Fortune Kookie
Student theatre is at the heart of The Fringe experience. From the East comes a new version of a humanist classic
St Andrews is not well known for its drama: tucked away on the coast, fifty minutes from Dundee, it is regarded as isolated. Fortune Kookie Productions, led by Richard Tan and emerging from the Fife University aims to correct this with a production of Harold Pinter's Betrayal.
Tan believes that St Andrew's vibrant culture can be traced to the University's attitude towards drama. "The best thing is that all students are automatically members of Mermaids, the umbrella theatre funding body. Any student can produce a show. Mermaids provides advice and funding." He praises the non-student venue. "The Byre collaborates with the University and international touring companies to bring many contemporary dance and theatre pieces."
Exploring unfaithful relationships in marriage and friendship, Betrayal tells the story in reverse-chronological order showing the destructive nature of time in an effect-cause sequence. The play opens with a meeting of ex-lovers, Emma and Jerry whose illicit relationship started seven years earlier. As the story 'in-folds' it turns out that Emma's husband knew about his friend's affair with Emma and used their liaison to justify his own amours. Lies, deception, failed expectations and manipulation entwine in the intriguing tale of love triangle.
"This play appears rather simple at its core: it simply depicts an adulterous love triangle," admits Tan. "But with this common premise, it sets out complex intricacies through its reverse order." The surface is peeled away to expose darker truths and deceptions. "The main 'betrayal' that the title refers to isn't just about the principal act of marital infidelity, it encompasses all the other 'betrayals': the white lies, empty promises, denials, withholding information from one another which fill all our lives."
Tan is a man with a mission. "Fortune Kookie Productions came about for two reasons," he claims. "To indulge my need to rectify the lack of Pinteresque productions at St Andrews, but more importantly to create a niche for performances with a sinocentric and East Asian slant." Beyond that, in the hectic arena of The Fringe, he might put St Andrews firmly on the theatrical map.