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SHAMER
by Jim Burke. 
Mark Trent is a professional shamer. If the price is right, he can make anybody squirm - cheating lovers, defaulting debtors, slack employees, or just innocent by-standers. When he's hired to shame dysfunctional siblings Stacey and Reece, he figures it's a routine case. But he hasn't noticed just how spectacularly dysfunctional the pair really are. And then there's the deeply creepy "Snow White", drawn out of the shadows by Trent's activities and now stalking him for his own unexpectedly twisted reasons. Is it possible to literally die of shame? Trent's about to find out. Shamer is a rapid-fire noir-style comedy. Set in a twilight world of fall guys and designer cruelty, it suggests something seriously screwed with the way we live now. Shamer premiered at the Pleasance Dome at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on July 30th 2003 and will tour nationally in the Autumn of 2004.
REVIEW - Edinburgh Evening News 4th August 2003 No shame in laughing at this black offering.
Shamer, Pleasance Dome *** You would not want to cross paths with Mark Trent - he earns his living by hiring himself out as a professional shamer. If there is someone in your life who needs to be taught a lesson, Trent's your man. When he takes on the task of shaming Stacey and Reece, it looks like being just another routine job. Wrong. He hadn't bargained on them being quite so dysfunctional and the addition of a gun and bomb merely complicates matters further. Throw in the mysterious stalker who's shadowing Trent and something has to give. Shamer is a gem of a production. With its Philip Marlowe noir-style voiceover, rattling pace and sharp dialogue, it is a moody piece of work smeared with a thick streak of pitch black humour. Focusing on a feeling we would all rather steer clear of - acute embarrassment - it somehow manages to wring out laughs as you shuffle uncomfortably in your seat. Elianne Byrne shines as Stacey while Matthew Lewney brings a great mix of vulnerability and edginess to his role as Reece, her put-upon younger brother. But it is Howard Chadwick in the lead-role of Mark Trent who dominates. Though he plays a total sleazebag with no scrupples, he still manages to win your sympathy as his character's life painfully disintegrates.
   © Rocket Theatre 2003 |
