The Edinburgh Fringe and Edinburgh Festival Reviews: Day 9

We started out at Jessie Cave’s Work In Progress Show at Just The Tonic. First time in this poorly lit venue, half the audience tripping up trying to find their seats. How odd.

Jessie Cave is perhaps famous for being the partner of fellow comedian, philanderer and possible alcoholic (her words not mine) Alfie Brown. They have four kids together and that provides much of the material for her decidedly patch barely 3 star gig. My fellow attendees said it was “shite”.

Next up we are going to see Geoff Sobell‘s Food in the EIF next Saturday but we also had tickets for his free chat at The Hub that was surprisingly poorly attended which is a sham because it was a great insight to his work, some free magic thrown in, a taster for the sold out Food and a lovely hour in lovely room with a lovely audience.

It was lovely.

Jeana departed stage left at this point, exhausted whilst I returned to zoo Southside (rapidly coming up on the rails as a contender to Summerhall for the best and most interesting off-piste but rewarding theatre.

I’d already Seen The Van Paemel family and Funeral (fringe First winning) here and to day I moved from Belgian theatre to Danish for Teater Catapult’s The Insider, which is a one man show with the artist in a glass box in which he interacts with a prerecorded soundscape (we all wear headphones) and a series of excellent projections and special effects. He is one of the perpetrators of the cum-ex tax scam: 50 billion GBP ‘robbed’ from the treasuries around Europe and is facing the music for a sort of tax evasion pony scheme that’s getting out of hand. What are the moral issues of this. If countries lose money to dodgy financiers they have to reduce investment in, say, social housing or benefits. It’s an excellent production that was sadly, poorly attended. One to see folks.

After a long break during which I discovered the delightful Noodle and Dumplings on South Clerk Street it was back to Summerhall.

This was the day’s highlight which I attended with my sister Emily.. A two and a half hour long dance-athon.

Club Life is the creation of Fred Deakin (our host) one half of the band Lemon Jelly he was also famously a co owner of several famous Edinburgh night Clubs that eschewed the pretension of London’s “If your names not on the list you ain’t coming’ in” schtick.

Instead his clubs welcomed all and sundry and included the likes of Misery, Blue, Devil Mountain, Fury, Thunderbolt and, most famous of all, Going Places that took Lounge Core to the max and often played in Edinburgh’s 70’s style ABC cinema (now an Odeon) on Lothian Road.

Going Places was as famous for its stylish posters (by Deakin – he went on to become a succesful designer and his screen print graphic style moved on to computer graphics that grace all the Lemon Jelly sleeves) as it was for its music aesthetic. (See above.)

The show is Fred’s story, essentially, but also a deep dive into Scottish Club Culture in the 80’s and 90’s with a cast of five young dancers/actors. In a very warm room we are invited to join the party as Deakin plays music that’s representative of each of the above six clubs plus additional music of the time. The audience becomes part of the show as we join the dancers on stage. There’s even a bar with Souvenir Deakin cans and cocktails and the whole jamboree has a party atmosphere.

There is no hidden meaning or deep philosophical undertow, it’s just a great club night in its own respect and me and Emily didn’t stop grinning throughout its 150 glorious minutes.

Bravo Fred!

Days 15 and 16: The Edinburgh Fringe, Film Festival and Book Festival.

My pick of the weekend. Little Warrior. I hope to see the ‘Full Monty” in time.

This was not great weekend for the entertainment. Although hardly a disaster.

Let’s start with the good. I saw a lovely short documentary by LS Films at The Vue in the film festival on Saturday afternoon called “Little Warrior” about a young Venezuelan female boxer coached by Gary Young, via the internet, from Edinburgh. It’s beautifully shot and a teaser for the feature that may come if funding does. I do hope so as it’s really lovely. 3.5 stars.

Then we went to the Book Festival to see the glorious PJ Harvey unspool horrifically in a sixth form wankathon. Special criticism goes to the interviewer, Don Paterson, who I am reliably informed is a great poet and PJ’s mentor. Trouble is though, he liked the sound of his own voice more than PJ’s. And PJ’s poetry reeks of pish and ham. A truly awful evening in the company of greatness. 2 stars.

The day finished with a cheeky wee invite to the Film Festival closing party at which I had a good old chat with Mark Cousins and his partner. Very enjoyable.

On Sunday I went to an absurdist comedy (I hate to say it but it was meta) called Horse Country at Assembly Studio 2. Two amazing male performers present a very absurd, surreal, meta show that simply wasn’t to my taste. That said I have to doff my cap at their performances. James loved it. But James is meta. Performance 4 stars, script 2 stars. Overall 3 stars.

