Edinburgh Fringe
Zoo TV Live Stream
Aug, 2021

The online play at the fringe this year was called ‘Champions’ by Himerandit Productions for #Danish Digital and performed by Andreas Constantinou who is Greek actor. The scene we were met with was Andreas breathing before his show in his own ritual; he sat with two pictures of a man and a woman. We spent a prolonged moment with him doing this until a knock came on the door for curtains up.

He proceeded out of the door through a scaffold basement and found his way to the stage. The large venue was set with traditional sloping seats with the iconic positioning of the large stage. Set with mid twentieth century furnishings of a TV, a luxurious chair, a gramophone all of which he would tinker with for self explanatory reasons.

He took up his position at ground level to inform us of the purpose and meaning of his play that he has not performed since before lock down. We found out to ours and his dismay that he lost both his parents during the 2020 pandemic one of whom died having contracted Covid. As we were thinking ‘poor guy’ he finished his lightly dressed introduction by stripping his clothes off and sitting on the chair naked.

The levels of detail that was covered by this experimental plot, were all vividly striking in the light and colour changes, the distances between props. The room looked like something remote, cut off yet completely normal. He waved a hand to our deepest yet simple senses that can experience and create that have both darkness and light.

As the play went on around him he sat still on his chair neither moving nor speaking a word but with a highly relaxed persona that came through with a very controlled and complete action of stillness in the play. His story was of a recorded tape of him, his mother and his father all with a therapist. When we heard him converse with her his troubles began to be revealed.

All he spoke of about his mother and father was his loss and the fact that he had not played this tape so hadn’t heard their voices within the live component of the interview all about being gay and in love with men. His father strongly disapproved but his mother was much easier. As he sat on the chair omitting his relaxed persona the backing of the stage turned into a projector screen that was to convey repetitive footage including a long struggling wrestling match that moved from sea to field.

That story unravelled and still totally unobtrusively and in fact reeled us right into his sore heart, he smiled and seemed to find contention in his still expression. It was almost like magic as the play came together from the huge lessons he has endured in his fragile lifetime. We sat with him and we wanted to talk with his and console him.

But in his transcendent appearance as a performer on a chair his work had come together in a well thought out show and tell, exploration of and intuitive colouring of how his soul works when he simply moves back and is loved again by his lost parents. From listening to this four way conversation we could tell that even in a hurricane there is still love. In the end he forgave his father and his father forgave him, the hour finished with footage of his father’s funeral.

And in his final Eulogy in the church we came to realise that was the purpose of this play from a darling actor who allowed us to feel and think with dialogue, to escape into the scenes of wrestling, water, fields was to fulfil a Eulogy in the highest purpose and with the greatest of taste. As he was sad he sat, as he angered he sat, and as he smiled (with greatness) he sat, so thanks for sitting with us and allowing us to look into your mind and life. So personal, so real, so naked, so much like a champion.

Daniel Donnelly

Edinburgh Fringe
Zoo TV Live Stream
Until 28^th Aug, 2021

Two Men & A Plank has been brought to the Edinburgh Fringe on behalf of Danish Digital & I can see why. Its just so cool. A couple of cheeky chappies in suits, white socks & sandals strutting determindley around a desolate landscape with, well, a plank. Cue a variety of Big Top scenarios – its essentially traditional clownerie – while drunken swamp blues strolls around our consciences like a harlet in beads.

The enthralling hypnotrance of watching Two Men & A Plank is universal Tellytubbieness for all ages – a fun-filled 20 minutes of action & camera angles, with not all the show revolving around hijinks with our now famous plank. The central portions see changes of music & vibe – the plank disappears & is replaced by Laural & Hardy vibes, flamenco dancing & a slap fight. All good, but better on the stage I think, as televisual entertainment those days are long gone. Perhaps this change of texture was intended, however, for when the plank returned for the finale it was like welcoming a long-lost family member to the kitchen & I was buzzing.

So thank you DON and GNU – two of the stars from acclaimed trilogy MEN IN SANDALS – for inviting us to your fun & rather brain-startling soiree with that never to be forgotten plank.

