that night. You were fabulous and extremely funny. I can see now why you show was back at Bradon Forest by popular demand! Also, thank you to everyone who advised me to go and see the show, you were right! And last, but not least, Jenni... thank you so much for letting me do this review for you. It's the first I've done and hopefully there's more to come!

No, thank you Elliot! Great review and I'll hold you to that promise of more :o)





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