Author Archives: yodamo
Wasted
This show is an authentic insight into the events of two young people who have a drunken one night stand and face the consequences, dealing with how events actually unfolded and the grey area of consent. The writer has done a creative job of portraying a difficult scenario without focusing the onus on either Oli or Emma, the two main characters. The play confronts drinking, particularly in excess, as well as showing the inability of our culture to keep these individuals safe. The focus of the script is in dealing with the difficult decision of whether or not to take legal action over a crime which has vaguely remembered details and huge ramifications.
What I Learned From Johnny Bevan
Summerhall
20th-30th
16:55
****
Luke Wright is no ordinary Essex boy… for a start he can write, & as he bellows out his tumbling waterfalls of words we soon find that he can write bloody well. Like Carter USM without a guitar, his epic monologue sees his personal pilgrimage through the ideology of punk-poet Johnny Bevan. His story is set against two backdrops – the first being the excellent charcoal sketches of London VJ-d onto the wall behind him, & the second is a thirty-year retrospective of his – & my – zeitgeist. In fact, the way he manages to penetrate my memory mists with his needle-sharp, catalytic mimesi, was amazing – a series of images stitched together that managed to cram three decades of life & popular culture into less than an hour.
Poetically the guy is first rate… flowing freely from form to form, metre to metre, with an imperceptible ease. We get classic iambic pentameters, novel rhymes (student/improvement), the sweet cynghanned of the Welsh Bards & some snappy, rappy free verse that shows off the very best of this guy’s command of his lingua franca. Through his spiky tale, he weaves together dystopian visions of tower blocks with student passions, followed by the rushing excitements of Britpop & New Labour. From there the internet age dawns, & we see Luke growing into his role as the quadragrammic (quadraphenia meets instagram) mod-poet to perfection. An oratory masterpiece & a time-capsule, this play is classic – although its audience is a generational one, narrowing the scope for its proper reception & understanding. Despite this, just listening to Luke’s energetic wordplay is a cool experience we English-speakers should all enjoy at some point in our lives. FOUR STARS
****
Reviewer : Damo Bullen
Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl
Gilded Balloon
Aug 21-31
18:30
Jane Goodall – with a monkey
Ever wondered what an intellectually-bubbling coffee-shop girl dreaming of Broadway would do on a quiet morning at Central Perk – well Rebecca Perry’s Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl would be pretty damn close. With a dash of cabaret & a hint of the vaudeville, Perry’s rampant Canadian imagination flashes its way through a series of willowing scenes, painting detailed, photo-poetic portraits of her customers along the way. The angle is she’s an anthropologist studying the punters in her ‘jungle’, along the way conjuring up an ideal boyfriend & a meeting with Bournemouth’s anthropological heavyweight, Jane Goodall.
There’s some great observations along the way, as when the plight of the typical coffee-shop girl’s aversion to seeing her ex-boyfriend is tortured every morning when he pops in for a barista on the way to work. Every now & then she breaks out into jazzy songs, a little bit like that scene in Grease when a wistful Frenchy conjures up a kaleidoscopic dreamworld far from her saloon. Of these numbers, the jangling classic, ‘Zing went the stings of my heart,’ was sheer lyrical & melodious ambrosia.
A slick, theatrical & accessible performance – she is at one hand girlie-fied chick-lit, & on the other a consummate family entertainer. Her characters are well-drawn & while all fluffy up front, beneath the show we have the Walter-Mitty-like undercurrent of those utopian worlds we real people all secretly dream about. FOUR STARS
****
Reviewers : Emily Oakman & Damo Bullen
A Girl Is a Half Formed Thing
Endemic cultural violence is never and easy subject to touch upon. We all wish it wasnae there, but it is. From the reactions of some of the audience members, I didn’t think that they were prepared for this bit of spell binding, challenging and ultimately disturbing theatrical experience. In Ireland and Scotland, the religious factor is a lot more relevant than in England. Catholicism especially. In my work as a Professional Clairvoyant and Spiritual Healer. This sad and unfortunate reality is revealed to me more often than one would expect. It breaks my heart every time, because I do not know if such a thing can ever heal. To have had ones innocence taken by a member of their own family? I mean how much more disturbing can it be for these poor kids. Because indeed it does set off a chain of promiscuity and self harm. Why? because nobody is offering any solutions. There is whole generation suffering this plight of inhumanity and ignoring it is nae gonna solve it. Divine wants to see the sequel of this Master Class. Where the Hero has found her healing and her assailants publicly stoned.They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another’s throats.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don’t have any kids yourself.
