FESTIVAL THEATRE | Reviews at a Glance
For full length versions of these reviews go to list.co.uk/festival 50 Shades The Musical: The Original Parody ●●●●● Sending up EL James’ writing with fondness, the parody revolves around a book group’s overheated engagement with their latest set text. Christian Grey, the romantic hero, is given a brilliant twist: fans of BDSM-lite won’t be disappointed, but there is also a sly wink towards the novel’s absurdity. (Gareth K Vile) Assembly Hall, 623 3030, until 25 August (not 13), 10.30pm, £13–£15. According To His Need ●●●●● Hobby socialist Nick joins the party to finally score again. He meets party loyal Cass who wants to elevate Nick’s interest for Che Guevara above that of an ornamental T-Shirt decoration. Their emotional bartering exposes the logical flaws that emerge when real people try to apply abstract political theories to their lives. Unfortunately, the play is not a clever allegory on real live political events. (Annegret Märten) C nova, 0845 260 1234, until 25 Aug, £8.50–£9.50 (£6.50–£7.50). Before Us ●●●●● Stuart Bowden is a specialist in surreal comic performance and this show balances comedy and drama with live keyboard and banjolele music. The beginning is a little drawn out but Bowden is an effortlessly funny performer and there’s an exceptionally funny pay-off at the end. Rambling but rewarding. (Yasmin Sulaiman) Underbelly Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 24 Aug (not 18), 8.10pm, £9.50– £10.50 (£8.50–£9.50) Blood Orange ●●●●● In this high energy performance, Electric Theatre Workshop dramatise the fall out of a chemically fuelled night. With little dialogue, events are narrated by the young cast at high speed and while this matches the raw emotion of the characters, the well-crafted script is sometimes lost in the urgency of delivery. The explosive finale is a fitting end to such a high-octane drama. (Rowena McIntosh) Summerhall, 560 1581, until 24 Aug, 7.45pm, £14.50 (£9.50). The Dirty Talk●●●●● Mitch is trapped in his father’s cabin in the woods with Lino, who has lured him there under false pretences. Nicholas Hammond as Lino and James Sindall as Mitch manage to create a pair of tragic, needy yet sympathetic characters who having initially lied to each other, manage to open themselves up just enough before the inconclusive, yet hopeful end. (Barry Cooper) C, 0870 701 5105, until 25 Aug, 4.40pm, £9.50–£11.50 (£7.50–£9.50). Early Doors ●●●●● The cast knock aside the fourth wall and welcome unsuspecting punters into the family run Jingling Geordie on Fleshmarket Close. This show is a love letter to the local pub. The audience are invited to buy a pint from Luis (the exuberant Ecuadorian barman), and hear tales that have all the tragedy and hilarious moments of a memorable night out. (Barry Cooper) Pleasance Pop-Up: The Pub, 556 6550, until 25 Aug (not 19), noon, £7.50–£10 (£6.50–£9) Theatre On A Long Thin Wire ●●●●● Replacing a performer with a mobile phone, Jack McNamara tests the boundaries of theatre, stripping back to a nondescript room and a single voice describing a lonely man’s attempts to reach out. This kind of exploratory work is ideal for Summerhall. However, in the increasingly commercial Fringe, it feels out of place, like the studies of a scientist that need to be shared and discussed, not assessed and rated. (Gareth K Vile) Summerhall, 560 1581, until 24 Aug, 4.30pm, £10 (£8). Every Brilliant Thing ●●●●● Paines Plough’s travelling Roundabout Auditorium is the perfect venue for this endearing play from Duncan Macmillan. Attempting to deal with his mother’s attempted suicide, a six-year-old starts making a list of every brilliant thing in
86 THE LIST FESTIVAL 14–25 Aug 2014
Every Brilliant Thing
the world. Lovely audience interaction and a charming central performance make this show a delight, but it needs another 10 minutes to be completely fulfilling. (Yasmin Sulaiman) Summerhall @ Roundabout, 560 1581, until 22 Aug (not 16–17), 12pm, £15 (£10). God Is My Typewriter ●●●●● Anna- Mari Laulumaa, from Finland, performs and directs her self-written work about the life of the anguished American poet Anne Sexton. Laulumaa’s script has real craft but the representation of Sexton’s husband and children by way of a soft toy dog and two dolls is buttock-clenchingly embarrassing. The poet deserves better. (Mark Brown) Hill Street Solo Theatre, 226 6522, until 24 Aug, £10 (£8). Haggis Haggis Haggis ●●●●● Although this production wears its corporate sponsorship on its sleeve – MacSween provide both the inspiration and the free snacks – Stuart Delves makes Scotland’s national dish more playful than its reputation suggests: an easy- going theatrical snack for all the family. (Gareth K Vile) Scottish Storytelling Centre, 556 9579, until 24 Aug (not 13 & 14), 5pm, £10 (£8). Horizontal Collaboration ●●●●● Four actors – different ones each night – read from a script they have never seen before. They are judges at a UN war tribunal, reading transcripts from witnesses involved in a case concerning the death of an African war lord and the rape of one of his staff. Unfortunately Horizontal Collaboration never delivers on its premise. (Gail Tolley) Traverse, 228 1404, until 24 Aug (not 18), various times, £18 (£13). The Illicit Thrill ●●●●● Gypsy Charms is one of the original pioneers of the burlesque revival in Scotland. While stag night lads love it, it makes tough challenges to respectable assumptions about desire and power-relationships between the sexes, and walks a tightrope as it shocks and surprises. Through individual acts, Charms has found a distinctive cabaret that is