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Contactsport Interactive theatre shows provide some of the most intimate and intriguing experiences at this year’s Fringe. Yasmin Sulaiman comes face to face with some of its exponents
I nteractive shows are all over this year’s Fringe – from Baba Yaga Bony Legs, in which a Russian folktale is told while an audience’s feet are tickled in the dark, to Adrian Howells’ Foot-washing for the Sole, in which the performer washes the feet of a solitary audience member for half an hour.
One of the most exciting of these close-up performances is Ontroerend Goed’s Internal, the sequel to the Belgian company’s 2007 Fringe hit, The Smile Off Your Face. Unlike its predecessor, in which the audience was blindfolded and tied to a wheelchair, Internal involves five performers seeing how close they can get to five audience members in 25 minutes, through emulating the formats of speed dating and group therapy.
‘We wanted to develop a show that would continue the story of the individual audience member confronted by a performer in a space on his own,’ says Joeri Smet, a key member of Ontroerend Goed and a performer in Internal. ‘But this time we wanted to make it more like a personal relationship.’ According to Howells – whose one-to-one Fringe show premiered at Arches Live! earlier this year – there is a real desire from theatre-goers for this kind of intimate experience. He says: ‘I think it’s a really interesting paradox that as we become more technologically and medically sophisticated, we actually seem to become more and more isolated. One-to-one performance is absolutely about prioritising a very meaningful engagement and interaction with another human being.’
But isn’t it merely an exercise in discomfort? ‘A lot of people think they have to steel their courage in order to come to a one-to-one,’ says Howells. ‘Of
course I understand the nervousness about what you think you’re going to have to reveal or expose, and that you don’t want to be embarrased. But really, it’s just about meeting another human being.’
In the past, Howells – who is currently completing a three-year research fellowship on one-to-one theatre – has gained praise for works such as Held, which involves 30 minutes of silence in which the audience member and performer spoon each other, fully clothed, on a bed. Yet making his audience comfortable has always been a priority. ‘I don’t want people to feel in any way coerced into something that they’re not a willing participant in,’ he says. But this balance has been a fine one in Internal. Smet says: ‘If it’s too cosy and a bit superficial, then you have to ask, “Why make a performance like this?” So we really try to make people feel comfortable, but on the other hand we go a little deeper so that it starts to offer a more profound experience.’
Ultimately, both performers feel that human connection is central to their productions. ‘Sometimes five people that don’t know each other come to the show,’ says Smet, ‘and afterwards, they go out and have a drink together in a pub to discuss what just happened. That’s very nice to see.’
Baba Yaga Bony Legs, Sweet ECA, 0870 241 0136, 7–16 August, 2.45pm, £8 (£7). Preview 6 Aug, £5; Internal, Traverse Theatre, 228 1404, 8–30 Aug (not 10, 17, 24), times vary, £14–£16 (£10–£11). Previews until 7 Aug, £10 (£5); Foot- washing for the Sole, St Stephen’s, 0141 565 1000, 25–29 Aug, £10 (£8).
’IT’S JUST ABOUT MEETING ANOTHER HUMAN BEING’
FRINGE ISSUES
Fringe veteran Richard Fry is performing in a pair of shows in Edinburgh this year. Here he gives up his essential guide to surviving the world’s biggest arts festival
1 Stay sober I’m drunk for 11 months of the year but in August I lay off the sauce. I’m doing two one-man shows this year and need to be match fit. If people are paying money to see you then don’t turn up with a hangover. Plus, that means in September you can get pissed on two pints. Which is a result as you’ll have no money left by then. 2 Wake up I’m really bad at waking up in the mornings so I go for an hour-long walk. I’m too lazy to jog. I listen to music and just zone out. Sometimes I listen to Chris Moyles to remind myself that there is always somebody worse off than me.
3 Do a one-man show If you are performing with other people at the Festival, you will be best friends at the beginning but will want to kill them at the end. And punch them in the middle.
4 Clench You are far too close to your audience in Edinburgh to get away with farting. Even if they’re silent.
5 Don’t moan You are performing at the most exciting festival in the world in the most beautiful city. If you don’t like it, go and work in Tesco. ■ Bully/Killing Me Softly, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 7–31 Aug, 12.45pm (Bully), 2.45pm (Killing Me Softly), £9–£10 (£8–£9). Previews until 6 Aug, £5.
54 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 6–13 Aug 2009