Imagine going to a live rock show seated in a dark room while a silent movie plays on a projector screen. Spoilers, I know, but that is really all there is to this show.
Essentially, a rock band has written its own soundtrack to the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu.
At 85 minutes with no intermission this show did start to drag in the last half hour. I found myself wondering, just how much longer could this film possibly be? It’s not that the elements weren’t there, the band played great music and I love Nosferatu, but two greats put together don’t necessarily make something better. Chocolate is delicious and so is a good smoked ham, but you don’t see anyone walking around eating smoked ham and chocolate sandwiches, do you?
This is the fatal flaw of this show. I would love to have seen a live gig by Transit of Venus in say, Mighty Mighty or a similar venue, I really enjoyed their music. However, in this setting, it just didn’t work. I did get a good giggle out of them working in the music from Tetris to the scene in which the boxes of dirt are arranged for the boat trip, but this was the only highlight.
I’m sorry to say you wouldn’t be missing anything by not seeing this show. Go home, find their music online, put on a DVD of Nosferatu (is it available on DVD?) and you have the exact same thing in the comfort of your living room.
However, if Transit of Venus put on a live gig purely as a band, they are definitely worth seeing. You’ll find me right up the front dancing like crazy.
Playing at Bats Theatre as part of Fringe Festival. You can find details here
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