“An absolute must-see in Edinburgh”
by David Hutchinson for remotegoat on 12/08/10 www.remotegoat.co.uk
Clint’s Reality is a hilarious new comedy from up and coming writer James Huntrods. The premise of the piece is that reality TV producer Clint has been disgraced for rigging the votes in his latest talent contest ‘Celebrity Bombshell’ in order to secure sizable funding from the winners parents. He immediately sets his team of advisers to work to figure out how to turn the negative press into a positive image profile for their prolific boss. Yet as affairs, marital problems, blackmailing sons and his money hungry girlfriend come out of the woodwork, what unfolds is an outrageous, and incredibly witty comedy of errors. The one person who seems to have the power to turn around Clint’s fate is the gossip hungry reporter Holly, who isn’t a fan of the Clintgate empire – and an ex-lover of the millionaire – who’ll stop at nothing to bring the man to his knees.
This is an incredibly strong piece of new writing, with outstanding performances from all the cast who deliver a non stop, hilarious frenzy of action that keeps the audience captivated for it’s entirety. Very unusually can such a young and exciting group of artists pull off this quality of work in the genre and festival they are in, yet Airebourne theatre make it look effortless, and the action drives forward at 100mph to its eventual hilarious outcome. The direction from James Huntrods and Emma Black is outstanding, they manoeuvre the large ensemble of actors throughout the space carefully, and have a simple yet effective set to allow for the various episodes in the comedy to unfold with outrageously funny results.
The play has been entered into the National Student Drama Festival emerging artists competition, and I can’t think of a better example of the good quality work that young companies produce, that deserve the attention and respect that such an award can give them. The house was full, and considering audiences are always harder to pull on in the earlier weeks of the festival, this was a sizable feat – and a credit to the good marketing and reputation that Airebourne Theatre, and it’s producers, have employed in their Edinburgh campaign.
Absolutely a must-see at this years festival, suitable for anyone with a taste for good theatre, and a keen eye on spotting the talent of tomorrow.