Have you heard the one about the dancer, the existentialist and the clothes horse? James Runcie's 45 minute joke takes Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn filming in Paris, and throws in Sartre as the third point of the triangle. Done as a musical comedy, there's song and dance, a comparison between existentialism and Hollywood entertainments, and a philosopher playing guitar.
Late fifties Paris and Hepburn (Ashley Smith) is pondering the meaning of her life.
She's rehearsing with Astaire (Darren Brownlie) who's taking a paternal interest in her problems, while revealing his own life only has meaning when he's dancing. So when Sartre (Kevin Lennon) turns up is this her chance to learn what life is all about, and can Fred relate to what he's got to say? Attempted seduction, existential philosophy and dance become entangled, as the Frenchman shows how the joys of tap and swing fit into his views on life.
In one of Astaire's lines he admits his films aren't about plot, just frothy entertainment, and this play takes the same approach, for all the philosophy quotes thrown in. And as a bit of light hearted fun it works well, once you get used to Lennon's cod French accent and occasional lapses into Franglais. The dancing, nor even the singing, are quite at Astaire levels, but all three do a decent job of recreating the spirit of his films, and the direction keeps things moving at a fast pace. There's a lovely comic sequence where Smith pretends to be on film, and Lennon's forays into the audience add a sense of involvement, while Stuart Fleming at the piano becomes an extra cast member in the background.
The play doesn't quite live up to the promise of such a great title, but it's always enjoyable and definitely has sufficient laughs and moments of entertainment to be worth a place in the Play, Pie, Pint canon.
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