FESTIVAL THEATRE | Reviews at a Glance
For full length versions of these reviews go to list.co.uk/festival Sleeping Beauty
300 to 1 ●●●●● Mancunian writer-performer Matt Panesh (aka Monkey Poet) delivers a remarkably faithful re-enactment of the movie 300, but also successfully incorporates a parallel message about ‘The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori’. Panesh’s message is far from subtle, but his passion for both poetry and politics is sincere. His empathy for the combat veterans of today strikes a chord – in the centenary year of WWI, their viewpoint remains as relevant as ever. (Niki Boyle) Banshee Labyrinth, 226 0000, until 24 Aug (not 12, 19), 12.50pm, free. . . . And This Is My Friend Mr Laurel ●●●●● Jeffrey Holland, a delightful old thesp familiar from Hi-de-Hi! is the perfect fellow to telescope the lives of Laurel and Hardy into an affectionate hour-long one-hander. It’s charming and gentle, very much in the plangent style of the pair’s original comedy. (Anna Burnside) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 13, 20), 12.40pm, £8.50–£11 (£7.50–£10). Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve Fucked ●●●●● Jack Holden throws everything he’s got at the role of Bobby, a man with so much love to give he can’t be restricted to one species. If it’s bestiality and awkward chat you want, there’s no more satisfying show in the Fringe. (Niki Boyle) Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 24 Aug (not 13), 6.50pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8.50–£9.50). Baba Brinkman ●●●●● Cerebral hip hop, complete with Venn diagrams and homemade infographics, requests your full attention as Brinkman takes his audience on a geeky, science nerd tour of world religions, examining secular humanism, philosophical magicalism and something called ‘teleology’ through the unlikely medium of rap. (Claire Sawers) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 25 Aug (not 11, 18), 2.30pm, £9.50– £10.50 (£8.50–£9.50). Boxman ●●●●● Brian’s wife has walked out and he’s been fired. Lonely, mildly agoraphobic and casually paranoid, he fears that he’s at best ‘a loser’ and at worst ‘a nutter’. Just as Brian could probably aim a bit higher than a four-minute walk from his flat to find redemption or even a spot of romance, it’d be fun to see what happens when Ruaraidh Murray lets his imagination soar – and goes exploring beyond the perimeters of his comfort zone. (Claire Sawers) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, until 25 Aug, 4.15pm, £10 (£8.50). Broke ●●●●● Beginning with snippets of dialogue taken from real interviews with men and women who suffer from debt, Broke’s rapid fire delivery is disorientating and alienating. Sharp writing makes something as mundane as a charity run for a dogs home a truly terrifying prospect. However these sections, strong in themselves, do not link together into a coherent narrative and a confused conclusion undoes some of the earlier good work. (Barry Cooper) Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 12), 4.10pm, £9–£12 (£8–£11). The Despondent Divorcee ●●●●● Francis Dupree has fallen from a window of a New York hotel. The incident is captured by a passing photographer, and reporter Robert Moloney begins his investigation. The setting of the C cubed venue, which resembles a plush hotel room, certainly helps; seekers of intelligent, well- upholstered heritage theatre will be left anything but despondent here. (Eddie Harrison) C cubed, 0845 260 1234, until 25 Aug (not 8 & 9), 7pm, £8.50–£10.50 (£6.50–£8.50). Dracula ●●●●● How would you feel about Glee mixed with Twilight? Throwing Bram Stoker’s source material almost completely to the wind, the company are happy to adapt Francis Ford Coppola’s screen version instead, casting Mina Harker as the reincarnation of Count Dracula’s long dead first love. 90 THE LIST FESTIVAL 7–14 Aug 2014
(Niki Boyle) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 11), 9.20pm, £11–£14 (£10–£13). The Fair Intellectual Club ●●●●● Based on a true story, comedian / writer Lucy Porter’s play follows a trio of Edinburgh teenage girls’ attempts over the course of one year (1717) to study subjects that were considered off-limits to the ‘fair sex’. There can’t be many Fringe shows featuring punch-ups over Descartes’ solipsism and the mind / body dichotomy, but this is period drama with PMT, and more than a touch of Riot Grrrl in its life- affirming denouement. Utterly charming. (Lorna Irvine) Assembly Rooms, 0844 693 3008, until 24 Aug (not 11), 11am, £10 (£9). Fragile ●●●●● Geoff Thompson’s semi- autobiographical script recounts abuse, torment and a lifetime spent longing for painlessness. The direction by Nigel Francis and Thompson reaches a brutal crescendo, igniting Francis’ seething performance as the protagonist arcs further and further towards silence. (Elliot Roberts) ZOO, 662 6892, until 25 Aug, 9pm, £9.50 (£8.50). Hayani ●●●●● Hayani means ‘home’ and while performers Atandwa Kani and Nat Ramabulana have an abundance of energy and talent, their show could benefit from a firm directorial hand shaping the material for an audience unfamiliar with what that South African ‘home’ feels like. It was clear that those who knew the references loved what they saw. But for the less knowledgeable among us, it was an opportunity missed. (Anna Burnside) Assembly George Square, 623 3030, until 25 Aug (not 11), 5.10pm, £12–£13 (£11–£12). The House of Bernarda Alba ●●●●● Federico Garcia Lorca’s intense hothouse melodrama is transferred reverentially to the stage by the Fourth Monkey Theatre Company; with a youthful, all-female