Reviews & features: Theatre, Issue 687
Fringe 2011 awards roundup
30 Aug 2011
Multi-award winners include Mission Drift, Leo, Simon Callow and Silent
As the dust settles from this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we see which figures are poised to stand tall on the cultural landscape with a clutch of awards under their belts The Scotsman Fringe First Awards One for productions appearing at the…
If That's All There Is?
26 Aug 2011
Eccentric study of a banal relationship
What happens when you realise the man you're marrying is actually utterly dull? Such is the fate that befalls Frances, no sooner than her new husband Daniel has finished his painfully long wedding speech. In the opening scene, we are the guests and as…
The Pleasure of Being: Washing, Feeding, Holding
26 Aug 2011
A cure for loneliness?
This one-on-one hotel room experience is Adrian Howells’ attempt at total care for a single audience member. It starts with a warm bath filled with rose petals. I undress and step in. ‘It’s my honour to bathe you,’ Howells says, with no hint of…
The Pretender
26 Aug 2011
One man show about lying gets out of control
Lying: people often do it to get over life's hurdles. Whether in politics, relationships, or childhood, lies are part of everyday social tactics, but can often spiral out of control. In this play, we're complicit in one such fib. Our host, a nameless…
Soldier and Death
26 Aug 2011
Soldier fable let down by tiny puppets
There’s bags of potential in this talented young troupe of puppeteers who tell the fable-esque tale of a soldier who cheats death. All are compelling storytellers, taking turns as the narrator. But the puppets are miniscule, dwarfed by multiple…
Nourish
25 Aug 2011
Thought-provoking suffragette drama
1913 was a year when suffragette militant violence turned inwards with devastating consequences. But while Emily Wilding Davison made headlines by stepping in front of the King’s horse at the Derby, Sylvia Pankhurst was engaged in a quieter but no less…
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
24 Aug 2011
Haruki Marukami's novel is given multimedia stage adaptation by Stephen Earnhart
Toru Okada is 29 and shares an apartment with his wife, Kumiko and their cat. When both the wife and cat vanish and don’t come back for several days, Toru tries to work out what’s happened to them, with the help of a spiritualist who doubles as a…
A writer's guide to Fringe journalism – A view from the other side
24 Aug 2011
Behind the scenes at the Edinburgh festivals
Walking around Edinburgh during the month of August is an experience that will stay with you long after the festival crowds have abandoned the capital's streets and returned to whence they came. Areas of the city normally quiet and empty are transformed…
Stage whispers: Fringe performer Martha Wollner on her first Fringe
24 Aug 2011
Sense of community experienced at first Fringe
‘First Fringe?’ That’s what old festival hands kept asking, followed by advice on how to build audiences: get sleep, see shows and, as one producer put it, ‘Generally gird your loins!’ But upon arrival, our ensemble began to experience something…
The Simple Things in Life
24 Aug 2011
Five opportunities to meditate on what we should value
Against the backdrop of festival chaos, Fuel theatre provides individual spaces for a slightly different, enclosed experience. Walking through the gates of the Botanic Gardens already provides respite from pounding the cobbles of the Royal Mile, and the…
Constantinople
23 Aug 2011
Completely ridiculous and unexpectedly educational
Theatre Beating’s lunatic dramatisation of the rise and fall of Constantinople is like a great pop song; it thrives on the tension between being completely brilliant and also very, very stupid. The jokes are consistently from the daft end of the street…
And the Birds Fell from the Sky
23 Aug 2011
Striking multi-sensory experience
Don a pair of video goggles, put headphones in your ears and surrender yourself to the bizarre Faruk clowns in this short immersive experience, where you’re the main protagonist. Production values are high, and the performers make every effort to ensure…
Bette and Joan - The Final Curtain
23 Aug 2011
Witty other-worldly ode to Hollywood starlets
It’s 1989 and Bette Davis, betrayed by kith and kin, lies alone and dying. Her nemesis Joan Crawford arrives to guide her to the other side, and then the fireworks begin. Foursight Theatre’s witty and inventive deconstruction of the relationship between…
Maybe if you Choreograph Me, You Will Feel Better
23 Aug 2011
Solo show with a unique personal experience
Tania El Khoury is a gifted young Lebanese performance artist based in the UK. This tantalising solo gives one man at a time the power to decide what she’ll do and how she will do it. Led to a ‘secret’ yet public location we speak to her via headset a…
Steal Compass, Drive North, Disappear
23 Aug 2011
Minimal and moving life awakening
Against a minimalist background of black walls and a scattering of blank chalkboards, Rachel Blackman unravels the story of Martin Charon, philandering video artist, university professor and father of two. Through the four women in his life (each…
Some Small Love Story
23 Aug 2011
A gem with a young but talented cast
Theatrical tales about love – particularly love lost – can so easily be overly saccharine, lacking the depth and sentiment to truly engage. Not so here. Stripped back simplicity is to the fore, as four excellent young performers reveal two great love…
Little Matter
23 Aug 2011
Charming, dark puppetry
In their delightful purpose-built gypsy caravan/tent venue the River People weave a story of hope and despair using puppetry and song. The performers overflow with wit and charm, interacting with each other and the puppets comfortably. While the…
3rd Ring Out: the Emergency
23 Aug 2011
An intelligent audience-led thriller
If it’s not perfect in execution, this piece is both intriguing and thought-provoking. The audience is ushered into a container functioning as an emergency response room and required to make life-and-death decisions about an ecological catastrophe in…
The Overcoat
23 Aug 2011
All-Scottish cast lead excellent classic satire
An up-to-the minute, fast-paced version of Gogol’s great satire, Catherine Grosvenor’s sharp and hilarious translation (for Finnish companies Rhymäteatteri and Ace Productions) finds us in the world of Edinburgh banking. A fine, all-Scottish cast is led…
Hotel Methuselah
23 Aug 2011
Stunning and inventive multimedia production
In a war-time hotel night porter Harry delves into his memories in this tense, mysterious multimedia work from Imitating the Dog. A frame around the stage offers limited views of the actors who work in tandem with pre-filmed dialogue and supplementary…
Fringe 2011 theatre blogs: Biding Time
23 Aug 2011
Can we find alternative models for making theatre at the Fringe?
Market’s crashing, Somalia’s starving and London’s burning; Are we fiddling in Edinburgh while Rome burns this August? It takes a mental leap to see any real connection between the Edinburgh fringe festival and the state of the wider world, except…
You Wouldn't Know Him, He Lives in Texas
23 Aug 2011
An innovative concept that needs thinking through
The title of this show refers to the boyfriend of Lizzie, who will, if you buy a ticket, invite you to her party. The purpose of the gathering is to introduce us (her 'friends') to her beloved Ryan, all the way from Austin. But of course, he won't be…
Teechers
23 Aug 2011
Fast-paced youth production despite large cast
This is how to do it. A fast paced youth production of Godber’s now well worn play in front of a really good sized audience. The rotation of performers for each character, as a result of a very large troupe, was a pity as there were stand out…
Medea
23 Aug 2011
Modern-edged take let down by cast
Critical Mass theatre’s modern-edged take on Euripides’ story of the woman who killed her children never quite delivers the emotional clout promised by its heart-wrenching storyline. Stella Duffy’s script is gutsy and raw, but delivered unimaginatively…
Sunday in the Park with George
23 Aug 2011
Wonderfully presented look at the creation of art
Sondheim’s musical about the creation of impressionist masterpiece ‘Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’ focuses on an obsessed Georges Seurat, whose dedication to his work ruins his life. As the painting’s characters all offer…
