The Quentin Dentin Show continues at theSpace on Niddry St until 29 August.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
As first impressions go, this looked promising: white boiler suited band and two female dancers, evoking Clockwork Orange with some Ziggy Stardust eye make-up and a band that can make a great sound.
The surreal gives way to the domestic of Keith and Nat moving into their flat together. It quickly becomes clear that neither Nat nor Keith feel all that happy. Through the radio, Keith somehow ‘picks up’ Quentin Dentin who arrives in the flat, promising ‘Absolute profound happiness in 60 minutes or less’. A series of sketches follow, depicting various futures for both Nat and Keith, backed by some songs, delivered with gusto by Caldonia Walton and Ella Donaldson in particular.
There is some merit here: the band, Jimmy Getaway, are solid and capable of rocking even more than the show has capacity for at present; the ‘Friends’ are great movers and vocalists and have a divine sense of the absurd. And, although I really wanted to be amazed, Quentin Dentin himself just under-does it. There are flashes of strong characterisation – Henry Carpenter has great eye contact with his audience and a modest charm about him. But I would say the role cries out for a more outrageous and extreme version of Quentin Dentin – more charisma and pizzazz. There are echoes here of Max Headroom and even Mork (without Mindy) when speaking to his higher being. His final scene is stronger – I would like to have seen this look throughout, to be honest!
There is potential to work on this a bit more: maybe taking the line of a Cat in the Hat for adults with ‘Thing1’ and ‘Thing2’ which seemed more prominent than the Faustian deal as described in the blurb for the show. I’d also like to have heard and seen more songs – what is there is really good.
Still good fun, though.
Fiona Orr
Slick Rat/The RichMix Cultural Foundation
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/quentin-dentin-show
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