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an emotional and physical space on stage. Striking, vital performances from the strong cast carry with ease the electric blend of comedy and anxiety that crackles throughout the production. Cosmopolitan themes of loneliness, difficult relationships, lack of direction and self-doubt are presented with compelling sincerity, while peppered throughout with a quirky and engaging humour that breaks the tension. Billed as ‘physical theatre’, creative thought has been put into the way the cast interact with the set and props, while superb use of puppetry adds an unexpected charm which is picked up by atmospheric live music and a cappella singing by the cast. The combination of all these elements results in a production that has both depth and sparkle and reminds you just how refreshing original theatre can be. (Amy Russell) ■ Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, until 29 Aug (not 16), 5.35pm, £6.50–£10.50 (£8.50–£9.50).
JULIEN COTTEREAU: IMAGINE-TOI Former Cirque du Soleil performer conjures a spectacle from nothing ●●●●●
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THE GIRL IN THE YELLOW DRESS Challenging, intelligent exploration of neurosis, guilt and obsession ●●●●●
Anyone who has reflected on the capacity of words to slip loose from meaning somewhere between speaker and listener will also have realised that this ambivalence in language can easily be exploited in power relationships. This idea is explored to fascinating and sometimes shocking effect in Malcolm Purkey’s production of Craig Higginson’s play. A nervy, privileged, disaffected TEFL teacher (Marianne Oldham) greets a new student, a young Congolese emigrant apparently recovering from political and personal trauma (Nat Ramabulana) at her Paris flat for the first of a series of increasingly disquieting English conversational lessons. In between remarks about the vagaries of language, and the role of confession in the student/teacher relationship, each of these two reveal some alarming agendas beneath an ostensibly stable power structure. Class, race,
colonialism and the complex relationship between these issues and sexuality become the eventual focus of their series of meetings. The piece eventually becomes an exploration of
neurosis, guilt and obsession with a good deal to say about the self-deceptions of both white liberalism and black radical identity. Higginson’s slick, precise dialogue builds the tension nicely, and is wonderfully delivered by the performers, whose sense of physical business feels tightly honed around the text. There is, quite plainly, a formidable intellect at play under this piece, which is unafraid of the complexity of the issues raised, and if, just once or twice, the logic of the plotting slips, this is barely noticeable under the skillfully-built tension. This piece challenges our received assumptions about ideology, language and sexuality to strong effect and comes recommended to thoughtful audiences. (Steve Cramer) ■ Traverse Theatre, 228 1404, until 29 Aug (not 16, 23), times vary, £15–£17 (£11–£12).
library of mouth-and-microphone sound effects is truly encyclopaedic. Some embarrassment is unavoidable for those he volunteers to join him on stage, but it’s amply balanced in most cases by the fantastical soundtrack he provides for them. While the action consists largely of family-friendly silliness, it isn’t all just make-believe for its own sake. Right from the start Cottereau conjures a cruelly authoritarian but currently slumbering monster in the next room, deftly adding an undertone of rebellion – of imagination as refuge from oppression – to this daft yet moving
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spectacle. (Matt Boothman) ■ Assembly @ Princes Street Gardens, 623 3030, until 29 Aug (not 16, 23), 4.15pm, £13–£14 (£12–£13).
THE SILVER DARLINGS Strong, unflashy retelling of classic Scottish novel ●●●●●
Peter Arnott’s adaptation of Neil Gunn’s classic Scottish novel, telling the semi-mythic story of a people driven from their North-Eastern lands into the early, often dangerous fishing industry is a nuanced and moving (if necessarily truncated) version of the book. Kenny Ireland’s staging uses
stylisation that’s effective but never flashy to tell his story, and the performances are universally enjoyable, with Leslie Hart’s put-upon, fragile yet strong mother a particular
The power of Julien Cottereau’s imagination knows no bounds. He has only to imagine a ball to make it as tangible for the audience as for himself. When he imagines an adorable suffering puppy, no one has the heart to put it out of its imaginary misery. From the moment he imagines that an audience member is actually a monstrous ogre, that person’s footsteps shake Princes Street Gardens to their very foundations. That it’s all done with mime and mouth noises makes the experience more, not less, magical. Cottereau’s
highlight. (Steve Cramer) ■ Assembly Rooms, 662 3030, until 30 Aug (not 17, 24), 2.40pm, £18–£20 (£16–£18). 12–19 Aug 2010 THE LIST 71