Harley Breen – Where The Wild Things Were
Where The Wild Thing Were is Harley Breen’s attempt to find again the imaginative worlds and stories that we take for granted as children. The show explores a variety of closely related themes – a nostalgia for childhood imagination, an exploration of storytelling a longing to find the ability as an adult to imagine and a desire to recreate the storytelling methods of the past.
On opening night, it was clear that this was a work in progress, and Harley is testing things out to see exactly how he wants to work the show. While there’s a lot of thematic similarity between the various parts of the show, the transitions from each idea to the next were often quite abrupt, detracting from the consistency of the show. These issues should iron themselves out as the run continues – Harley was quite aware of the deficiencies, and hopefully the feedback of actually getting his ideas in front of an audience will help the show along.
The lack of polish in the show, however, did little to hamper the enjoyment. Harley has a natural ability as a storyteller. Whether slipping into characters to tell fanciful yarns or telling his own story, it’s easy to get caught up in his oddly laid back passion. His radio play, with Foley assistance from Oliver Clark as Johnny Fondue, was obviously lots of fun for both the audience and performers. It’s hard to imagine a show that couldn’t be improved by having Oliver perform in his sleazy crooning style.
This is a really good show that’s just asking to be polished into something great – hopefully the week long run at the fringe can realise that potential.
Visit the Fringe Website for booking details.