N A M L U H S Y R R E J F O Y S E T R U O C
FESTIVAL THEATRE | Reviews
P H O T O
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H A R R Y D U F F W A L K E R
LULA DEL REY A mother and daughter’s bond is tested in a dreamy shadow- puppet play about familiar bonds ●●●●●
Chicago-based performance collective Manual Cinema create big screen entertainment, but they do so live. The action unfolds on two planes; the interaction of shadow-puppets and silhouettes takes place onscreen, while off-screen, the audience are allowed to peek behind the scenes and see the creative process unfold, as the crew line up the images on overhead projectors and musicians play. It’s a bold and original way to present a story; Lula Del Rey may
have a delicate, fragile narrative, but it’s always fascinating to watch not just the story, but how the story is told.
There’s a dash of the late playwright Sam Shepard about Lula’s
situation. She’s a young woman growing up with her mother in the remote American south west. A shared interest in space and rockets bonds them together, but Lula has girlish dreams of a wider world, and picks up on the attractive music and image of a boy band called the Baden Brothers. Rejecting parental authority, headstrong Lula heads into the big city to pursue her idols at a live concert, testing the strength of her relationship with her mother. This is an ambitious story with considerable nuance, and it’s remarkable that Manual Cinema manage to convey such depth through simple means. Lula Del Rey might sound pretentious, but it’s actually highly accessible; the entire piece is dialogue free, and the lo-fi images tell the story in such an ingenious way that even a child could understand. That said, Lula Del Rey’s gentle story of coming into adulthood may be too tricky for very young children to grasp, but creatively minded adults should have no such difficulty. With live music in a Roy Orbison style, Lula’s heartbreaking story should work for dreamers of all ages. (Eddie Harrison) ■ Underbelly Med Quad, until 28 Aug (not 14), 4.30pm, £12.50–£14 (£11.50–£13).
P H O T O :
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D A V D M O N T E T H - H O D G E
THAT MOMENT A true shaggy dog story ●●●●●
COSMIC SCALLIES Friendship study that lacks depth ●●●●● JESS AND JOE FOREVER Wordy but occasionally fun drama ●●●●●
That Moment (directed by Marcus Marsh) is a gentle farce which succeeds because of the effortless charm that radiates from Madeline Gray in the role of Alicia. The plot is prosaic. Alicia is a actress struggling to forge a career while her peers appear to be thriving. This is not an original tale or even a particularly interesting one — post-graduation blues are familiar to many who’ve experienced higher education.
However, Gray’s flair for a good shaggy dog story is magnetic. Her talent for spinning a yarn is such that large parts of this hour-long show feel like a one- sided, but pleasant, conversation.
Gray regales us from a set dressed as a living room while making the audience feel entirely at home in this intimate venue. The atmosphere is so comfortable that were she to pour a glass of wine or a cup of tea for the front row, it wouldn’t seem at all out of place.
The pacing occasionally goes awry, becoming bogged down in detail. The strength is in its race towards an inevitable, but unfortunate conclusion, and each moment spent slowing the momentum diminishes the final impact. But Gray’s excellent performance ensures this remains an endearing, if unimaginative, play. (Liam Hainey) ■ C cubed, until 28 Aug, 10.20 pm, £8.50–£10.50 (£6.50–£8.50).
88 THE LIST FESTIVAL 10–17 Aug 2017
Dent (Rachel Denning) and Shaun (Reuben Johnson) are unlikely best friends in the town of Skelmersdale. She’s an articulate student, he’s pretty dodgy and unemployable. She is struggling with her health, he can get her illegal painkillers. Writer Jackie Hagan sets them up together in stultifying environments — job centres, chemists and corner shops — to denote the class barrier straining their fraught relationship.
Despite some sharp one-liners, nice use of surtitles and two excellent performances throughout, the play never really ignites. It’s too keen to make points about working-class culture without any real depth, and the use of references to children’s shows Supergran and Button Moon in VHS format seem out of place amid talk of scratchcards and documentaries by Grayson Perry. It’s bewildering and seems like the writer’s childhood, as opposed to those of the characters. The clichés of the poor as feckless and unwilling to
be educated are also a problem. It’s a pity, as there is potential for an interesting character study here, of a lasting friendship which transcends boundaries. Still, Denning and Johnson make a great double act with a lot of chemistry, and there is an undeniable sweetness amid the urban cynicism. (Lorna Irvine) ■ Northern Stage at Summerhall, until 26 Aug (not 9, 16, 23), 6.30pm, £12 (£10).
Around a functional patch of earth, which doubles up as both children’s play area and place of burial, posh gushy Jess (Nicola Coughlan) and rural misfit Joe (Rhys Isaac-Jones) have hung out together since they were little. Zoe Cooper’s pair of young outsiders (Jess is small, a bit chubby and prone to kookiness; Joe’s a lanky lad with a secret) are not what they seem, and as the years pass, the drip-feed of information, with frequent asides to the audience, provides clues to the true identity of Joe.
It’s a likeable enough two-hander, but too verbose, all too reliant on the constant ping-pong of chitter- chat from the duo, which squeaks and buzzes like a radio. There is a lot of fun with the quirks of regional accents. However, a lot of Cooper’s dialogue is a little prosaic, meditating on small town foibles like narrow- mindedness and a worrying fondness for livestock – even when the somewhat predictable twist occurs. The lapses in time are not always made as clear as they could be. But the young actors give impressive, high-octane performances, and there are some affecting moments to cherish, particularly when they eventually, using baby steps, navigate an awkward path to each other as romantic partners. (Lorna Irvine) ■ Traverse, until 27 Aug (not 14, 21), times vary, £19.50 (£14.50).