cast crammed into a tiny venue, you can practically smell the hormones as the study of domestic repression unfolds. The House of Bernarda Alba is a hard play to get right; this ambitious attempt at least gets the emotional content flowing. (Eddie Harrison) theSpace on Niddry Street, 510 2383, until 23 Aug, 8.30pm, £11 (£9). The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck ●●●●● Filth, filth and more filth: Fringe stalwarts, Melbourne’s Out Cast Theatre, deliver a gleeful 50 minutes of breathtakingly inventive profanity as three bitchy queens attempt to stage Oscar Wilde’s ‘handbag’ play. It’s broad, Carry On-style humour, and it ultimately feels quite slight, but it’s faultlessly executed with vivid performances and an infectious sense of mounting hysteria. (David Kettle) The Space on North Bridge, 510 2386, until 23 Aug (not 10), 8.35pm, £9–£11 (£7–£9). A Journey Round My Skull ●●●●● Exploring the relationship between Julia, a surgeon, and her unnamed patient who discovers he has a brain tumour, the narrative delves into questions around love, relationships and the fine balance between fantasy and reality. This is a beguiling and beautiful story, but bears no sentimentality. (Jen Bowden) Summerhall, 560 1581, until 24 Aug (not 11) 7.35pm, £11–£12 (£9–£10). Kate ●●●●● When Britain invaded Iceland in 1940, to prevent Germany securing a strategic stronghold, the UK troops were greeted warmly – some young Icelandic women seeing either a romantic escape route to a better life in Britain, or simply a new source of income from servicing army boys. It’s a period ripe for dramatic treatment, but this offering doesn’t really do it justice. (David Kettle) Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 12), 1.45pm, £7–£9 (£6–£8.50). Naked in Alaska ●●●●● Valerie Hager’s autobiographical solo show takes in both the highs and lows of her career
as an exotic dancer: Hager’s performance is astonishing, capturing the personalities of her fellow strippers, clients and lovers in a few deft moves. Naked in Alaska is a heartfelt, compassionate play. (Gareth K Vile) Assembly Roxy, 623 3030, until 25 Aug (not 11 & 18), 7pm, £9–£10. Olaudah Equiano: The Enslaved African ●●●●● With the strident Oscar- winning 12 Years A Slave to clear the way, writer / director Adam Tulloch unearths another true story of subjugation with Equiano (Jonathan Luwagga), who is kidnapped and sold into slavery alongside his sister. Tulloch doesn’t fully succeed in mapping out Equiano’s journey, and the ending feels rushed, but he does create a reminder of what real suffering is. (Eddie Harrison) thespace@ Jury’s Inn, 510 2381, until 16 Aug (not 10), 7.05pm, £8 (£5–£6). Party in the USA! ●●●●● A rocking take on physical theatre, the economic collapse and the mind-expanding qualities of psychedelic drugs. Forceful, intelligent, theatrically ambitious and a sharp assault on the absurdities of the American dream, this show is a party in the ruins of the USA’s financial ambitions. (Gareth K Vile) Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0844 545 8252, until 25 Aug (not 11), 3pm, £11–£12 (£10–£11). A Series of Increasingly Impossible Acts ●●●●● It’s a tricky, if not impossible business to review a devised show; the essence of the performance comes from having an unstable quality, a changing bill of fare from night to night. While the performers enjoy the random nature, the energy and enthusiasm isn’t always transmitted to the paying customers: it feels like what’s being presented is simply a workshop, an energetic bonding exercise in which the audience participation is limited to polite indulgence. (Eddie Harrison) Northern Stage at Kings Hall, 477 6630, until 17 Aug (not 7, 14), 8.15pm, £14 (£11). Sleeping Beauty ●●●●● Liverpool- born, Normandy-resident Colette Garrigan has a dark and deeply personal take on the well-worn tale, finding in it a bleakly lyrical vehicle for telling her own early life story in 80s Bootle, and subverting the romantic whimsy of the original into memories of drugs, drink and disappointment. There’s no wallowing in the darkness: it’s the richness of your imagination that can get you through. (David Kettle) Institut français, 225 5366, until 25 Aug (not 11, 18), 1pm, £10 (£8). SmallWar ●●●●● Powerful verbatim WWI work. Don’t expect a tear- drenched memorial for the fallen, nor a rousing celebration of valour: Valentijn Dhaenens’s thoughtful, quiet, almost meditative piece looks at the tragic detail of war. If at times the show feels a touch cold, that’s only fitting as an antidote to the hot-headed remembrances found elsewhere in the WWI centenary year. (David Kettle) Traverse, 228 1404, until 24 Aug (not 11, 18, 19, 21, 23), times vary, £19 (£8–£14). Symphony by Ella Hickson, Nick Payne & Tom Wells ●●●●● Fresh from glowing reviews in London, this is a tender trio of plays about growing up and falling in love. It’s lovingly performed by four talented actor-musicians, and beautifully lit, but feels a little uneven. Still, it’s a fun – and very sweet – early evening show, with an endearing live soundtrack. (Yasmin Sulaiman) Assembly George Square, 623 3030, until 25 Aug (not 11), 5pm, £13–£15. Wingman ●●●●● A bold meditation on the crisis of masculinity. Richard finally reunites with his absent father – just as he becomes a father himself. Richard Marsh’s ability to use eloquent language to describe a scene in emotional detail raises Wingman above the predictable angst of a ‘men in crisis’ drama into a more positive, and heart-warming conclusion. (Gareth K Vile) Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 12), 2.10pm, £9–£12, (£8–£11).