But TBH pretty lean pickings.

Day 14: The Edinburgh Festival and Fringe.

Hens Teeth’s lovely Love you more. My pick of the day.

I’ve already shared my thoughts on the Dream Machine experience here. (It’s six stars because it’s a once in a lifetime experience. (Although I will be going back to experience it again.)

But I took in a further three shows yesterday. The first, The Chairs, Revisited at The Pleasance Jack Dome by Vagabond Productions is a fucking shitshow. An elderly couple, living 400,000 years in the future in a lighthouse, invite the local great and good to their home to hear an oration from an orator. It’s told in rhyme (loose rhyme). But these visitors are either imaginary or are just not seen to save cost because it would be a cast of thousands. (Have to leave that for for the movie.) Instead the visitors become mime opportunities and they are represented by the chairs they invited to sit on. Many, many chairs gradually populate the stage. It’s fucking bollocks. 2 stars.

Love You More (at Space, Surgeon’s Hall) is ostensibly a female two hander by Bristol’s Hens Teeth Productions is a delightful surprise. In a sea of metaness (like the aforementioned pish) this is a straight up story play about the cool girl at school who befriends the geek and somehow develop a friendship that works. Told in reminiscent flashback it charts the long term relationship between Megan and Charlie in a simple set that doesn’t get in the way of two excellent performances. It’s only 45 minutes long but it’s a little diamond in the Fringe. Last show today so you’ll need to be quick. 4 stars.

Last up, at the same venue we saw Eric Davidson’s Spin We Gaily Daily Ukulele Ceilidh. A truly horrendous title (and very off-putting – it was chosen by a friend) that belies a very good and very funny one man revue show. The spin we daily bit refers to a giant tombola wheel with cryptic song themes (nicked from Elvis Costello) that he spins between songs to choose the next one. What we get is political satire, and very funny it is too. Fairly sweary but no C Bombs and certainly stemming from the left wing. Great entertainment and think he’s transferring to Fringe on the Sea next week. Certainly one to seek out. 4 stars.

Days 8 and 9 Edinburgh Fringe. META META META.

Masterclass. My pick of the weekend. Superb, with a great ending.

It’s a meta festival. It’s also a gay festival and binary and trans. But it’s all brilliant.

I mean, before last week I didn’t even know what Meta theatre was. I sure do now.

Here’s how wiki describes it… Metatheatre, and the closely related term metadrama, describes the aspects of a play that draw attention to its nature as drama or theatre, or to the circumstances of its performance. “Breaking the Fourth Wall” is an example of a metatheatrical device.

Anyway I’ve seen a lot of it. It’s a ‘thing’ this year.

So, to the six shows of yesterday and today… Takes the total to 32.

Soweto Gospel Choir are a delight. A LOUD delight. these people have passion and guts and volume. It’s great. At Assembly Main Hall on The Mound. It’s a 3/4 star split for me.

Breathless at The Bunker (Pleasance Courtyard) was the first of five Fringe First winners I booked. It was outstanding and odd and beautiful and small and special. Another one woman show about a 38 year old going out on her first gay date but with a big secret. She’s a hoarder and that gets in the way, literally, metaphorically and emotionally. A superb show. 4 maybe 5 stars.

Next up my show of the weekend so far. A meta theatre piece by Brokentalkers Theatre Company at The Pleasance Jack Dome is an amazing switchback ride of male/female power. A mysognysic film director played by a woman in a male fat suit is initially interviewed by an Irish talk show host in a masterpiece of sound design. Act one is fairly straightforward as we learn that the film director who has written the movie Fat Cunt and invites the chat show host to share a rendition of the script is a woman and the tables turn. That’s when it gets all meta. who’s who? What’s what. It turns into a thrilling (and hill;aroius battle of the sexes. But if you want linear narrative it won’t be for you, 5 stars for me.

The Beatles Were a Boy Band is an interesting and provocative piece of political theatre that challenges the men in the audience to think about the fear young women face in the streets of our cities. It’s funny and well presented but runs out of steam and feels more like a WIP than the finished article. It’s good. I liked it. But I can’t go beyond 3 stars.

More meta theatre for the brilliant “And then the rodeo burnt down”. A beautiful love story about two rodeo clowns gradually falling apart, just before the storyline does. I was intoxicated by this. Really engaging, brilliant performances and highly original. Great Fringe Theatre. 4 stars (maybe just about 5). But you’ll need to be quick as it finishes on Monday.

