It’s Oxfringe time again. A small crowd of us met outside the Oxford Playhouse and were shepherded to a nearby house and installed in a very nice kitchen. Small Space is aptly named because this bijou site-specific show only has places for an audience of 16, but if you are lucky enough to get a seat then you are in for a treat.
It is a clever two-hander performed and devised by husband and wife team Dan Milne and Jane Nash, which explores marital relationships, truth and lies. A fascinating script kept the audience on the hook throughout, trying to work out which versions of their anecdotes were the truth, which were inconsistencies, and which were fabricated. Set against some deliciously svelte choreography this show entertains, puzzles and occasionally shocks as it brings into sharp relief that most elusive of things — intimacy. Small Space is avant guarde theatre at its best and is on until June 19.
There is a more traditional setting for Blood Runs Thicker (pictured), at the Burton Taylor Theatre. Imagine a cross between Men Behaving Badly and Quentin Tarantino and you will have something of the flavour of this show. It’s a new play by Ed Baranski. At times it’s very funny, at others it’s uncompromisingly dark.
The plot revolves around newlyweds Mike and Laura (Baranski and Ruby Thomas) who, it seems, have much to learn about each other, and some surprising secrets come tumbling out following a break-in at their new flat. The engaging Rhys Bevan plays Laura’s slacker brother, Billy. The scenes he plays with Baranski are some of the highlights of the show, but solid performances from Ruby Thomas and Ollo Clark as the intruder, Nick, provide good strong support. Director Andrew Wilkinson has made good use of all four members of the cast. Blood Runs Thicker plays until Saturday.
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