At a mere twenty minutes, the Fringe show Making the Move is the shortest play in the 2014 Fringe. Its author, Noah Altshuler being only 17 and still at school, it is also this year’s youngest playwright.
A snapshot into the teenage angst around a first kiss, Making the Move at Just the Tonic venue, features four actors, three dialogues and one couch. At only twenty minutes, the pace is fast and the humour is laugh out loud and this is one bit of Fringe you can definitely catch in your lunch hour.
Nicole, August 8, 2014 11:20 am event - Making the Move
4/5
Making the Move is one of those fun little fringe plays that you find off the mainstream. With the big boys running commercial shows, how much nicer it is to find material like this which is much more what the Edinburgh Fringe was initially about – the chance to try experimental material on an audience.
This play is very short at only 20 minutes which is quite surprising, but you know that when you book it and at only £2 (though the day we went it was free), it is good value and a bit of fun. It slots nicely between a couple of other shows and as it is at Just the Tonic on the Cowgate is right in the middle of that busy area.
The stage is bare apart from a sofa on which four people sit and engage in some dialogue about a date. It is cleverer than it sounds as the dialogues take place before, during and after the date. How will Todd kiss Hannah? Will she have to ask him to kiss her? What will they talk about? It is not as lame as it sounds – it is actually really funny and clever. The final scene got a big “ah” and some woops from the audience, so clearly they enjoyed it!
The writer has created the play from his own experiences and I was surprised to discover that he is only 17! Clearly he will go far if this is his first attempt and it is impressive he has managed to bring this play to the Fringe.
If you have time – and clearly you will as it is so short – go and catch this one lunchtime. It is on until 17 August.
Nigel Boardman, August 10, 2014 11:32 am event - Making the Move
5/5
I stumbled onto this little gem completely by chance. I had heard that the venue — The Caves (currently occupied by Just the Tonic) — was a must-see. In fact, it *is* a fairly amazing space with lots of great character. However, I was incredibly impressed by “Making the Move,” apparently a first outing by a young playwright called Noah Altshuler. It was only 20 mins and I wish it had been twice that length. The dialogue was hilarious and completely believable. The set-up, while hardly original, somehow seemed like a completely fresh take. It was totally captivated from start to finish. I hope there is a chapter 2 next year — I have to know what happens to Todd and Hannah. Well done and well worth 2 quid.