Lastly Happy Meal at The Traverse. A trans love story in which girl (turned boy) meets boy (turned girl) online in the 80’s. Will they, won’t they? It brings to life the trauma of transitioning in a really believable way. It’s lovely and was a big audience hit. Not my show of the Fringe, by some way, but a beautiful and thought provoking hour of theatre. It’s a 4 for me.

Day 6: The Edinburgh Fringe.

(The amazing Mustard at Summerhall)

Yet another wonderful day of theatre as the gift kept on giving. I started with Ghosts of the Near Future at Summerhall. An existential tale (highly allegorical and pretty deep ie hard to follow) in which a Magician sets out on a North American Road Trip to play his dream venue Las Vegas, along the way he encounters various weird characters and settings. It’s made all the more interesting by the use of micro cameras and elaborate miniature Nevadan desert ‘sets” that chart the journey’s progress. There’s also considerable use of film projection and music. It’s a powerful combination and in the setting of Summerhall’s eerie old Demonstration Room. It’s challenging but extremely rewarding hour and It’s a four star for me.

Mustard, at Summerhall also, continues the run of FIVE STAR one women shows I’ve seen in Edinburgh this week. It really is an astounding piece of storytelling about a young Irish woman who, when her anxiety levels increase, can “fell the mustard coming on” in her brain. This translates into a form of self harming where she smears her body in mustard. In the story the self harming is induced by an intoxicating relationship she has with a rich London Professional cyclist that goes wrong. The depiction of her descent into a pit of self loathing and anxiety is something to behold and had the entire audience spellbound for an hour that felt like ten minutes. This is seriously good theatre and shouldn’t be missed.

Next up my Fringe Lottery choice. It was always high risk and, for me the gamble did not pay off (my sister, by contrast absolutely loved it) Taiwan Season: The Whisper of the Waves, again at Summerhall is bonkers. A mixture of dance (VG) poetry(not VG) and symbolism including much ancient Greek folklore talk (Icarus and Sisyphus both make an entry). Frankly it was torture. I’m not even gonna rate it as I was the wrong guy in the wrong place.

Breathe at Pleasance Dome is that rare thing this year. A one MAN show (although SK Shlomo now self identifies as They). They describe it as a play that turns into a rave. And that indeed is what it is. They were world champion beat boxers and played the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in the long lost past. But this is another poor soul wracked with self doubt and anxiety, so that their life turned suicidal before music helped them back out of the mire. The story is told with incredible technical ability. Shlomo has a digital glove that allows him to loop sound: his beat boxing, the audience, a small keyboard sampler and create rave songs on the hoof. It’s remarkable. He weaves this musical magic around the tale of his rise, fall and rise again. It’s compelling, clever and highly enjoyable. Another 4 stars from me.

And finally, talking of music being made up on the hoof, we have Showstopper (very similar to Baby Wants Candy, although a little more complex and arguable more professional). The show we witnessed last night was called Red and set in communist era Russia to the style of Jesus Christ Superstar, Hamilton and Sweeney Todd. It’s eye-popping stuff but for me Baby Wants Candy edged it by a short head. Bursting at the seams in one of the Fringe’s biggest venues I imagine tickets will still be hard to come by. Recommended 4 stars.

Under Milk Wood – Semi Skimmed by Guy Masterson: Edinburgh Fringe 2021

18 months since we last stepped into a theatre.

Our excitement is palpable.

It’s the first Tuesday of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Never the peak time for Edinburgh to be totally overwhelmed, but usually by now it’s heaving nonetheless. For maximum chaos one has to wait for the final weekend that usually coincides with an English Bank Holiday and the mass movement of Knightsbridge and Sloan Square to our hallowed streets.

We start with a quick drink in the venerable Summerhall’s Royal Dick Courtyard.

There’s people here, sure, but no shows. Not today anyway. You see, Summerhall only has the one venue this year and today, for some reason, all the performers need a day off. So soon?

So the atmosphere is pleasant but subdued.

Next stop, Assembly George Square, the city’s thriving epicentre of boozing, alongside the Pleasance Courtyard, in any other year. The Box Office ticket board displays very, very few shows available today, maybe 12. Again, only one venue, the Speigeltent, is operational, plus an outdoor music stage. Next door The Underbelly’s business is, well, not brisk.

But there’s a long and tedious queue to get into the Gardens, so maybe that augurs well?

Turns out, no. It’s populated, for sure, and nearly every table is taken, but no standing is allowed so it’s a one-in one-out policy that is being applied. So, no lolling about on the grass, no random collisions with people you know and love from the circuit.

The beer is, of course, overpriced as ever, but the ‘atmosphere’ we are usually paying a premium to enjoy is virtually non-existent.

