2010 Edinburgh Fringe
Laura Solon review
Listeners to Laura Solon's Radio 4 sketch show will have an idea of what to expect from The Owl Of Steven, the Perrier-winning comedian's 2010 Fringe show - surreal stories and characters with funny voices are what's on offer here. Solon plays all the roles in this narrative show which, across an hour, delivers a mystery story set on a small island called Steven. The plot vaguely follows American Professor Stacey Morris as she arrives on the island with a TV crew to track down an elusive near-extinct owl which attracts hordes of tourists to the tiny island every year in the hope of glimpsing the bird.
During the story, Solon jumps between countless characters including an earnest TV director; a dodgy ferryman; a creepy lighthouse-dweller called Stephanie; a pair of French spies; the bickering island governors; and various other grotesques. Each character has their own distinctive voice making it clear to the audience which role Solon is inhabiting - and the star really does get to show off her impressive vocal talents as a result of this.
However, there are just too many characters in this play, leaving one a bit lost after a while as to who is who, what each character's motives are and - frankly - what on earth is going on. Looking around the audience, I clearly wasn't the only one that, despite concentrating hard, had lost the thread of the story.
Thankfully within the bigger story there are a number of fun sketch-like exchanges between the characters to add laughs. Perhaps best of all of these were the exchanges between domineering hotel owner Miriam and her wine-spilling put-upon husband.
The narrative features some beautifully written lines and great characterisation but these are sadly offset by the not-particularly-interesting and, as already discussed, hard to follow plot which somewhat dampens things. All together, it results in a charming rather than laugh-out-loud comedy show. The only really big heavy laugh comes right near the start during Solon's (slightly too long) introduction to the tale, when her offer to the audience of helping her choose the path the story takes (much like those Choose Your Own Adventure books) reveals human nature's natural devious streak.
A fun hour and a great demonstration of vocal acting, but don't expect any deep laughs.