list.co.uk/festival Reviews | F E S T I VA L T H E AT R E
P H O T O
: H E L E N J A M E S
ANGUIS Thrilling podcast interview with Cleopatra ●●●●●
Sheila Atim, winner of last year’s Olivier Award for Best Actress in Girl from the North Country, makes her writing debut with Anguis, in which podcast presenter and contemporary immunologist Kate Williams interviews special guest, the one-and-only Cleopatra, the great Pharaoh.
Atim uses the fantasy interview scenario to address the differences between these two radically different females. They are both successful, but both define success differently. Where Cleopatra – ‘call me Cleo’, she insists – relied on power and strength to rule, woke health professional Williams campaigns for education and opportunities for all.
The women’s conversation quickly turns into a
bitter fight about feminism and exploitation of power, as both of their pasts are laid increasingly bare on the interviewer's table. Atim’s thoughtful writing carries the narrative thrillingly and tensely forward. Paksie Vernon nails Cleo’s poised spikiness and Janet Kumah brilliantly captures Kate’s volatility and passion. Perhaps the genius move, though, is incorporating
happy-go-lucky radio producer David, who offers light relief and real laughs across a tense and revealing play about dark truths. (Adam Bloodworth) n Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 26 Aug, 3pm, £12–£13.
FATTY FAT FAT Moving one-woman account of life in a body you’re told to hate ●●●●●
A frank and at times gut-wrenching one-woman show, FATTY FAT FAT depicts Katie Greenall’s fraught relationship with her body from childhood up until the present day. As the audience files into the venue, Greenall is doing the Cha Cha Slide, repeating the moves to the hit song over and over again. Behind her, three giant silver balloons spell out ‘FAT’, with gold tinsel hanging down, giving the illusion of a party. The mood is upbeat and celebratory to start, but as Greenall weaves in and out of her deeply tender monologues about her experiences with her weight and appearance, there is a profound sadness that sometimes feels overwhelming. Interspersed with audience interaction and hilarious anecdotes, her poetic and lyrical soliloquies highlight a clear sense of an internal conflict that may never truly be resolved. FATTY FAT FAT does well to break down taboos
surrounding body image but it’s also funny, contemplative and moving. A powerhouse of a performer, Greenall forces the audience to confront society’s issues with judgement and shame, while at the same time making no apology for her own daily battles. (Arusa Qureshi) n Pleasance Courtyard, until 26 Aug, 3.15pm, £8–£10 (£7–£9).
BUZZ Moving show struggles to reach top gear ●●●●●
Matthias has been washed ashore on the far-flung Faroe Islands. He has no idea how he got there. Discovered by a mysterious doctor, he finds himself in an improvised home for damaged individuals, where he looks back over his young life, his dashed hopes, his ill-advised decisions. Based on Johan Harstad’s novel, poignant solo
show Buzz from Belgium’s Kopergietery has a simple but resonant central conceit. What if we don’t all want to be the best, the top, the CEO? What if some of us want to be a cog in the machine, of crucial but, well, secondary importance?
It’s a slow-moving, reflective 70 minutes of
theatre, underscored by a vivid live soundtrack from Karen Willems, and an evocative video backdrop of moody Faroese landscapes from Ann-Julie Vervaeke. Performer Charlotte Vandermeersch (who also adapts Harstad’s text) does a good job at conveying her central character, but Matthias remains elusive, intentionally directionless and scarred by a passion he was never bold enough to act on. In the same way, Buzz remains quite an elusive
show – it’s moving, but too understated to feel entirely compelling. (David Kettle) n Summerhall, until 25 Aug, 10am, £12 (£10).
P H O T O :
T O B Y L E E
GUN Justice and laughter in the Old West ●●●●●
Gun is fun: not a deconstruction of the Western, but a parody with plenty of surreal touches. The hero is appropriately sardonic and cynical: his love interest is hidden beneath a mask of terror. The villain is English and only interested in making money and killing the Native Americans, and the deep themes that the Western addresses so well – family, loyalty, justice in a land where law has disappeared – are given cheeky subversions. William Hartley’s decision to play all the parts, and use some fairly basic props and set, adds to the comedy, as he struggles to jump between characters, knocks over the set and somehow, keeps the narrative as straight as the sheriff’s morality. Hartley clearly loves the Western, even as he mocks it. He
gives his hero the happy ending, avoids the more unpleasant machoism and racism of the 1950s’ films and manages to engage the audience both in and falling out of character. The plot, despite his best efforts to undermine it with humour and slapstick, remains a sentimental parable about the importance of doing the right thing and the power of love to save even a violent villain: it is a testament to the genre’s resilience. Hartley’s energy and versatility gives Gun its distinctive energy, and his exaggeration of tropes drives the humour. Although there is plenty of violence – the baddies plan to annihilate the Native Americans, a bar is burnt down, the hero has a tussle with the masked killer on the top of a train – Hartley depicts a world of easy moral choices and heroism. The lack of pretension and the good humour of the writer-performer ensures that the hour rushes past. Even the insubordination of the props become part of the shenanigans, and Hartley’s combination of charisma, energy and cheek provide a witty and entertaining session. (Gareth K Vile) n Assembly Rooms, until 24 Aug (not 14), 5.10pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10).
14–26 Aug 2019 THE LIST FESTIVAL 81