The usual 3,800 or so shows has been slimmed down to maybe 400 live shows and a bunch more online. This does not a festival make. Maybe in a smaller town with no experience of the phenomenon that is the Edinburgh Festival(s) this would work, but here it’s not exactly Ghost Town, but it ain’t Glastonbury either.

We head to the aforementioned Speigeltent for the 8.30 production, a one hander (aren’t they all) production of Dylan Thomas’ magisterial Under Milk Wood.

Guy Masterson directed the brilliant “The Shark is Broken” in 2019 and this, his slightly edited version of Thomas’ masterpiece, is his self-directed and performed effort that he has been touring for 27 years.

It’s pretty good, with an impressive performance on this his 60th birthday.

What we don’t anticipate is a double stage invasion by a man clearly suffering terribly from some form of mental illness. He defies the stewards both times but on the second is escorted politely from the building, albeit not without some consternation on his part. It’s upsetting, but not seemingly for Masterson who battles stoically onwards.

The show is not as good as I thought it would be. It’s just too rushed is my main criticism, but it has merit and we can hardly feel cheated at under £20 for two tickets.

But the malaise of the streets transports inside the fairly cavernous tent with maybe 50 in an audience that could hold ten times that number, or more.

We leave, a little deflated, a little underwhelmed by our whole evening.

It feels like a failed experiment so far. Too few people making too little frisson of excitement.

It’s all a little sad.

Not quite a wake, but not much of a festival.

To next year and normality. (Although I will venture out again).

Unknown Pleasures #20: Felix McLaughlin

Felix comes from a long line of McLaughlin brothers. Four men so very different you’d be surprised they were even related. But each is a star in their own right. And their beloved Mum, Prue, well, she’s a one off.

Felix is the performer of the bunch. The natural showman. As you can see from the picture above, which I took about 12 years ago at the after show party for FCT’s Ya Beauty, he’s larger than life.

He’s enthusiastic, knowledgeable and great fun to be around. But his music quiz performance, in last year’s extended lockdown series, was only passable.

Felix and I know each other largely through the august body that is Forth Children’s Theatre where Felix made his name before going off to Wales to tread the boards there and meet his delightful wife, Louise.

But now he’s back to Scotland, living in Fife. I’m looking forward, very much, to meeting with Felix and his brothers at the annual Edinburgh Festival politics day, where they cram in as many left wing performances as is possible in one day.,

Thanks for your fantastic, not unsurprisingly eclectic selections Felix. Enjoy everyone.

My favourite author or book. 

Never been a big reader to be honest, particularly of fiction.  I have perhaps read more in the last 10 years or so, but I’ve always revelled in autobiographies – some favourites were Rikki Fulton, Danny Baker’s trilogy, Mo Mowlam and Peter Ustinov.  Not read Obama’s yet, so that is on the list.

The book I’m reading. 

A Kindle freebie called The Escape by CL Taylor – the kind of trash that sends me to sleep.

The book I wish I had written. 

Argos catalogue – the book of dreams.

The book I couldn’t finish. 

Lovely Bones. Dull.

The book I’m ashamed I haven’t read. 

It’s a cliche, but all the classics – Dickens, Hardy etc.  Never been one for fantasy, so won’t ever attempt Harry Potter or Tolkein, my suspension of disbelief only goes so far!

My favourite film. 

Movies I could watch again and again include One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Sleuth (obviously the Olivier/Caine original), West Side Story and The Odd Couple. 

My favourite play. 

This has been mentioned before in this series, but I saw Ulster American with Mark G a couple of years back at the Traverse, which was amazing.  We spoke to one of the actors (Darrell D’Silva) outside afterwards and his wise-cracking American accent from the stage then morphed into thick Rotherham!  John Byrne’s The Slab Boys at The Lyceum circa 1988 made a huge impression on me.  I used to go to all the previews back then at Lyceum, great atmosphere in there.  Seen many great musicals – Green Day’s American Idiot once in Cardiff and once at the Playhouse in Edinburgh, Blood Brothers, special mention for B2’s production of Rent and FCT doing Jesus Christ Superstar in the Fringe a few years back (and being well oiled helped with my accompanying every word from the audience!). 

My favourite podcast.  

Adam Buxton is always good with a nice interviewing manner and interesting people.  His recent chat with McCartney was miles better than Idris Elba’s bum lick on BBC.  Richard Herring’s LHSTP is very silly, but still makes me smile.  The BBC Sounds series Tunnel 29 is an extraordinary tale of escaping under the Berlin Wall, gripping and well worth seeking out.

The box set I’m hooked on. 

