Darragh Martins premise in An Air Balloon seems preposterous: a small, blonde, female explorer and an obese hamster are bored on a journey across the Antarctic in a hot air balloon. Why are they talking to the ghosts of Shackleton, Scott, Madame Blanchard (wife of the first balloonist hero) and Amelia Earhart? Can a play hang together by the seemingly thin threads that never quite attach it to the snowy ground below? This is a production that at times seems too strange to work. But it does, and pulls off a great piece of fringe theatre along the way.
This is a completely original piece of writing: in turns funny; harrowing; surreal; intense and always imaginative. Gradually the plight of the hamster and explorer becomes clear: the reasons for the journey, the preceding love story and its tragic denouement. Yvonne Virsik has tightly directed this tale of love and loss, an achievement that is all the more impressive given the companys loss of wardrobe, props and set while travelling from Australia. The set that has been constructed works very well in the space and, unless you closely read the programme and the tale of British Airways woe, its frantic production would not be noticed.
All of the performances are strong. Paul David-Goddard is hugely impressive as the stoic, yet slightly infuriating James. Claire Glen brings real depth to Caitlin, the explorer whose desire for independence leads to the Antarctic folly. Sophie Lampel, as Ham the Hamster (who thinks hes a lemming), holds the whole show together, bringing both comedy and pathos: this is a part that if played too hammy could have ruined the effect of the show. The chorus pieces, particularly towards the end, are handled brilliantly by the rest of the cast: Adrian Corbett (also Scott); Georgina Durham (Blanchard); David Kambouris (Shackleton) and Charlotte Strantzen (Earhart).
Youd have to be a very jaded fringe goer not to be touched by this fresh, talented production. Go see.
