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Going Ape! 4 Stars

Going Ape!
Dance Attic
6th, 7th, 13th and 15th October 2018

“Dance Attic Studios is proud to present the next in its in-house produced shows: Going Ape!, written by Andrew Corbet Bucher, which challenges both religion and science by bringing together various “first” humans, played by a multi-ethnic cast. Their last production, Isolated Incident, ran at Dance Attic in 2017 to sell-out houses.

In the beginning, according to the Bible, God created man in the form of Adam and Eve. In the beginning,
according to the scientists, however, man evolved from apes in the form of Australopithicenes.

Going Ape! sets Adam and Eve,who lived for 900 years, in a simple woodland scene some 300 years after
their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. They are both waiting for the arrival of their eldest son Cain, dropping in for a short visit home to break the monotony of his endlessly wandering life..A life sentence imposed on him by God for killing his brother Abel.

In a clash of theories, though, Cain brings with him a woman he’s met in Africa, and she is none other

than Australopithicus Afarensis, discovered some years ago in the Olduvai Gorge, Africa, Her remains
showed that she was possibly the earliest example of a hominid walking semi-upright and leading
anthropologists affectionately decided to call her Lucy.

Playwright Andrew Corbet Bucher is the director of Dance Attic Studios, and also wrote last year’s piece
Isolated Incident. Dance Attic provides rehearsal space for the entertainment industry as well as dance classes for the budding amateur.

Director Evan Ensign is an American director/associate director/resident director who has been living in the UK for eight years. He has substantial Broadway, West End and touring theatre experience in the UK and US, with recent credits including Rent (Worklight Productions, US Tour), Wrong Songs for Christmas (National Theatre), Avenue Q (Misi Produciones, Bogota) and resident director of The Phantom of the Opera (West End) in 2016-17.”

Review by Richard Lambert, 4 Stars

A fun filled 2 Act performance by a robust cast who threw themselves into the action heart and soul. With a slightly ridiculous story this carried the show through the entertaining evening. The script had a lot of laughs and double-entendres and new meanings for common phrases – lots of chuckling and very clever!

Big shout out to the Set and Costume Designer who pulled out all the stops to create interest everywhere you looked.

Not everyone might appreciate the set of auditions in the 2nd half of the show. Creating  a Production within a Production is not a new concept but this scenario allows for many funny moments which are possibly going to be appreciated more by performers in the audience than average Joe. This audience loved the in-jokes and had a great time.

Occasional Sound Tracks, mainly drumming, added to the production but there was a sad lack of lighting design to enhance the set and no mist or any other special effects in this Jungle. A little too stripped back to be dramatically theatrical.

The show is a good laugh with a cast that went for it 100%!

  
(Photo Credit Aidan Orange Photography)

Further Information

Title Going Ape!
Playwright Andrew Corbet Burcher
Director Evan Ensign
Cast Delroy Atkinson
Jacqui Sanchez
Jon Robyns
Gemma Oaten
Anabel Kutay
Adam Pettigrew

Performance Dates October 6th and 13th, 8pm; and October 7th and 14th, 7pm
Running Time 60 mins (no interval)

Venue Dance Attic Studios, 368 North End Road, London SW6 1LY
Ticket Price £15

Box Office Dance Attic (danceattic.com/dance-attic-productions), 0207 610 2055