Enjoyed Zerozerozero a lot – atmospheric, dark, crazy and great acting.  I was late to the party with Ben Elton’s Upstart Crow but binged right through, very clever.  I love Derry Girls on All4 and Detectorists has also been a lockdown binge. 

My favourite TV series. 

GBH with Michael Palin and Robert Lindsay at the top of their game, very much of its time but still relevant.  I always return to Have I Got News For You and anything with Alan Partridge.

My favourite piece of music. 

Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien.  My Dad had a cassette of Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic and he played it ad nauseam in the car when us four boys were younger.  For me it is hugely evocative, stirring, dramatic and beautifully performed.  My younger brother bought me a vinyl copy for Christmas a couple of years ago, which is exquisite.

My favourite dance performance. 

Not a medium I rush to go and watch, to my shame, as I know I should, however my cousin Lulu Johnston created and performed a one woman Fringe show in 1994, which was a double bill called “Beastie” and “Gemma & Mrs Kemper”.  It was on at St Cuthbert’s By The Castle and I always remember in the 2^nd half, she got herself into a dolls house and danced with it on for over 20 minutes…amazing.

The Last film/music/book that made me cry.

12 Years a Slave.  Astonishing.

The lyric I wish I’d written. 

Well it’s a toss up between Newport’s finest Goldie Lookin Chain’s “Your mothers got a penis” with some memorable lines:

She walks around proud, with a short dress on
Which sometimes exposes the tip of her dong.
Often it’s dripping, sometimes it’s dry
No matter when I see her there’s a tear in my eye

or from Iggy’s Lust for Life – “Well, that’s like hypnotizing chickens”.  Love that line.

The song that saved me. 

To be used seamlessly in three different scenarios – loud in car on a long journey, background chill at home, or thumping out from a PA as the sun comes up, it has to be Primal Scream with Come Together. 

The instrument I play. 

When much younger, I learned trumpet, tenor horn, drums and piano.  Don’t play any of them now, sad to say.

The instrument I wish I’d learned.

Guitar, definitely.

If I could own one painting it would be. 

Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross.  There was a small print copy on the wall in my granny’s house and I used to stare at it just to try and work it out, it fascinates me.  Even better, the original is housed in Scotland, so my ownership wouldn’t involve any Brexit red tape cos it’s in Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow!

The music that cheers me up.

Elvis, no contest.

The place I feel happiest. 

6-9pm on a Friday, taking ages to make a curry in my kitchen, random hoppy ales in fridge, music loud, chatting rubbish with wifey.

My guiltiest cultural pleasure. 

YouTube.

I’m having a fantasy dinner party, I’ll invite these artists and authors.

Adolf Hitler, Elvis, Shakespeare, Bowie, Clare Grogan, Bjork, Joe Strummer, Daniel Day Lewis and Chic Murray. 

And I’ll put on this music.

Late 60s early 70s easy listening (Bacharach, Tony Christie, Dionne Warwick) interspersed with Chic greatest hits cos we’ll need to dance between courses, then lots of shouty Simple Minds, Big Country or Proclaimers when everyone is lashed up.

If you like this here’s some more…

Duncan McKay

Claire Wood.

Morvern Cunningham

Helen Howden

Mino Russo

Rebecca Shannon

Phil Adams

Wendy West

Will Atkinson

Jon Stevenson

Ricky Bentley

Jeana Gorman

Lisl MacDonald

Murray Calder

David Reid

David Greig

Gus Harrower

Stephen Dunn

Mark Gorman

What Girls are made of by Raw Material and Regular Music (but forget all that, it’s Cora’s show) at The Traverse.

A Traverse Theatre Company and Raw Material co-production in association with Regular Music.

I booked my tickets for this months ago.  I expected it to be outstanding (after all Cora Bissett rarely puts a foot wrong and is my favourite Scottish Director).  But that, as we all know, is what jinx’s things.  So I was nervous that this ran the very strong risk of self-indulgence.

But no.  This is not self -indulgent.

Neither is it self- aggrandising (another huge risk as it’s Cora’s story of her sudden burst into fame in her teens as lead singer of Fife band, The Darlinghearts).

Whether it’s Orla O’loughlan’s deft direction, Cora’s beautiful writing, Grant O’rourke’s hysterical interjections in a host of cameo roles (or those of fellow cast, and band, members Susan Bear and Simon Donaldson) it’s hard to say because they all add up to a package that will fill your heart with joy before filling your eyes with tears.

It’s contemporary Scottish theatre at it’s mightiest.  It’s right up there with Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour and The Strange Undoing of Prudentia Hart.  But where it takes a further step is where it leaves the comedy and the music behind (brilliant as that is) and steps into personal territory on multiple levels.  I won’t say why for fear of spoiling it for you.

