Press Comment on Frog Man
Frog Man by Mick Martin is a weird story about love, bullying and the turgid waters of domestic life. What begins as a domestic drama evolves into sinister mystery. The audience is never quite sure which character is the nastiest until the end. It is surreal, twisted and absolutely funny.
Jude Wright directs this excellently. Her use of projection in the space is very clever, especially in interrogation scene where silhouettes of an enormous policeman and a little tiny girl are cast against the back wall. The physicality of the actors alternates between hectic dance and disciplined mime. There are moments when it really feels like the theatre and all its contents are floating in a dank canal. The effect is mesmerizing in this very exciting, black hearted comedy.
EdinburghGuide.com
The last thing I expected to witness, as I sat in a community centre on Montgomery Street, was a cracking new slice of surrealist theatre. Part domestic drama, part childhood flashback, part sub-aquatic dream world, ‘Frogman’ explores the lives of Adrian Dunfor and the lives of his playground bullies as they recover from that fateful afternoon by the river.
Essentially, this is wonderfully sardonic pitch-black comedy. Witty one-liners abound throughout, and the performers’ fluid juxtapositions of comedy with stark melancholy left me breathless. The projection device made glorious and innovative use of the space and had me mesmerised for much of the show. The flyer says they’re on the brink of massive success, and I certainly hope they make it.
Three Weeks Magazine
Links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/going_out/stage/2003/02/20/wigan_review.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/content/articles/2006/09/21/mick_martin_frogman_feature.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bradford/content/articles/2007/06/26/frogman_feature.shtml
