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Festival Dance
‘.'.’(}£‘.‘.llllg a 'l‘()\.’ll‘.g ii‘etlitation on old fashioned hero'sni. iOareth Vile.
I The .120: 662 68.92. until 25 Aug. 6.35pm. 5‘7 6‘5.
SPIRIT OF THE SAMURAI Swordplay blunted by repetition OOO
"This display of Sarittirai skill comes With a pure-gift; pedigree: company (tweeter
Tetsi.":: ‘i‘ii‘tageeh: not only appeared !l‘. Kill ’. i;.it tt‘foreographetl the short: flgiitzng scenes. He's working nuger skiiietl performers here. and they «now their target market. too: the snor‘. scenes play out stories of' chivalry. l‘.()l‘(1;il'<".ll(l£t|!-( tit attack. lit. so.i!‘;:tra<:ke<l {it‘d packaged to appeal to the Tarantii‘o-“ferate. iV‘thl‘git‘ eohemng computer ga'“ E geek <fenm>graz7hn:. There's "otoiisiy enthus astv’: a..::- wee participation. a ii:"“€}(l\. ".."‘t;-::~r (2()l‘~(}i(>310513.788 ’~‘<:."g. Et'1(itil‘£trYt£tIi(2 shafts o‘ -‘g"‘. t)(‘:'i"‘~"\;l (l()‘.'."‘. o" sol.tan.. .'.'arrior's;. 5"»:2 trouble is. though. that after the in". at. t‘uge \. l"-ti)’(}E3Sl‘.’t} skirl of gliiiting .c.'.rr,r:ls are i;..ri<:n-pei‘f(:-(:t <:n:;iei:gra:my. the company don't have tricks up their sleeves. The of the snow ié‘m’tES a fatal ri't (luring Titt: ‘ai: aito narasol (lance sequences. and :"e "eeeafetl grunting and fighting fails '.C Ii‘ril’ it)‘.'.’2i"(i$3 the end. Kirstin
I Zoo S:;:i.‘"isi':,le. 662 6892. until ’24 Aug. 7(i‘..’>“()nn‘. {YO—5‘72 '99—” l).
LOST IN THE WIND
Lost Spectacles brings the outside inside 00.
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os‘. Spectacles has a s:"‘:'ar‘§, l)£t'..’j“.‘.'.’()"k feel to it. The cast ..se ‘5"“(1‘t3f1tTfL-(LTS3 such asa balloon. :: ';,'; r,- ”‘ai; aro f)(3‘.'.’f$l)£tl)€3l’ oa'ies. it; create some arresting ‘.*lf3ti£t.
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.'."‘-':r:;- 'i‘: -:;-i‘<;'..in'.t:-rs; a grotto of oddball ""’,’,(:"'.5; .'."‘.’J are <;apti\.'ate(i by his r::.',:ii,r'ir; i)(3|(;f)tlll‘§§f;. At fi"‘(:f; this feels km; a series o‘ theatre games rather thai‘. a coherent ‘r-Jhole. Yet. the characters expressions of (:hiltllike
wonder are infectious. while some of the images created — such as the moment a puppet made from rubbish ascends to the heavens attached to a plastic bag parachute — are truly lovely. iAllan Radcliffe)
I The Zoo. 662 6892. until 25 Aug (not 20). 7.40pm. E8439 (CG—E7).
HEMINGWAY’S HAVANA Buena Vista vibe heavy on Hemingway .00
Featuring Cuban music legends. such as Papa Oviedo (master of the guitar- like tresi. diva singer Siomara Valdes and nimble salsa legend Eric Turro. Hemingway's Havana puts up all the Signs of being a Sure-fire winner, and then takes the edge off with a heavy slant on author. Ernest Hemingway.
Hemingway spent 20 years in Havana and this well-intentioned recreation of his favourite hangout. the Floridita bar. proVides a reason for his one-time secretary and daughter-in-law. Valerie Hemingway. to be the star of the show. Live on stage. she diligently delivers reminisces of Cuba and Hemingway but you can't help longing for a native Cuban to give some insight into their ceiintry and heritage.
Away from the chitchat. the music is a powerhouse of Cuban beats. fabulous
The Vanishing Point
THE VANISHING POINT one.
MUDFIRE coo
Awe inspiring spectacle on stilts.
salsa performances. a raucous rendition of Chan Chan and that addictive Latin American vibe. But as well as digging the salsa SOund, you have to be a true Hemingway fan to appreciate this. (Susan Wright)
I The World @ St George ’3 West, 07527 050265, until 26 Aug, 8.30pm, £72 (E 70).
THE FACTORY Multi-media battle against consumerism so
After last year's engaging Druthers. Precarious' blunt economic parable is disappointing. While their approach - fusing rough-hewn choreography, jittery multimedia and over-blown speech — is fascinating. the Fringe atmosphere exposes The Factory as earnest. too long and pompous.
I picked the wrong day to go and see US acrobatic company Carpetbag Brigade’s two Fringe offerings. After 48 hours of rain their outdoor performance space at Sweet ECA had turned swamp and the company was making do with a hastily-converted studio space. It’s a testament to their skill, creativity and sheer expertise that both productions are still able to
impress this much.
Covered in intricately patterned body paint and ragged costumes, the Carpetbag Brigade creates acrobatic, butoh-inflected dance works on stilts. They’ve realised that the huge, otherworidliness of a 9ft human figure works best with grand, mythical contexts and created wordless stories to suit their skills. Mudfire, is reminiscent of the creation myths of tribal people, as an earth-rooted Beast and an elevated Wind God battle three impish Fire demons. The dexterity and feats of acrobatics are amazing, but the material is stretched and feels overlong even at 45 minutes.
The Vanishing Point, however, is sheer delight. The stilt walkers, communicating to each other through some sort of primeval whale song, trace a pattern of evolution from dinosaur-like creatures and sexually charged tribal people to, briefly, dead-eyed office workers. Even on stilts, their floor work and gymnastic feats are lucid and nuanced, working with the lure of myth to inspire proper, Old Testament-style awe. (Kirstin Innes)
I Mudfire, Sweet ECA, 0870 24l 0736, until 24 Aug (not 78 <3 79), 5.30pm (Milt/fire) and 8pm (Vanishing Point), 8850-89 (£7.50-i‘8).
The promising critique of consumerism is laboured. The proposed battle between the human spirit and the system is reduced to a matter of economics — a conclusion as soulless as the machinery that Precarious condemn. Solid performances throughout cannot compensate for under-developed characterisation, and the fragments of revelation are glimmers of brilliance in stodgy narrative.
Precarious is a young company with tremendous potential - the combination of physical theatre and script is accompanied by ferocious music and executed with baroque density. Unfortunately, obviousness is mistaken for accessibility and intensity for meaning. An intermittingly interesting evening for fans of experimental theatre, but a poor introduction to the company, and a work in need of considerable pruning. (Gareth Vile)
I Zoo Souths/d9, 662 6892, until 25 Aug, 8.30pm, £10.
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14—21 Aug 2008 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 37