It certainly brought out the inner girl in me.  And made me proud to ‘be a girl’.  (When you see it you’ll understand.)

And by the way, Grant O’rourke can pluck a bass guitar like the best of them.

I’m a little surprised this isn’t an NTS show because it, like the above mentioned NTS hits, it could have a long life on the road, unlike its protagonist in her Darlinghearts days. I hope it will anyway.  Not so I can see it again (I’ve already bought another 6 tickets you see).

No, so YOU can see it.  In London.  In New York.  In Kirkaldy.

It’s peculiarly Scottish, but it’s unquestionably universal.

And it’s a national treasure.  Just like our Cora.

 

 

 

Edinburgh Festival and Fringe 2018: my top picks

I’ve done a lot of research into the Fringe and Festival this year and have booked a lot of tickets – for 25 shows so far. All are based on strong recommendations from either myself, The Stage, What’s on Stage, The Independent or The Guardian. So to save you some research time you might want to look at what I’ve booked as a starter.

Top tip. Look at 1/2/3 August for cheap previews and 6/7 August as it’s 2 for 1 days. The restricted view seats at the Kings are not restricted and are a bargain too.

Festival

Five Telegrams – The free opening show featuring music of Anna Meredith

La Maladie De la Mort – theatre

Home – theatre

European Young Musicians 2018 Semi Final

Autobiography – dance

Love Chapter 2 – dance

Xenos – dance

Fringe

Goblin perform Suspiria (film and live music accompaniment – Sold out I think) – Summerhall

Sister Act – FCT

Guru Dudu’s Silent Disco Walking Tour

Ulster American – Traverse

Janis Joplin: Full Tilt – with Hannah Scott on 7/14/21 August

8 Songs

My Left/Right Foot – The Musical (NTS)

Vertical Influences – a canadian Ice skating show – participative

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything

Island Town – Summerhall

De Fuut – Big in Belgium at Summerhall

No Kids

Lights over Tesco Car Park

Carmen Funebre – outdoor spectacle

Killy Muck

Underground Railroad Game – Traverse

What Girls are Made of – Traverse

The Greatest Play in the History of the World – Traverse – with her from Corrie

Also on my list but not yet booked:

Jessie Cave

Our Country

Nele Needs a holiday – The musical

Insert slogan here

Giselle

The Moira Monologues

Richard Gadd’s Monkey See, Monkey do at Summerhall: Review, Edinburgh Fringe

I was taking no risks seeing this.  Voted the hit of last year’s Fringe Gadd has toured the world performing it over 200 times.

what I was not prepared for was its kick in the heart emotional trauma.

This is billed as comedy but it’s so much more than that. (But, yes, it’s outrageously funny.)

The ‘more’ is an entire treatise on sexual abuse and the resultant depression.

The monkey of the title is Gadd’s subconscious creating massive panic attacks and extreme self doubt.  The show is a metaphor about running away from money demons (the monkey on your back) and so, to bring that metaphor to life Gadd performs it from a tread mill and his vest top gradually saturates as his one hour run slowly overwhelms him physically.

But the low-fi technical brilliance of the show with his sound and video designer, Phil, is what makes it so original and ultimately extremely moving.

My wife is not one to demonstrate her emotions by way of leading a standing ovation.

Until last night.

Bravo.

Bravo indeed Richard Gadd.

*****

Sweeney Todd by Captivate: Edinburgh Fringe Review at Rose Theatre

Another day, another sweat in the Rose Theatre.  (Aircon please for next year).

This time it’s Captivate’s older group and their excellent telling of Sweeney Todd – surely Sondheim’s masterpiece.  (We’d already seen The Conservatoire do Into The Woods this Fringe and that was equally compelling, but in a very different setting.)

The first thing to say is this…those boxes.  Great in Les Mis, brilliant in this.  Superb direction by Sally Lyall and Tom Mullins to make a few crates tell the multi storey (well two, and a basement) story of the demon barber of Fleet Street on one storey, with boxes.

(Christ I’m glad that is out of the way.)

This was a great show. Really great.

For Sweeney to work you need an electrifying double act between him and Mrs Lovett.  Darren Coutts and Hazrel Beattie did exactly that.  She, a brilliant character actor, he, a nuanced demon with a stunning voice.

Lovett ran the show with her hilarity and brooding love for Sweeney.  Todd just underscored, smouldered and grimaced and grunted and groaned and was suitably obdurate from start to finish (with some light relief during the hilarious “A Little Priest.”)

