YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE HEARD... MICHAEL JACKSON IS DEAD.
But that's just the beginning! Death comes to collect his soul and drag him to the next world. Unexpectedly Heaven and Hell are eagerly awaiting MJ - cameras at the ready - this is big news for Heaven Entertainment News as he faces Final Judgment (TM) in what angels are calling "the trial of all the Millennia" and the biggest death since Jesus himself (the second time).
Come and join Michael's peculiar, divinely comic, journey through a celebrity obsessed afterlife to confront his destiny in a blaze of unwanted celestial publicity, in an anarchic satire that isn't afraid to moon-walk beyond good and evil and ask, is this what eternity might be like, after a while?
This is a rapid response comedy from the combined forces of Ankle Productions; and Theatrical Theatrics Productions. We're a young up-and-coming company with three official Fringe Sell-Out Shows under our belts. Together we had two of the ten shows at the National Student Drama Festival 2007. We have also been short-listed for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, the Pleasance Islington New Writing Award and received various commendations for new writing. We've also been celebrity choice by comedian Adam Bloom in the Daily Telegraph.
Edinburgh Fringe 2009. Underbelly: Big Belly, 11pm (1hr) 17th - 30th August.
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Is a Michael Jackson spoof show too tacky – even for Edinburgh? The Guardian
The pick of the crop: 20 unmissable events The Independent
Michael Jackson - Off the Wall The List
Reviews:
The Herald
****
Seven weeks is not a lot of time to write, cast and rehearse an audacious comedy that not only imagines Michael Jackson's experience of the afterlife but also incorporates a sharp critique of modern TV culture and a dance-based demolition of basic tenets of Christianity. Somehow the creators of Michael Jackson At The Gates of Heaven and Hell have achieved just that.
Frustratingly, it was weak technical support that let the show down during week one, but audiences took advantage of awkward scene changes to shower the cast with enthusiastic applause. Five actors play everyone from Jesus and John Lennon to Bubbles and Mariah as we follow the King of Pop's time in purgatory ahead of his day of judgment, which includes a bust-up with the King of the Jews and a guest spot on Princess Diana's talk show, Died Today. While it might sound like little more than an excuse to offend and outrage, there's actually a pretty clear focus to all of the silliness. Sure, the dancing penis scene is not strictly crucial to the plot, but Michael Edwards's portrayal of the King of Pop is actually rather touching, and when his ambiguously sinister alter-ego (the man in the mirror) is unleashed the show soars to a new level of bizarre brilliance.
The Independent
***
A mere eight weeks have passed since the demise of Michael Jackson and here, inevitably, comes the Fringe's response. Put together with what could be considered indecent haste, this play about the King of Pop's adventures in the afterlife turns out to be a surprisingly polished affair.
With a cast of characters far outstripping the congregation at Jackson's star-studded funeral in Los Angeles - John Lennon, Princess Diana, Mariah Carey, Bubbles and, of course, God and his Antipodean surfer son Jesus all put in an appearance – Charlie Brafman's play catches up with Jackson as he waits in purgatory for his final judgement.
It's less a drama than a series of sketches about death and celebrity. Even in heaven, it seems, people can get starstruck by Jackson, voted by angels as "the living person they would most like to see die", while his fate – eternal bliss or eternal damnation – is at the mercy of a phone vote on the vacuous "H.E.N." (Heaven Entertainment News).
You won't discover anything new about Jacko here (played with a chalky complexion and baby voice by Michael Edwards) but the young cast perform their multiple roles with vigour and admirable silliness.
"Brilliantly funny and genuinely uplifting" British Theatre Guide
"Played with no shortage of wit... both relevant and funny" Fest Magazine
"Loaded with style and enough laughs to give you problems catching your breath" Three Weeks
"A superbly topical and modern comedy... both very entertaining and politically aware" Fringe Review
"An engaging satire of both capitalists and do-gooders" The Stage
"Brafman's writing is like Kafka meets Ricky Gervais" Mark Ravenhill @ NSDF awards
"Damned good writing which receives a really good seeing-to in these talented young people's hands" Edinburgh Guide
"Performed with panache and wit" The List
"Hilarious and executed brilliantly" Three Weeks
For more information or to book press tickets please contact the Underbelly Box Office on 08445458252 or call Charlie Brafman on 07968021580. Email charlesbrafman@hotmail.com.