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two surprisingly controlled central performances, from Phoebe Garrett and Michael Muncer as the controversial academic and the criminal, hold the audience’s attention, and there are moments of real interest to be found here. Expressions of anguish are dealt with
well, and brief moments of contemplation are accommodated by the mother’s understated performance. The climactic lecture provokes some intriguing medical and moral dilemmas, and meditations on the term ‘forgiveness’ prove fruitful. While a bold stab is made at this depraved and solemn subject, what the production makes up for in energy, it sadly loses in nuance. (Rosalie Doubal) ■ Sweet Grassmarket, 0870 241 0136, until 30 Aug, 7.15pm, £7.50 (£6.50).
KURSK Awesome voyage to the bottom of the sea ●●●●●
Audiences to this immersive drama set aboard a submarine at London’s Young Vic in June were knocked out by the scope of the staging. Given that so much Fringe theatre is necessarily scaled down in terms of sets, costumes and technical jiggery- pokery, Edinburgh crowds are going to be doubly awed by Kursk.
The show is based on the real-life maritime disaster in 2000 that saw the titular Russian nuclear sub sink to the
bottom of the Barents Sea following an onboard explosion which killed most of the crew and left two dozen sailors trapped in an airtight compartment. The piece, a collaboration between audio theatre company Sound & Fury and playwright Bryony Lavery, is set aboard a fictional British sub that’s tracking the Kursk when it goes down. The two-tier recreation of the sub’s interior houses both promenade stage and audience seating, and the degree of detail is nothing short of cinematic. All of which would have been only as entertaining as a fairground ride were it not for Lavery’s astute dramatising of the professional and personal problems faced by the British submariners. Hollywood’s Hunt for Red October has got nothing on this experience. (Miles Fielder) ■ University of Edinburgh Drill Hall, 556 6550, until 29 Aug, 10.30pm, £10 (£7.50).
for GLASGOW THEATRE see page 53.
27 Aug–10 Sep 2009 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 101
SPORADICAL Sea shanties and your long-lost auntie ●●●●●
You thought your family reunions were bad? They’ve got nothing on the Wellesferrys’. Except that it turns out you are part of the extended Wellesferry clan, which is made clear in this interactive musical with name badges all round, enthusiastic greetings from the performers (sorry, ‘relatives’) and the expectation of participation (nothing too painful).
The Wellesferrys gather annually to recount the meeting of the Welles and Ferry families, a tale that goes back over 200 years and involves drowned prostitutes, mermaid ghosts and a lot of cardboard props. Billed as an ‘epic folk opera’ your ancestry is narrated via gypsy, sea shanty and operatic numbers mixed with puppetry, drama and not a little pantomime. The action takes place over several small stages, and in and around the
audience. Whether it’s a boat’s rocky collision conjured out of cardboard or a drowning scene complete with bubbles from the audience, it’s very much in keeping with the Forest’s lo-fi vibe. A particular moment of genius is the cracking in two of a massive wine glass (cardboard again) when one large- lunged character strains her diaphragm with a sustained high note (ironically the production’s weak spot is the quality of some of the singing).
Galloping along creating their own musical accompaniment, the performers have fun with conventions, and while an explanation of dramatic irony may be pat, their playful inventiveness keeps the unscripted feel of a mildly psychotic family gathering. The melding of the petulant younger sibling role with that of foot-stamping percussionist is a particularly good moment of synergy. Little Bulb Theatre are the Forest Fringe’s resident company this Festival, so the production will change as it’s work-shopped over the two-week run. At the time of writing it’s like The Royal Tenenbaums meets Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with a hula girl thrown in and hopefully future generations won’t take it too far from its roots. (Suzanne Black) ■ Forest Café, www.forestfringe.co.uk, until 29 Aug, 9pm, free.
pair embarks on a series of sketches using music, physical comedy, hand puppetry and clowning. Of a cat-and- mouse, comic-and-foil structure or music-led gags or action scenes, each is brought to vivid life using movable light boxes, a piano, vocal noises and minimal props.
By the time Thibaud is portraying both a sleep-deprived tiger, and himself while trapped inside the tiger along with a whole menagerie of animals, you can practically smell the big cat’s stomach acid.
There are no deep hidden meanings in this hour and a quarter of laughs, just the simple joy of watching two men paint absurd pictures in your imagination. (Suzanne Black) ■ New Town Theatre, 0844 477 1000, until 30 Aug, 9.30pm, £11–£12 (£9–£10).
FROZEN Brazen examination of the murderous psyche ●●●●● The finer subtleties of Bryony Lavery’s Tony-nominated play are here bled for
shock and effect, but there is only so much musical blare and spluttered swearing that one cramped audience can take. An impressive initial sense of unease soon wears off, and strands that should stitch together the tripartite plot – intertwining the lives of a missing child’s mother, a convicted paedophile and murderer, and an academic investigating the psychology of serial crime – generally work to confuse rather than clarify. And yet,