Just back from a long weekend up at the Edinburgh Fringe. Lovely place to stay in Marchmont with a nice walk across the Meadows each morning, and a nice walk back from Summerhall in the evenings. Similar quality of shows to last time, but nothing that was really really standout (or that bad either). Interestingly we didn’t see a single show that was primarily about the scripted English interaction between two or more human actors!
Feast**1/2 - Summerhall
A bit of an oddity as the actor covered herself in milk and earth and then food. Not sure what it was really all about.
Boulder**** - Pleasance
A puppet take on the Sisyphus myth with a poor puppet trying to push a boulder up a hill. Really nicely done with innovative staging, two scales of the puppet (and boulder) and very well delivered music and songs.
Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein **** - Underbelly
We saw Manual Cinema a couple of years ago. It was a great show then and still great this time. What was interesting was how they’d broadened on the original pure OHP/silhouette model to include both more live action silhouette, silent-move style real video, and a bit of puppetry. They framed the whole story in the death of Mary Shelly’s baby and how Frankenstein was partly a wish to bring her back to life.
Three Deaths of Ebony Black **** - Underbelly
More puppets but a totally different style with a minute venue and two engaging performers and handfuls of cup-head type puppets and the story of Ebony Black told with wit and humour.
1927’s Roots **** - Edinburgh International Festival
We first saw 1927 in one of the dank dark arches of the original Underbelly over a decade ago. It was a wonderful performance then, mixing film and live action in a way that was close to the great Forkbeard Fantasy. The new show didn’t stray far from those routes being a compilation of folk tales portrayed by simple but elegant black and white drawings projected onto a screen from which the actors faces would appear strategically placed to match with the characters and action, or occasionally in front of the screen. The same technical craft and whimsical delivery as ever.
Ontroerend Goed’s Are we not drawn onward to new erA ****1/2 – Zoo Southside
+++ SPOILERS +++
Considering the climate crisis and the question of whether we can reverse what we have done this was a real tour-de-force. Beginning with what looks like an Eve-and-the-apple scene at first you can’t work out if their speaking Flemish, Dutch or something else. They’re moving oddly too. Then it dawns on you (helped by the palindromic title) that they are speaking and acting backwards. As the story plays out (backwards) the apple is eaten, the tree destroyed, bags of rubbish fall from the sky and are scattered about, and final a big golden statue erected. With echoes of Red Dwarf’s classic Backwards episode I was trying to construct the forward narrative and to translate the words (I think I only succeeded with Yes and Sorry). I’d been hoping they might play it forward but didn’t think they dare/do it, but sure enough as the acting ended a screen came down one of the actors struggled into forward speech and then a video played of the whole of the first half reversed, so they story plays out “normally”, with strangely distorted human speech and movement, the statue being destroyed, the litter picked up, the tree planted, and yes, the apple regurgitated and placed back on the tree. Wonderful, and the sheer skill needed to construct it and act it out unbelievable.
Fishbowl **** - Pleasance
We went along purely on the basis of the flyer, but the fact that it was booked into the Grand should have suggested something impressive. The stage is 3 small bedsits, occupied by smart and clean guy, scruffy guy, and newly arrived bohemian girl. The whole performance is then like a modern silent movie following their dramas and escapades as neighbours and more. Crammed full of sight gags and a real stunner of a finale it was a great piece of (French) entertainment which really ought to tour every town and city in the land to show people just how accessible and fun modern theatre can be.
Trying It On **** - Traverse
We saw David Edgar’s play at the MAC in Birmingham last autumn, so it was interesting to see how he’d changed it for the run at the Traverse. The most notable change was giving Dani, the stage manager, a bigger role and how there seemed to be a more explicit handover of the torch for radical (left) campaigning from the older to the younger generation.
Sh!t Theatre’s Drink Rum with Expats **** - Summerhall
A fun and thought provoking piece from Sh!t Theatre’s two actors about their trips to Malta to create and put on a piece at “The Pub” – expat hangout and death place of Oliver Reed – as part of the City of Culture celebrations. After an exploration of the pub’s many characters the piece turns to consider the issues of refugees, those rescued, turned away and who die, and the “golden passports” scandal and the murder of journalist Daphne Galizia. The free beer, for the lucky few some rum, some crowd surfing, great story-telling, life jackets, a dinghy and a dog all made for a very entertaining but thoughtful night.
Mariner’s Tale *** - Paradise
Some nicely delivered story telling weaving family and loss, the Argonauts and a spell on a round-the-world yacht expedition that could have benefited from a clearer structure and aim, and some tighter prose.
CSI:Improvisation ***1/2 – Underbelly
One of the many improvised dramas/musicals on the Fringe, this one based around who-dun-its (and not really anything to do with the CSI franchise. We had the audience selected tale of the murder of Leah Unlucki, a school dinner-lady, by a piccolo. Delivered with gusto and lots of in-jokes developing along the way, a good hours entertainment.
A few things we missed but might hopefully see on tour:
- She Sells Sea Shells about palaeontologist Mary Anning
- Wireless Operator about bombing missions in WW2 with the actor hanging in space as though laid on in the nose of the bomber
- Medea Electronica – “smash hit gig theatre”
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