The thing about Sondheim’s masterpiece is that he develops song themes for all the characters and as the show develops they overlap, clash and evolve.  I love this about Sweeney.

It’s a brilliant piece of classical musical theatre learned from the classical composers and not only do the cast, but the orchestra too, deliver in spades (special shout out for Liz Woodsend on RedII).

Judge Turpin (particularly aggressive) and Beadle Bamford pull their roles off well but I was staggered by Colum Finlay’s finale solo which was more castrato than falsetto and just amazing.  He was a highlight of the show throughout.

Alistair Robertson pulled off the tricky Pirelli part really well.

The others did well without standing out but the company was outstanding at every turn (I have sung the company pieces in Sweeney and know how tricky and dramatic they can be.)

It’s a tricky venue but hats off to both sound and light.  Both delivered impeccably (if a little strong on the gobos for my liking).

****

Into The Woods. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Assembly Hall, The Mound, review. Edinburgh Fringe 2017.

Many lovers of Stephen Sondheim’s classic, Into The Woods, were disappointed with Disney’s movie version as it strayed too much off point. Not me, I liked the way Disney popularised a bloody difficult show.

But RCS is big enough, and talented enough, to go back to basics and stage an authentic labyrinthian production with so many characters, so many sub plots, but one whole, that demands a faultless ensemble to deliver (and a faultless band/orchestra).

This delivers.

The show itself is a blockbuster, with many great numbers and much classic Sondheim nuance, noodling and conundrumery.

In the world of musical wordplay Sondheim has no equal.  This is his masterpiece in that respect.

It might not reach the heights of his MUSICAL masterpiece, Sweeny Todd, but it ain’t far behind.

And if you want to put the next generation of Scotland’s (in fact beyond Scotland) best talent through their paces this is an inspired choice.

My one complaint is that the man behind us appeared to be breathing through some sort of oxygen mask and proved a great distraction but hey ho, you’re not going to say ‘Gonnae no dae that?’ to a man in an oxygen mask; are you?

At the interval we perused the situation.  He wasn’t in a mask he was just, you know, a show spoiler.

So we moved to shite seats, with a restricted view and poorer acoustics, but no sub-soundtrack of Holby fucking City.

Anyway, to the show.  Decent design.  Great lighting (whyever not, as Grant Anderson designed is in the chair).  Outstanding band. And brilliantly choreographed.

But, at the end of the day it’s about the ensemble.  There’s essentially 17 main parts and several secondary roles.  In a perfect ITW you need a 17/17.

This wasn’t that, but I’d say 14/17.

And the key parts delivered big style. (There seems, from the programme notes to be some doubling up of parts so apologies if I have called names wrongly and I will correct if need be)

Abigail Stephenson as Little Red Riding Hood steals the show in her skippy, dippy, innocent but vicious rendering of the role. Eu Jin Hwang pulls off the Baker’s role sympathetically.

Philippa Cassar is excellent as Cinderella and I liked Andrew Sowrey’s Steward.

Caroline Lyell is brilliant as the witch.

It’s an absorbing engrossing production in a great venue.  Go see it.

 

Fringe Detritus

Forth Children’s Thearte. The Chess Game

Well, we’re three nights into our run with OK sized audiences  ; good for an unknown show.  But we need to up the ante on that if we are to cover our costs.  So that starts at 1.50 when we preform on the Lower Stage on The Royal Mile.

It’s an open air event and this is the scene from my window…

But we will carry on regardless with 39 kids and a battery operated generator.  Should be fun…

After that, a bit of flyering and back for a Barbeque at base.

The first review of the show has come in from Thom Dibdin.  He was very complimentary ad even used a couple of my pictures.

Apps, Happiness, Casablanca and The Chess Game

 

When Two Queens Go to War… Rebecca Gilhooley and Julia Carstairs in FCT’s The Chess Game. Photo © Mark Gorman

By Thom Dibdin

Start it up and lets go! Day One of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe dawned bright and clear. No monsoon, no rain, just a crisp morning with light wind and sunny skies.

A perfect day for a play called Happiness, it would seem, at a sparkling new venue to boot: The Playhouse at Hawke and Hunter Green Room. Good timing too, for the Tron Theatre’s revival of Casablanca, the Gin Joint Cut – which arrives in Edinburgh with a slew of four and five star reviews under its belt. And to round off the day, a visit to the first Edinburgh Local Hero, with the fabby FCT’s The Chess Game, at Inverleith.

 

The Cast of The Chess Game, by FCT. Photo © Mark Gorman

Finally the Local Heroes, Forth Children’s Theatre. I always enjoy reviewing their productions but was slightly concerned to be there on first night of The Chess Game, particularly when the company has just said good-bye to a very successful generation of young performers.

