Presented by Holden Street Theatres and Caroline Horton
Reviewed Wednesday 16th February 2011
http://www.adelaidefringe.com.au
http://www.holdenstreettheatres.com
http://www.carolinehorton.net
Venue: The Arch, Holden Street Theatres, Holden Street, Hindmarsh
Season: 1pm, 19, 20, 26, 27 Feb, 5, 6 March, 6pm 21, 22 Feb, 7:30pm 16-20, 23-27 Feb, 1-6 March 2011
Duration: 60mins
Tickets: adult $25/conc $20/Fringe Benefits $20
Bookings: FringeTix 1300 FRINGE (374 643) all Venue*Tix outlets or http://www.adelaidefringe.com.au
Caroline Horton portrays her French grandmother, Christiane, as she waits for a train at Gare Du Nord to take her from Paris to the coast, and thence to England. It is January 1945, Paris has been liberated and Christiane is now 26 years of age and, in narrative and flashback, she tells of her trip to England at the age of 17, the man she met by chance at the Cheadle Tennis Club and fell in love with, and what happened over the intervening years, as the Second World War kept them apart.
Horton tells the story with a reverential love for her grandmother and of the tale that she is relating. She fills the performance with warmth and charm, and many a cheeky smile and wink. She endears herself to the audience as she takes them on the richly rewarding journey that has moments of delight mixed with sadness, despair, frustration and ultimate joy.
Her luggage, with numerous surprises inside, are her only props and she uses them to good effect as she traverses the years, fights bureaucracy, confounds the Germans and receives coded messages from the Allies, all told, in amusingly fractured English, within the context of her undying love for her lanky Englishman, Cyril Horton.
This is a beautiful tale, wonderfully told, that will leave the audience uplifted, particularly with its poignant final segment, which you will need to see for yourself. Do try to meet Chrissy. You’ll be glad that you did.
Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Arts Editor, Glam Adelaide.
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