Festival Theatre
PALACE OF THE END Ongoing Iraq drama with real-life characters
Four years ago, the Fringe was shaking with Iraq, and one of the best- received productions was playwright Judith Thompson’s My Pyramids, a hard-hitting speculative monologue from the point of view of Private Lynndie England. While Fringe fads might have moved on, Thompson, like a ticking conscience, refuses to let theatre audiences off the hook easily. ‘I am still compelled to create theatre
out of the war in Iraq,’ she says,
‘because that catastrophe is something we are all playing a part in and theatre gives us an opportunity to really consider our roles.’ Palace at the End, which comes to
Edinburgh from a hugely acclaimed run at Manchester’s Royal Exchange, has grown out of My Pyramids, and England’s monologue forms the first third; but she’s now accompanied on stage by two other key characters from that period: Dr David Kelly, imagined in the 20 minutes leading up to his death, and Iraqi mother and political leader Nehrjas Al Saffarh.
THE EVENT An indescribable show about words failing
David Calvitto is lost for words. The usually chatty actor is taking a break from rehearsals for The Event, the one-man show by Fringe favourite and multi award-winner John Clancy, which Calvitto is performing at the Fringe but he’s struggling to find the words to describe it. Finally and rather appropriately, he says, ‘It’s about words failing.’ The Event, he continues, is about how we perceive reality and about how
we communicate in the modern world, often with minimal face time. ‘We talk about keeping “in touch” when we’re actually nowhere near each other,’ he says. ‘I sit at my computer frantically typing an email to Bob in Spain, I talk on the phone to Mary in California, I text, I Facebook and it gives me the illusion of being in touch with people when actually I’m sitting alone in my room.’
The piece also looks at humankind’s need to be part of an event – be it a
football match, Michael Jackson’s memorial service or the biggest arts festival in the world. And it looks at why we are willing to pay to sit in a darkened room to be entertained by complete strangers.
‘This play is not about fantasy or distraction. It’s the exact opposite. It’s
about what is really happening right at this moment and that’s entertaining too,’ says Calvitto. As with much of Clancy’s work, it is also about stripping away the artifice
of theatre.
‘I like doing one-man shows,’ says Calvitto. ‘I love being responsible for everything. Maybe it’s an ego thing, all the pressure and the attention is focused on you. That is really living in the moment.’ (Isobel Marks) ■ Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, 8–31 Aug (not 18), 1.10pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Previews 6 & 7 Aug, £5.
64 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 6–13 Aug 2009
ICARUS 2.0 Council estates, myths and genetic engineering
At a time of extended lives and equally elongated childhoods, people are making decisions in their 30s that previous generations might have thought of in their 20s. This version of the Icarus myth from Camden People’s Theatre captures that moment, as well as providing a new commentary, with a genetic engineering theme.
Set on a council estate in London, this piece also contains a social commentary. ‘There’s a sense of confinement, being in a small space,’ says director Matt Ball of the two- hander. ‘In a council house or a rented flat in London, there’s that feeling of being a caged animal. The piece captures that ambition to escape, but if you try you might fall.’
Running parallel to this, Icarus 2.0 weaves in a biographical element. ‘We’ve all got different relationships with our fathers and our desire to be fathers,’ he says. ‘There’s two layers to the piece: on one level there’s a story going on, and on the other side there are bits of the piece where the performers are themselves and telling stories of their own lives and commenting on the story.’ (Steve Cramer) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 8–31 Aug (not 18, 25), 3.25pm £9–£10 (£7.50–£8.50). Previews until 7 Aug, £5.
CRUSH Love, sex and technology from the Love, Sex and Cider author
Paul Charlton hasn’t been seen at the Edinburgh Fringe since winning a major award for his debut – Love, Sex and Cider – in 2003. Six years later, north-east England’s emerging playwriting talent returns with Crush, a two-hander that depicts a fractured marriage and the effect of the internet on its characters. ‘Technology in the last decade has
jumped to this place where we live our lives through the internet,’ Charlton explains. ‘The main character in Crush just surfs on the net doing nothing. So it’s about how we relate to people in the modern world.’
‘Engaging with these events can provide catharsis,’ says Thompson. ‘It’s an articulation of the chaotic soup of guilt, anger, ignorance, despair and hope that roils around in so many of us.’ (Kirstin Innes) ■ Traverse Theatre, 228 1404, 9–30 Aug (not 10, 17, 24), times vary, £16–£18 (£11–£12). Preview 8 Aug, £11 (£5).
JANE AUSTEN’S GUIDE TO PORNOGRAPHY Another serving of thoughtful, energetic filth from Out Cast Theatre
Out Cast Theatre, Australia’s oldest gay theatre company, delighted Fringe-goers last year with their filthy yet poignant comedy, The Adventures of Butt Boy and Tigger. In 2009, they’re returning with Jane Austen’s Guide to Pornography, in which a writer’s block-afflicted playwright making a living out of ‘dirty, gay plays’ strikes up an imaginary relationship with the novelist. Despite the show’s enthusiastic
reception in Australia, writer/director Steven Dawson admits, ‘People either love or loathe my work’. He has fond memories of his first Fringe outing, however. ‘Edinburgh audiences, both gay and straight, loved the energy and smut in Butt Boy,’ he says. ‘So I had to give them another serving, though with a lot more layers.’ And although Dawson draws on
Austen’s refined voice for this year’s show, fans can rest assured that his obscene brand of comedy persists. He says: ‘Austen’s style filtered so heavily into my writing that sometimes I’d sit back during a performance not believing the language turned out as well as it did. Then something filthy happens and of course I know that’s my work up there.’ (Yasmin Sulaiman) ■ Zoo Southside, 662 6892, 9–31 Aug (not 11, 18, 21), 5pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7.50–6.50). Previews 7 & 8 Aug, £6.50.