Daamian Beeson Bullen

Edinburgh Fringe
Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth
12^th – 29^th Aug, 2021

With fewer people at the Fringe than usual 2021 will never the less be another triumph for the Edinburgh scene. The Old town is in the well – known part of the cities underground city. We had a little taste of this at the Banshee Labyrinth down Niddrie Street; the rain was now off for the rest of the day, it was evening when we took our place at David Almanac’s Nightmare magic.

In a chamber the sold out show had black bricks for a stage, a huge fire place (not in use). I wandered what function it would have served. Then the charmingly confident David began his story about magic and circumstance. Classed as theatre his performance had excitement in a thrilling environment.

A book had come to be in his possession that was coded. Having come from University the codes were like crosswords to David which he and his mates could play with. He announced that the book had been decoded, putting a fair sized wooden box on a chair central stage. Like a magician he would rummage through the box all with an air of character of something other worldly which he enjoyed.

As in the classic magic show he took members of the audience on stage and played about with Tarot cards. He pulled of some undeniable magic tricks where the audience gasped and laughed. My first live day at the fringe was complete and all I wanted to do was settle in, while also praying that he didn’t pick me (you know the feeling).

It was the details around it that really helped move things along as we entered into the darkened world he was musing on. There was a feeling things could get crazy but thankfully he was more composed than wild. It came across as a great performance of a script but his idiom set it apart, he had come up with something unique for now. Blending media to his will so as to create the structures of showmanship and tall standing mysteriously laid out programme for us to follow.

I felt things could get good for this young fellow, his willingness combined with his findings were all laid bare without losing his bearings. He left us with a musing of what is this or how about that. Well thrown together from a man in a smart black suit who maybe knows more than we think.

Daniel Donnelly

Edinburgh Fringe
theSpace Triplex, Jenner Theatre
12^th – 21^st Aug, 2021

The Space Triplex down a side street was revealed to be a large room with a few rows of chairs and a stage that took up half the room. My focus was brought to a yellow table cloth. There was a bed, two tables and a woman sat at the yellow one writing something. This was a play called Plasters which involved two Andrea and Chris as a couple who like to thrash things out. All starting jovially and in good spirits, though there was something not quite right.

It was a snap shot of human life, the kind of situation so many can relate to. I’ve heard the story before; we can hear it all the time as we float by phone conversations on the streets. But they seemed for a short while to be well and in love sharing humour about things.

In the play Andreas costume was her bedroom pyjamas from the beginning was this some kind of signal for help. The large space helped the play grow in our minds increasing our levels of pleasure as the audience. And its intentions were only revealed as and when. It was a very giving performance with the active and upbeat Chris cajoling her, where at first she would smile and wave it off.

It wasn’t just a normal day and we soon realised that she was in fact suffering him and unsure of a great many things. We still took well to the performance even through her raging dialogue, her upset heart, but Chris stayed around trying to capture her and holding her in his arms, she smiled lovingly then spat out that love to his confusion and his indignation.

Chris’s manly movements offered the opposite to Andrea’s shy and almost regretful demeanour, their youth was touching as was so much of this performance. There was an ease of flow through a conversation that was to be confounded by Andrea’s vocalisations of her hearts rending pain. And he went right there with her.

She seemed unreasonable and self justifying, to which he too flew off the handle though never aggressively. But she quietened and they sat on the bed holding each other and joking again. But to finally lead us into the expertly placed plot her mind left the room again and it seemed to go dark. She recalled a memory of certain things describing them but became troubled and couldn’t quite tell what was really going on.

They put the joys and sorrows of a life time into just under an hour of theatre. And once revealed the points unmissable stakes were high but everything was disturbed. We knew not the events that caused her fragility but even as the stage fell quite we didn’t know but it was enough not to know. Like a radar the importance of the play was there for all to see and to relate to.

Daniel Donnelly

Edinburgh Fringe
On Demand
From 6th Aug, 2021

For this performance of ‘Ithaca’, part of the online Edinburgh Fringe, Phoebe Angeni presented us with a tour de force of Greek, gothic lords and gods. Her great inspiration climbed out of the poetic book Odyssey by the epic poet Homer. She told us of her biggest love of this book and the amount of languages she has read it in.

In a black low cut dress she formulated the world of this Odyssey into her own magical transcendent voyage through the rages of all kinds of hell. She began her conversations with the gods as rain and storm came from the bleak and darkly red sky. Hello she cried as if into a howling wind. The voice that came in return was the voice of her father a god that sounded like something of pure evil.