rough, funny and unashamed. (Gareth K Vile) Voodoo Rooms, 556 7060, until 24 Aug (not 18–20), 11.40pm, £8. The Initiate ●●●●● The dialogue crackles in Alexandra Wood’s intense, snappy drama about a London cabbie who returns to his native Somalia to rescue a couple who have been kidnapped by pirates. The three actors here deliver fantastic performances, and Wood’s smart and humorous script effectively conveys its hero’s troubled emotions. (Yasmin Sulaiman) Summerhall @ Roundabout, 560 1581, 13, 15, 19, 21 Aug, 1.50pm; 16, 23 Aug, noon, £15–£17 (£10–£12). Jay-Z And Me: A Fast-Talking Memoir ●●●●● 60-year-old New Yorker Brenda Cullerton is a massive Jay-Z fan. Forced to attend his concerts alone (her husband isn’t a fan; her children are embarrassed), she stands in awe of the man whose love of words equals her own. Cullerton seems like a nice enough lady but once you’ve got over an old white lady spitting rap verses, there’s very little here to keep you engaged. (Niki Boyle) Sweet Grassmarket, 243 3596, until 17 Aug, 4.40pm, £8 (£7). Lippy ●●●●● In 2000, four women died in a house near Dublin. With respect and sensitivity, directors Bush Moukarzel, Ben Kidd and screenwriter Mark O’Halloran gradually spiral closer to the events in question. Words are lost, broken or drowned out until, finally, one of the women is given a voice in a fractured masterpiece of a monologue. (Susan Mansfield) Traverse, 228 1404, until 24 Aug (not 18), times vary, £19 (£14). Race By David Mamet ●●●●● Although the South African theatre at the Fringe in recent years has been acclaimed for its ability to give familiar Western plays an African twist, Race does not escape its American preoccupations with the conflict between black and white. Race-cards are thrown about like a game of 52 pick up and Mamet treads into territory uncomfortable and almost racist. Yet the interplay between this great cast makes this an exciting and emotive
production. (Gareth K Vile) Assembly George Square, 623 3030, until 25 Aug, 3.20pm, £12–£13 (£11–£12). Sister ●●●●● Sister is a bold autobiographical piece told by sisters Amy and Rosana Cade, exploring issues of female sexual identity, sexual expression and choice. Naked, they introduce themselves as Amy the sex worker and Rosana the lesbian and recount stories of their shared childhood and individual sexual experiences. Funny, inspirational and sad in turn, both women have experienced feeling marginalised and misunderstood. (Rowena McIntosh) Summerhall, 560 1581, until 24 Aug (not 19), 8.15pm, £13 (£11). Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind ●●●●● American collective the Neo-Futurists could be the ultimate contradiction: high-minded slackers with rockets up their asses. An audacious project, where a cast perform 30 ‘plays’ in an hour, this has the vibe of a happening, where the philosophical collides with childish lunacy. Their warmth, kinetic force and humanity melts Scottish cynicism – there’s surely no finer way to end a show than cast and audience dancing together to LCD Soundsystem, covered in blue paint.(Lorna Irvine) Underbelly Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, until 24 Aug (not 18), 4.55pm, £9.50– £10.50 (£8.50–£9.50). Trainspotting ●●●●● 21 years since Irvine Welsh’s iconic novel Trainspotting was first published, young Scottish company In Your Face Theatre capture much of the bleak, scatological humour and underlying morality of the novel. Gavin Ross is an engaging Renton in the midst of a variously capable ensemble. This is high energy theatre. (Mark Brown) Hill Street Drama Lodge, 226 6522, until 24 Aug (not 19), various times, £12–£14 (£10–£12). Zelda: The Last Flapper ●●●●● Zelda Fitzgerald, the writer and wife of F Scott Fitzgerald, lived a life far from the image of the carefree ‘flappers’ of the Roaring 20s. Award-winning actress Ioana Pavelescu plays Zelda, weighed down by an unhappy marriage, her husband’s alcoholism and her rage at Scott’s plagiarising of material from her diaries. Pavelescu is a fine actor, who draws upon a deep emotional reservoir. Yet, somehow, she fails to completely connect. (Mark Brown) Hill Street Solo Theatre, 226 6522, until 24 Aug, £10. Torsten: The Bareback Saint ●●●●● Performance artist/writer Barney Ashton and singer Andy Bell have collaborated together on this song cycle, which is at times melancholic and profane. Yet there’s a sly humour too, satirising the tabloid culture of tits and bingo. Woven into this heady combination are tales from the sauna, club and beach where love and lust falter, and all hope evaporates with a new morning. For anyone who loves. (Lorna Irvine) Assembly George Square, 623 3030, until 16 Aug, 6.30 pm, £16–£19. Binôme – Souris Chaos ●●●●● French theatre company Les Sens Des Mots has created over 20 ‘binôme’ plays (this is no.18), bringing together writers and scientists for a 50-minute meeting, then challenging the writer to construct a 30-minute play for three actors based on the conversation. In this case, playwright Frédéric Sonntag has created a manic, absurdist fantasy on never-quenched desire, following a meeting with obesity specialist Daniela Cota. (David Kettle) Institut français, 225 5366, until 17 Aug, 4.40pm, £7 (£5). The Creative Martyrs: Cabapocalypsaret ●●●●● Beatboxing and rapping about ethnic cleansing? Thrash ukulele? Massive hip-flasks? Welcome to the shadowy domain of the Creative Martyrs. Taking suggestions for how to improve the world in between sweeping pithy cabaret show- tunes, they may have just crafted a new Belle Epoch worth escaping to. (Lorna Irvine) Voodoo Rooms, 556 7060, until 24 Aug (not 18), 8.25pm, free.