Bimbo (FringeTIX – but please don’t)
Phillip Riley et al @ Higher Ground (Main Theatre)
7:30pm, Sun 18 Mar 2007
There’s a decent premise behind this show; a politician facing an upcoming election decides to tell the truth about his womanising ways, rather than hiding behind denial. Initially, the move seems to pay off, but are there any hidden dangers to his ploy?
…and that’s the last non-negative thing I’ll write about this show because, quite simply, it’s fucking appalling. Whilst Phillip Riley had an interesting germ of an idea, there’s not enough there to fill thirty minutes, let alone an hour, and the filler material that’s used to pad the show out (the Bimbo dances, the “nation’s address” videos) is just embarrassing. Not only that, but Riley himself in the role of The Advisor is spongecake-soft and horribly unconvincing, and the kiss that ended the performance was plain ridiculous, no matter how you interpreted it.
“Embarrassed” is the keyword; I was embarrassed to be there, embarrassed for everyone else there, embarrassed for the people onstage, embarrassed for the press that didn’t give this the shithouse reviews this deserves. Bimbo is, quite simply, a stinker.