No worries, though, The Chess Game was excellent. Not perfect yet, but the voices will mature and grow in confidence over the years, as will the acting. There are several in the company who need to learn to speak up and out, as the mumbled spoken lines into their boots. Director Vic Laing could also have improved some of the blocking. He left several of the more diminutive members of the company stuck out of sight at the back in big ensemble numbers and tableaux which should have given everyone a chance to shine.

That said, the young company tackled this piece about war, redemption and taking responsibility with real maturity. There are several very problematic moments which they made pass by with a natural fluidity to their pacing. Their musical performances pushed right to the edge of their abilities too – well beyond their comfort zones – and they made the tricky arrangements sound simple.

Of course they do have some cracking support, and those responsible for the wardrobe did an excellent job. The live band were crisp and supportive under the leadership of Iain MacDonald who wrote the words, music and lyrics of the show – which FCT first performed back in 1984. A thought-provoking treat. And I found myself humming the tunes on the way home.

So, come along to our venue…at Inverleith Church Hall, Ferry Road (Top of Granton Road), from August 5th – 13th at 7.30 with matinees on Saturday 6th and 13th at 2.30 pm.

Tickets are priced £12 (£10 conc). All tickets are £8 on Sat 6th Matinee.

Call the FCT Ticket Hotline to place your order on 07794 144372.

And so the festival lies before us…

We saw the Wheel at the Traverse to kick off our festival and next we have the show that FCT is doing; The Chess Game.  I chair this youth theatre and we have 40 excited youngsters treading the boards for the 33rd year in a row at the Festival.

Next, I have Wondrous Flitting, which The Lyceum is staging at The Traverse;  The Lyceum Theatre Company’s first Fringe outing in many years.

Then there’s the shows I’ve booked so far.  I’m seeing Steven Berkoff in action in Oedipus next Friday.  That should be utterly sensational.

But also one of the hot tickets which I have is to see Marc Almond  In Ten Plagues.

But my aching hollow in my chest is for Dance Marathon.  Who will go with me to this experiential play in which the audience dance for four hours in a real life “They Shoot Horses Don’t They?’

There is more…all at the Traverse at the moment, a site specific piece in Edinburgh’s Medical Hospital which is about death and the afterlife called “What Remains” and David Greig’s reputedly wonderful “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart” with its promising Kylie Minogue finale.

You’ll notice I am not doing the Fringe Cancer; Comedy.

I may do Dave Gorman, and I’ve been invited to The Stand opening night pre-fest jolly with CBS, but I don’t do comedy because I’m a miserable Quantas flyer.

Oh, and a snob.

Dixies Tupperware party

Ok.  I was in the minority.  I didn’t fancy this show much in the first place I admit but I didn’t expect it to be quite so lame.

I really hate the way that comedy has overwhelmed the Fringe.  And by that I mean it’s more of a Comedy festival than the Comedy Festival.

And if all comedy is this bad I pity the audiences at this year’s festival/fringe.

Why don’t they do something a bit more adventurous and go and see some drama? (There’s still plenty of it hidden away)

It’s just a three minute sketch dragged out to a mind numbing hour (and arse numbing as a matter of fact because the seats at the Wildman Rooms at The Assembly are VERY uncomfortable if you’re any taller than 5’5″).

But what do I know.  The audience loved it.  Sort of.

My (sorry, our) wonderful, wonderful children

Exam results tomorrow.

All three of our children await them with different levels of importance.  And engagement.

When they come in most will be met sanguinely.

Good or bad they (mostly) tried hard. (Those that didn’t know who they are.)

But it’s not everything. Exam results.

Amy is doing an amazing job at Scotland’s top Seafood restaurant.

Tom is astounding on the golf course; his handicap has now eclipsed most of my adult mates and he will be on the fourth tee of the regional final of The Dunfermline Masters tournament, as his results certificate plops through the letterbox, tomorrow.

And Ria is, from Friday, taking centre stage in a ten day run in the world’s greatest arts festival.

Me?  I try.

Jeana?  She delivers.

Ragtime Publicity Photos

I spent most of today taking cast photos for Ragtime.  Great fun and the kids at FCT were fab.

Well we ran off about 400 photos this afternoon at Newhaven Harbour and The Botanics.  Here’s just a few as a wee taster.  You can find them all on this Flickr link…

The New Rochelles were shot in sepia to reflect the stuffiness and formality of the time and their super wealth.

The Immigrants are shot in a blue duotone to represent the cold misery they are about to face in an America that ain’t gonna welcome them.