She threw herself into the voyage as much as the voyage was thrown into her. She met herself in the mirror though many time she could not recognise what was going on. This wasn’t a wonder because each voice had a different command and intention for her future; as a sentient being. She was told in one voice that she was a fat waste of space and in a Texan accent she was told that her right to live where she was was over and that she must return home to the ancient Ithaca.

She stood fast and developed well despite being in so many states of confusion. The play mirrored Homer’s in its epic and extremely well done capacity for being at the cradle of the often cruel playing hands of the gods, she even had the bow made for them. Her words would flow as moods took her. We saw her growing beauty rise in front of us even as she despaired with a deep feeling that she didn’t want to go to Ithaca and that it was in fact not her home.

She felt this very strongly though could not for the life of her figure out why? Her trances and developments were a strong hold to see performed with total abandon and immersion. Written in the very strong holds of the gods she was played about like a rag doll with the courage to be open and swim in mysterious languish forthcoming as a goddess herself.

She spoke with Athena and enacted a carefully profound rant with Dionysus whom she revelled upon. The powers of the play were so sharp, and worked to be on the very shoulders of the worlds themselves. It was meaningful to such an extent in every aspect. It was an experience of an experience with delays, distortions, desperate soul seeking and finding. With our star Phoebe; being tossed around even unto the land of the dead.

As she journeyed just as in the Odyssey it thankfully started to become clear that what she felt that she couldn’t remember was in fact because of journeys she wanted to forget. And with her great will beside her, her memories were like confessions into the plays astounding depth of insight and pure talent. Phoebe’s play was hers entirely, written, directed, filmed, edited and all the rest by her own hands, and we were just along for the ride in a most vivid and gracious storyline that held a brilliant grip on us.

Daniel Donnelly

Edinburgh Fringe
Pleasance Online
From 6th Aug, 2021

I was happy to begin my Edinburgh Fringe journey with an online one person play called ‘Push’. Performed by Tamsin Hurtado Clarke and Directed by Scarlett Plouviez the play was to be something special triggering a good feeling inside myself. For the Fringe this was filmed in a studio as a new breed of filmed theatre has come into play during the pandemic. ‘Push’ was to master this new media.

It began with a greatly realistic scene of a woman (Tamsin) peeing on a pregnancy test. She wore a long white coat and with the completely white back ground the stage (or studio) was set. First there was a little narrative then speedily on to the affluent dialogue of realised comedy, with that realness and with a kind of fast ska she released herself with great pros and cons about pregnancy.

She danced, smoked moving in and out of her thoughts of being a mother letting us into her trimesters, and there effects. Captured on camera in close ups with walk away’s, smiling, frowning, letting us into the absolute core of her head and heart. In an offering of some greatly descriptive acts of giving birth, raising a child to a depth that made me feel proud of her in her act.

The production used every semblance there is in the art of theatre coupled with camera work and synchronised dance movements all coming together as scenes of a whole. There was poetry in her dialogue; repetitions rolling from her tongue. Tick tock she exclaimed tick tock tick tock. So humanly she entranced us offering an unforgiving relevance between loving and loathing her own child.

After taking off her coat to reveal her bathing suit (bare feet) the air of her act appeared to hold a thrill with no detrimental effects though it took her through it alright. The direction, composition and dialogue dancing were all a work of heart that was praiseworthy, all of which coming as we viewed her gentleness, her courage her beautiful fragility and with that strength.

Her amazing mind imagined every detail of what she needed, how she and her child were to be together. In detail took us through iconic scenes one of which had a spotlight that looked like a doorway and she and her child were its shadows. Included were the coming hardships, as she doubted, forgot and beautifully let us into to a play of such wonder as to cover a great deal of wonderful theatre with something that was perfectly written and so created a perfect performance.

As a child is perfect, as a mother who delights is perfect and as a woman undone finds her strength as she nearly threw up during the performance to take a seat and give us a most amazing look is perfect. The delights of taking this in will have you taken to the heights of theatre, film and she will impress you thrillingly with the gentlest insight of the real miracle she is looking to perform. Her form on camera made her small and big, telling a sophisticated story in itself, we were left beside ourselves with joy.

Reviewer: Daniel Donnelly