list.co.uk/festival Reviews | FESTIVAL THEATRE
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IN FIDELITY Fun, moving show about love ●●●●● A DREAM OF DYING Accomplished, poignant story of suicide ●●●●●
Rob Drummond wastes no time in setting up the game show-like atmosphere of his new show, In Fidelity, a charming look at love that’s a sort-of 15th anniversary present to his wife. Hanging somewhere between First Dates and Two Tribes, he whittles down game audience members to one couple, who have their ‘first date’ on stage. As he encourages them to get to know each other, he also tells the story of his own relationship and gets the crowd to chip in with their advice too.
For the first 10 minutes of In Fidelity, I hated
it – I felt awkward and unsettled, and had no idea where it was going. But isn't that what a first date is like? You want to run away until (hopefully) the other person convinces you that it’s worth sticking around. And Drummond does: In Fidelity evolves into a
lovely show, and the audience has as much to do with that as its creator. When one audience member says his definition of love is ‘looking after each other’, for instance, it triggers a chorus of sighs and moist eyes. It’s moving stuff, and unashamedly sentimental – a fitting tribute to love, and all its lows and highs. (Yasmin Sulaiman) ■ Traverse, 228 1404, until 28 Aug (not 15, 22), times vary, £18.50 (£13.50).
This solo performance is based on the true story of a man who washed up on a beach in Sligo, Ireland, in 2009. Investigators discovered that he had checked into a local hotel under a false name and spent his last days depositing his worldly possessions into public bins. He has never been identified. A Dream of Dying meets the unknown man as a
student in his last year of university as he reflects back on his formative years and fantasies his ideal future. Actor Lawrence Boothman is an accomplished storyteller, his expressive face switching convincingly from childhood glee to tender anguish while his practised comic timing complements Treasa Nealon’s witty script. Strong eye contact and occasional steps from the stage draw the audience into a poignant story about the pressure to master your own fate rather than ‘let life happen’. The childhood anecdotes are tightly written but the
script isn’t as strong in the latter half, with some of the switches between the young and the older man less clear. Overall, Fake Escape Theatre presents a moving performance that handles the complex issue of suicide without judgement or simplification. (Rowena McIntosh) ■ theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall, 510 2384, until 27 Aug (not 14, 21), 5.15pm, £11 (£9).
WAVES Captivating reflection on the woman who invented the butterfly stroke ●●●●●
You’d be forgiven for thinking 1930s Australian Olympic swimmers might hold little interest among the festival’s bolder, brasher offerings. But don’t discount this quietly powerful solo show from writer/ performer Alice Mary Cooper. She leads us through a tender account of the life of Elizabeth Moncello, who died in an Edinburgh hospice earlier this year at the age of 95. She learned to swim following a childhood tragedy by copying fish, penguins and dolphins near her Australian home, inventing the butterfly stroke that judges reluctantly accepted at the 1936 Olympics.
But far from a hard-edged celebration of elite sporting achievement, Cooper’s inspirational show is a calm reflection on the quiet virtues of perseverance, moving untold stories and inner resilience. Its origins as a children’s show – it featured in Edinburgh’s Imaginate festival in May – are sometimes evident: why no mention of the dark Nazi backdrop to the 1936 games, for example? But Cooper’s considered storytelling and the show’s emotional directness make its punch all the more powerful, and its message of dedication and self-belief is relevant to audiences of all ages. (David Kettle) ■ Summerhall, 560 1581, until 28 Aug (not 15, 22), 10.10am, £9 (£7.50).
I, WHO HAVE HANDS MORE INNOCENT Heartfelt tribute to Croatian poet Vesna Parun ●●●●●
Are you ready to delve deep into the world of Croatian erotic poetry? The off-beat, off-kilter world of the Edinburgh Fringe is a perfect place to tackle such an outré subject, and I, Who Have Hands More Innocent certainly delivers in terms of presenting fresh and previously unknown material. The title comes from a paraphrased line written by Vesna
Parun, described in the show’s adverts as ‘the most famous female Croatian poet of all time’, and powerfully embodied in this one-woman show by Vesna Dominic Matacic. In a simple white dress, and with little more than a map of the world and some torn paper in plastic bags, Parun’s fierce spirit is evoked through excerpts taken from her own writings, which deal with her evolution as a woman and as an artist during and after WWII, and specifically with her struggles against the male patriarchy.
The language is strong, and it’s clear that Parun took no
prisoners in her search to speak the truth about her life. Matacic is more than up to the demands of the role, but there’s some annoying technical issues to be resolved here; the subtitles are projected onto a curtain, the folds of which often obscure the words, and the translation is often poor; mention of ‘metings’, ‘womanly sprong’ and ‘cerebral squelchness’ are enough to send even fans of Joycean free-expression reaching for their thesaurus, and too often obscure the meanings of the original text. That said, I, Who Have Hands More Innocent is likely to be of
substantial interest to those interested in poetry, Croatian history or the struggle of women against men. It’s just a shame that a little more care with the words wasn’t taken for this demanding but eventually rewarding take on Parun’s story to find the universal audience that it deserves. (Eddie Harrison) ■ ZOO, 662 6892, until 29 Aug, 7.25pm, £10 (£8).
11–18 Aug 2016 THE LIST FESTIVAL 89