Fringe: The Rise of General Arthur

Maximum Verbosity (of Minneapolis)

This setting of the Arthurian legend in modern Baghdad was a fascinating concept, but the execution seemed a bit off.

Phillip Andrew Bennett Low's "narration" may have been styled the way it was to set it apart from the "acting" parts of the one man show, but the rapid-fire monotone was counter-productive, a hypnotic drone that hindered the mind trying to absorb the information rather than assisting it. It made the narrative of the overall show hard to follow, and the rapidity of the narration made it feel that perhaps this was a show written to run 90 minutes which was sped up to fit its 60 minute time slot, rather than being cut or otherwise adapted.

I think he's got something good here, but I'd love to have a chance to see it again with the narration done a bit slower; there's more quality there to absorb than the style permitted.

Piggie's Rating: **
Done slower, it would have been a three or even four star show.