list.co.uk/festival Reviews | FESTIVAL THEATRE
ERIK SATIE’S FACTION A baffling trip inside the composer’s mind ●●●●● CRIMINOLOGY 303 Ghost story collides with procedural ●●●●●
THE CASTLE BUILDER Poorly constructed tribute to construction ●●●●●
With radio documentaries and a BBC Prom on the composer to his name, comedian and actor Alistair McGowan is fast becoming the go-to man for all things Satie. He’s accepted seeing reflections between the musician’s eccentricities – this was the composer who notoriously ate only white food, had identical suits for every day of the week, and wrote ‘pieces in the form of a pear’ – and his own status as a bit of an outsider in the world of showbiz.
That personal connection is more than evident in his Satie-themed solo show, for which he’s concocted a free-wheeling script from the composer’s bizarre writings, as well as playing a broad selection of Satie’s piano music – and a fine, sensitive pianist he is, too.
You’re warned at the start in Satie’s stentorian tones that what follows might leave you behind intellectually – but the show’s problem is really its lack of context or explanation for much of what you’re seeing or hearing. However, McGowan is an effortlessly charismatic performer, and together with the elaborate staging this makes for a beguiling, if sometimes baffling, hour inside the strange mind of Erik Satie. (David Kettle) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 28 Aug (not 16, 23), £15–£16.50 (£14–£15).
Criminology 303 is a ghost story with a modern twist, written by the young and promising author Rose Miller. It tells the story of retired police detective Norma Bates who has solved all but one of her murder cases, which now literally comes back to haunt her during her lecture on criminal psychology. As Bates (the excellent Jilly Bond) is taken back to her interrogations of a Scottish laird (the superb Julian Gartside), the careful direction helps uncover prejudice, betrayal and lost love. A mere glass changing hands indicates Bates’ memories blurring into one another and unearths fears about the vulnerability of human memory.
The pace and writing are strong, although at times
a bit uneven. The acting, however, is extremely sharp and highlighted by skilful direction and efficient use of lighting (the amphitheatre in warm yellow, interrogation scenes in cold, white light).
Bond and Gartside easily turn Miller’s promising writing into a powerful piece with real emotional depth. Criminology 303 might only be 30 minutes long but the cast make it gripping from the start until the final, unexpected scene. (Adeline Amar) ■ Venue 13, 07074 201 313, until 27 Aug (not 15), 9.30pm, £9 (£7).
At least it lives up to the title; The Castle Builder does indeed look in detail at the issues involved in building castles, and specifically at a number of celebrated and rather eccentric individuals who made the decision to build themselves a castle of their own.
Developed via Bristol Old Vic, The Castle Builder is
a devised-theatre piece which features two likeable and energetic performers in the form of Vic Llewellyn and Kid Carpet, aka Ed Patrick, who use songs, video inserts and general knockabout humour to explore their subject, ranging from a shaggy-dog story about a non-existent Norwegian castle to some astonishing true stories including the famous Coral Castle created by Edward Leedskalnin in Florida. They’ve found a wealth of interesting material to be sure, but what they’ve failed to do is find an effective structure through which to meld such ephemera into a coherent and entertaining show. The result feels more like reading through a series of similarly themed Wikipedia articles rather than a finished production. Llewellyn and Carpet need to work a lot harder to make The Castle Builder a worthwhile tribute to the wonderfully loopy real-life characters they so clearly idolise. (Eddie Harrison) ■ Summerhall, 560 1581, until 28 Aug (not 15, 22), 12.55pm, £12 (£8).
WIND RESISTANCE Blissful meditation on nature from Karine Polwart ●●●●●
A sublime blend of nature writing and folk music, Wind Resistance is one of the true delights of this year’s festival. Folk fans will already be familiar with its creator and star Karine Polwart, one of Scotland's greatest contemporary musicians. In this Edinburgh International Festival show, she's alone on stage in the Lyceum Rehearsal Room, a space littered with guitars, lamps and a terrarium. There’s a cosy living room feel about it, like we're gathered in her house and she’s singing to us and telling stories. After seeing this show, it's how I wish I could spend every evening. Polwart lives in Pathhead in Midlothian, about a half
hour drive from Edinburgh. It’s next to Fala Moor, a protected wetland area that welcomes geese in the winter, and whose ecology was once closely tied to a medieval monastic hospital in the nearby North Borders. Polwart explores these interconnections through a mix of storytelling and song – some traditional, some her own – linking her love of Fala Moor and her life with her son to a love story about a couple of its historical inhabitants. The result is a blissful tapestry of images and moving tales, propelled by Polwart’s heavenly voice. Wind Resistance is super-local, completely rooted in the natural landscape of Scotland’s east coast and its strong folk music tradition, but performed in a way that transcends time and geography. It’s an unforgettable, addictive show from a performer that has you rapt at every word and note. I can’t wait to see it again. (Yasmin Sulaiman) ■ Lyceum Rehearsal Room, 473 2000, until 21 Aug (not 15 & 16), 8pm (also 2pm on 13 & 20 Aug), £20.
11–18 Aug 2016 THE LIST FESTIVAL 93
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