Showing @ Traverse Theatre, until 28 Aug, times vary
Themes of faith and disbelief form the basis of Mark Thomson’s Wondrous Flitting, a Lyceum production showing as part of the Traverse Theatre’s Fringe programme, that brings questions of God and fate crashing down into the life of a normal and unsuspecting family.
When the holy house of Loreto flits from Italy to his home in Scotland, Sam (Grant O’Rourke) takes it as a sign that he needs to go out and see the world and discover himself. But his mission is fraught with danger, misunderstandings and miscommunications, and as the time begins to run out for his parents (Liam Brennan and Molly Innes) trapped at home, Sam has to make a difficult decision.
Taking place in contemporary Scotland, Wondrous Flitting attempts to confront issues of hope, faith, change and above all, self-belief in a cold and disillusioned world. While Thomson’s play does pose a number of interesting questions (such as: just what would you do if a legendary holy house suddenly landed on your home in the middle of the day?) this premise of the sudden and uninvited arrival of a revered holy landmark, while a very interesting and entertaining thought, seems unsuitable for such an intimate stage production. Quite simply, the staging of such an event is almost impossible to cram into Traverse 2’s cosy studio theatre. While designer Kai Fischer does manage to create a believable holy house, the real problem with Wondrous Flitting lies in Thomson’s script, which demands lots of scene changes, entrances and exits. While this would be no problem in a larger space, the smaller theatre cannot contain the sheer number of changes the script demands, and so, the play was reduced to a series of fast and repetitive scene changes that did nothing to further the story. Thomson’s script, while witty at points, seemed to become lost in cliché and inevitable outcomes, as Sam’s voyage of self-discovery failed thanks to the actions of him and the people he meets. While the Lyceum should be applauded for staging such an ambitious show, Wondrous Flitting simply doesn’t compare to some of the other premieres at the Fringe this year, which are of a much higher calibre.
Absolutely agree – script was unconvincing repetitive and derivative after a promising start. We stuck it for nearly and hour before leaving. An example of over-priced Fringe events.
Hi John,
I was really looking forward to this show, but I was disapointed, although it did start off strong, it then quickly went downhill.
I stayed there for the whole thing, but on the whole, I think this play is best avoided.