list.co.uk/festival Previews | FESTIVAL THEATRE
RAP GUIDE TO CLIMATE CHAOS Canadian rapper turns focus on the environment AM I DEAD YET? Unlimited Theatre get to grips with the grave
SING FOR YOUR LIFE No creature comforts in unsettling new cabaret
Following the success of his first science-based show, the Fringe First-winning Rap Guide to Evolution in 2009, Baba Brinkman started searching for the next topic for his new hybrid form of theatre. In climate change, he found the perfect topic: less than 50% of people in the UK and USA believe global warming is caused by human activity, compared to a massive 97% of scientists. Brinkman’s Rap Guide to Climate Chaos aims to redress this staggering gulf of opinion through a unique mix of theatre and hip hop. Brinkman cites the curious relationship between
the severity of the environmental danger and the popular response to it as an interesting challenge for the show. ‘A lot of people understand that climate change is an existential threat but don’t feel moved by it, which is very interesting considering how moved we are by trivial things on a daily basis.’
With his new one-man show, Brinkman is setting out to fill in this environmental blind spot. ‘I hope to give people a sense of what’s in jeopardy, a new appreciation for what we have going for us and a game plan for how not to screw it up, plus a healthy dose of laughs and surprises.’ (Jordan Shaw) ■ Gilded Balloon, 622 6552, 8–31 Aug (not 18), 7pm, £10–£12 (£8–£10). Previews 5–7 Aug, £7.
Over the course of nearly 20 years of collaborative practice, Unlimited Theatre have built a reputation on exciting science-based work to great acclaim. This August, Jon Spooner and Chris Thorpe are returning to the Fringe to challenge perceptions of death in their latest show, Am I Dead Yet?. The show sees Spooner and Thorpe use their patented combination of theatre and science to trouble existing notions of death, in co-operation with emergency care doctor Andy Lockey, whose role as secretary of the Resuscitation Council UK places him at the vanguard of these medical innovations.
Through this cutting-edge scientific perspective, the company are setting out to change death’s macabre image. ‘Rather than thinking of it as grim or gruesome,’ Spooner says, ‘we’ve approached it as something inevitable, that will happen to us all, that is part of life. And maybe if we can be better at talking about death and dying, we might live better.’ With a cheerful combination of stories, songs and CPR, Am I Dead Yet? promises to shine some much-needed light on a very dark subject. (Jordan Shaw) ■ Traverse, 228 1404, 19–30 Aug (not 24), times vary, £18 (£13). Preview 18 Aug, £12.
We all bear scars from childhood television puppets, which in retrospect were wildly inappopriate, and somewhat perverse: the mangy Hartley Hare springs to mind. Following on from this grotesque model is Charlie Tuesday Gates’ show Sing For Your Life. Avenue Q this ain’t. Deploying puppets which are ‘scraped up roadkill’, Tuesday combines her love of taxidermy and performance to tackle perceptions of how we treat small animals. As Gates, a vegan artist, explains: ‘We’re challenging people to look at and reconsider the value of all living things, including our pets. The show is essentially about animal rights, but in a non-confrontational and hugely entertaining way. It’s hilarious, unsettling and hard- hitting but accessible enough for the mainstream to enjoy, without feeling like they’ve joined some cult.’
Creating such art has not been without its controversy. Gates has experienced some walk- outs. However, she says: ‘I haven’t had as many as expected. It usually happens when the chickens come out and start singing Britney Spears’ ‘I’m A Slave 4 U’ – it gets people every time.’ (Lorna Irvine) ■ Underbelly Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, 8–30 Aug, 8.40pm, £11–£12 (£10–£11). Previews 6 & 7 Aug, £6.
WHEN BLAIR HAD BUSH AND BUNGA Ex-figureheads toppled in political parody
Satire is becoming ubiquitous – from YouTube to panel shows – yet it’s a form that's difficult to perfect. Patrick Ryecart is aware of this, as he swaps his usual role of actor for that of writer- director of When Blair Had Bush and Bunga. Centring on an imagined visit by Tony and Cherie Blair in 2001
to Cliff Richard’s Barbados home, with house guests Silvio Berlusconi, George W Bush and Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell, it is classic high farce, with an undercurrent of dark comedy, as a dead body has been found floating in the swimming pool. Ryecart explains: ‘A good mix of people in a good setting
should completely camouflage the situation, which is the secret of satire. And certain people are ripe for ridicule. Personally, I don’t like going to the theatre to be hit on the head with a message. That should be something that you are left with later. If you want. I go to be entertained.’ There is always the worry for many in dealing with parodies of
the rich and powerful that there will be a backlash but Ryecart is actually hopeful that might happen. ‘A backlash is a word conjuring wonderful dark deeds and scurrilous things. Wouldn’t that be marvellous?’ he quips. ‘I’d love Blair and his household to sue us for “defamation of character.”
‘However, Mr Anthony Blair, in his all-absorbing role of peace envoy in the Middle East, requiring personal security to the tune of public funding of £15,000 a week is, in the view of our lawyers, unlikely to bring an action (pity) and even less likely to succeed if he did. Perhaps Cherie will attack me in the Pleasance Courtyard bar with a bar stool, but I’m sure she’s got a sense of humour somewhere.’ (Lorna Irvine) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 8–31 Aug (not 17, 24), 7pm, £13.50–£16.50 (£12–£15). Previews 5–7 Aug, £8.
6–13 Aug 2015 THE LIST FESTIVAL 91