Many people may claim to
live a dangerous life but when you compare this to a certain Sir Ranulph
Twistleton-Wykeham Fiennes then all bets are off. Described by The Guinness Book Of World
Records as “the world’s greatest living explorer” he has spent much of his
adult life tackling some of the most dangerous and unexplored parts of our
globe. It was no surprise that his
appearance at The Lyric Theatre at The Lowry in Salford was all but sold out.
In the style that has
become very familiar with stand-up comedians, Sir Ranulph introduced himself
from the sidelines. There was a short
video describing just some of his amazing achievements and he then arrived on
stage to very warm applause.
The style of presentation
was something of a surprise as Fiennes stood behind a lectern in a very
formal pose, aided by a large screen on stage that initially was just a black.
Fiennes immediately went
into the story of his life, starting at the very beginning where he told us he
had been moved by his mother to South Africa as a very young child and only
returned aged 12 years. It was here that
he moved into the area of self-deprecation which became a familiar theme
throughout the evening. Fiennes is
an excellent storyteller and has a very calm and relaxed manner, which made
the choice of formal lecture style presentation even more surprising.
The first half of the show
was very much about his life prior to being the polar explorer as we all know him
today, his struggles through his academic life that includesdspells at Sandroyd
and Eton College and his career in the armed forces as an Officer which
resulted in an 8 year stay in the SAS – apparently much to his own surprise.
The second half of the show
was much more visual as he talked more about his polar expeditions and
we were treated to some amazing photographs on the big screen – some of which
involved graphic detail of frostbitten hands and feet, either his own or one of
his team.
One of the expeditions he
focused on was the unsupported trip across the Antarctic continent on foot with
Doctor Mike Stroud – a world famous expert on starvation – which was hastily
arranged when they found out the often referenced ‘Norwegians’ were planning
exactly the same trip.
The real strength of this
show is obviously Sir Ranulph Fiennes himself and in particular his ability to
make his clearly very dangerous expeditions sound light-hearted and humorous
but without losing any of the realism that he and his team were only a step
away from death the whole time. One
reference in particular about human starvation expert Doctor Stroud discovering
that “the level of starvation they were suffering was severe and beyond even
his expectations” had the audience in fits of laughter.
The final part of the show
was a Q&A that involved a mix of questions from the audience and questions
that had been submitted earlier in the evening via the Twitter feed published
on the big screen. This allowed Fiennes
to provide some more personal insights into his life and in particular the love
even today for his wife Ginny who was with him for many of his early
expeditions but sadly passed away in 2004.
The show itself was
extremely enjoyable and Fiennes happily chatted to audience members and signed
copies of his latest book in the foyer afterwards, which just made the whole
experience more personal. The only thing
I could possibly criticise was the poor use of technology, where the simple
inclusion of animation and graphics could have made his job of presenting his
life so much easier – but this would be harsh on what was a superb overall
experience.
Reviewer – John Fish
on - 15/7/18
on - 15/7/18
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