The Six Wives Of Timothy Leary ***

Being an amateur reviewer, I sometimes feel unqualified to give a fair review of the show, particularly in situations where I know little about the subject matter on which the show is based. I often think it would be a good idea for the audience to be given little info sheets - especially when the show is based on something that happened 30-40 years ago and much of the audience will be too young to remember.

All I know about Timothy Leary is that The Who referred to him in the lyrics of one of their songs. Other than that, I hadn't heard of him and unfortunately didn't get the opportunity to google him before the start of the show.

Throughout the show, there were a series of monologues from each of his six wives, along with a bit of them mixing together as they met and had drinks when he died. It told the story of his life with each of his partners as he progressed and became more experimental with illegal substances.

I'm not a big fan of monologues, especially when the person is talking and answering questions from an imaginary person... I sometimes find it tiring and unneccesary.

Having said that, they 6 actors were all very beleivable and performed well (especially considering the number of morons who were allowed in late and chose to thump their way up the stairs instead of sitting at the seats at the front near the door and in particular the two who chose to leave half way through right in the middle of one of the said monologues instead of waiting for a break - of which there were plenty. I have a feeling that the actors will be demanding that latecomers be told to go f*** themselves in future and quite right too! There. That's that off my chest).

So yeah, If you haven't heard of Timothy Leary. Make sure you google him before the show. If you have, I think you'll enjoy the show. I can't say anything bad about the six actresses (who were all lovely). I guess the show just wasn't really relevant to me.

The Six Wives Of Timothy Leary is on at The Pleasance Dome at 5pm

3/5

http://www.edfringe.com/shows/detail.php?action=shows&id=1048