..>
|
..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> |
CHORTLE êêêê |
..>
Victor Legit is a macho enforcement officer for Fact, the Federation Against Copyright Theft, who takes his job far too seriously.
To him, his fight against the small-scale bootleggers offering knock-off DVDs is all-important. He imagines himself as some maverick, hardbitten Dirty Harry-style cop on the rough, lawless streets of Pirate Town.
So far, so good for a classic character comedy set-up – people with delusions beyond their station is the bread-and-butter of the genre. He is at the Fringe, he tells us, to deliver a '50-minute power lecture' on the evils of illegal videos, liberally interspersed with arrogant boasts about just how good he is at spreading the message.
The performance mocks the phoney sincerity and preachy messages of public-service adverts with wonderfully overblown delivery. But what elevates the show even further is actor Adam Riches's easy rapport and brilliant improvisational skills, effortlessly incorporating latecomers and well-intentioned audience interjections into his conceited patter, never once breaking character and infusing a genuine sense of spontaneity into proceedings.
He also has a brilliant sense of comic timing, wringing every last drop of humour out of the deadpanned lines.
It's great stuff, though you do wonder how it will last an hour – until a couple of theatrical twists send the show tumbling into exciting new directions, revealing a more brutal side to Legit and adding a genuine sense of drama. Yet despite the new edgy, menace the gags, both verbal and visual, just keep on coming, as the knowing script is as punchy as the performance. Sharp stuff all round.
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
FEST êêêê
Anyone who has ever bought a new DVD in this country and been unable to skip the anti-piracy government warnings will be familiar with the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT); a government quango so wide open to satire it's incredible that there aren't 50 shows dedicated to tearing the whole organisation to pieces.
Victor Legit, the self-styled "most important man on the face of the earth," has been charged with the task of spreading FACT's message through the medium of infotainment. He brings his roadshow to the Fringe to teach us about the true costs of pirate DVDs and proliferate anti-Korean racism among the masses.
Legit's creator, Adam Riches, has on his hands, one of the finest satirical characters of the last few years. His maverick and demented copyright enforcer is almost perfectly realised - everything from the tone of his voice, to the brain-washed repetition of the party line and the ridiculous sense of condescending superiority are all hall-marks of the civilian law-enforcement type.
In any other hands, the joke has more than enough potential to get repetitive and tiresome. Conversely, as the routine gets more and more absurd and Legit more and more desperate, further layers of nuance and spectacularly original set-pieces force the set to greater heights, to such an extent that this could well be the most original and brilliantly written comedy show at the Fringe.
With superb audience interaction, the best satirical character since Garth Marenghi, bloody violence and the possibility of scoring a free Yakult yoghurt drink, Victor should have been one of the most talked about tickets this year. It is a great shame that, much like DVD pirates, Riches looks unlikely to get the justice he deserves.
Wednesday 22 August by Ben Judge
THE LIST êêêê
Victor Legit is a zealot of the Federation Against Copyright Theft, steadfast in his mission to stem the tide of Korean-influenced DVD piracy. With a smart script and near-flawless delivery, the subtle details are embellished with some gory FX and a t wist or two in its tale. Worth getting your hands on a copy.
Brian Donaldson 16 August 2007
<FONT size=5>
ONE4REVIEW.COM êêêê
Victor Legit plays the role of a surveillance officer working for F.A.C.T., the Federation Against Copyright Theft. His obsession is to rid the world of those guilty of DVD piracy. It is his whole life. His confidence in addressing us the audience, or seminar group, is totally sincere – and very funny.
Who are the piracy thieves? They could be anyone. He portrays himself as a kind of Superman figure as he attempts to root out and destroy DVD piracy wherever it lurks.
The final part of his routine develops into theatre – almost scary in its intensity and apparent reality. Be assured, it is completely scripted .This is a show that is original, with unexpected twists and turns. Does it work as comedy? Yes it does – very much so.
THE SCOTSMAN êêê
PROOF that disproportionate violence can be funny, Victor Legit initially appears to be like many unwarranted character acts, just another pompous fool oblivious to his own failings.
Yet he emerges as something far more compelling. A ridiculously macho surveillance officer for the Federation Against Copyright Theft, Legit is the personification of those mildly hysterical piracy condemnations at the start of DVDs.
Playing Victor as "50 minutes of pent-up homosexual aggression", saturnine Colin Farrell-without-eyeballs, Adam Riches is a veritable monster, but one who partially turns you round to his uncompromising vision, even as his own guiding principals come under attack. If this was theatre, Legit might develop as a character and adjust his personality in the face of his limitations. But this is satisfying, low-blow comedy, and he snaps back and far further into angry type.
There are more subtle acts at the Fringe and Legit remains rather one-dimensional. Yet few comic creations are quite so well embodied. There's a great deal more potential in this gruff, Yakult-quaffing maverick, and hopefully he'll be back.
JAY RICHARDSON