“And Man Hands On Mans Inhumanity To Man.
It Deepens Like A Coastal Shelf”
“Untill We Resolve And Heal It!”
Mountain Top
Venue 13
August 18-22
14:00 (1h 15m)
£8.00
This highly emotional performance deals with an array of social issues. Set in the 1950’s, Martin Luther King played by Mark M. Cryer is staying at a motel when he orders room service and gets more than he bargained for. Venue 13 is set in a building usually used as a church hall. But when entering the theatre space you are enclosed from the outside world. The fluency gets faster as the play progresses and as we bond with the two characters: Mr King and a service maid named Camae, played by Kiana Sosa. The few of us who turned up, a total numbering 6, found ourselves laughing at intimate moments.
Bare Naked Theatre challenge the norm by bringing important issues to the fore. A quick search on Youtube shows that the issue of racism is just as relevant today as it was then. There is a refreshing interplay between the two characters in this regard. The set is stark. His room in a motel. The dialogue is crisp and the story is crisper. Emotional ties are examined and become broader and deeper reflecting the importance of King’s very great achievements as a human rights activist. His relevance in the fight for equality resonates with his fellow African Americans who are represented by Camae’s character.
The play uses dialogue in a powerful way building up the story and the subject offering a righteous but humble portrayal of Mr. King’s more personal feelings about what he did and importantly what he did not do. There is a light hearted progression from start to finish and I left the theatre with a broad smile on my face. The maid used the crowd for her method. Watching her engage the crowd involving them with the power of her stare was both tender and touching. When Mr. King spoke his voice demanded to be heard, highlighting the man known for the quality of his powerful speeches. Theatre like this should be seen by as many people as possible. FOUR STARS
****
Reviewer: Daniel Donnelly
Okinawa Sansan
Greenside @ Nicolson Square
20th-22 – 24 – 29 August
15:05
£8-£10
*****
This is a traditional play from the island Okinawa in Japan. Tradition seems to be the word. The traditional costumes, wooden instruments and folk music were just awe inspiring, if explosive was the start I couldn’t wait to see what was next. Following the story of Sanla and his wife, embarking on this exotic love story the cast of 8 (including the musicans) proceeded to take us on that same journey..
With acted scenes of village life, fishing, farming and beautiful dance the wooden drums and violin touched your heart. At this point I got goose bumps !!! The acting, the back drops, the music , the costumes and the miming all added to the magical atmosphere that had engulfed the room. To be presented with such a well written, acted and delivered piece of Japanese life was a true privilege . Looking around the room at the audience I could see that they felt the same as me, spiritually uplifted with what was happening in front of them…
The cast hard worked hard at perfecting this, with the classical Ryukyu Court dance came a delicate but beautiful piece of magic. With the sound of the Sanshin in the background (a type of Japanese guitar), this part of the show moved like silk from a spiders web, capturing that moment in time. The drumming was thunderous but soothing at the same time, whilst the violin just tweaked your heart strings. From courtship, to marriage to the birth of their child, this was a wee peak into daily life on the island of Okinawa , I must add that all the cast are from Okinawa and did their island proud…
This show has travelled to many places around the world and we should be glad that they have returned to Edinburgh to let us be part of their life”s.. In so many words, this show was spectacular , beautiful, colourful, awesome , inspiring, uplifting, warm and very well presented.. There was also a wee touch of Scotland added in, I am sure I heard the violin treating us to the sound of Amazing Grace !!!! Well done to all the cast of Okinawa Sansan for a true look at Japanese life and culture… I will be going to see this show for a second time before it ends. FIVE STARS
Reviewer : Spud
Woman’s Hour
Summerhall
20th-30th (not saturdays)
14:00
£6
Divines itinerary of Wednesdays reviews and witness began at Summerhall for the rather refreshing “Womans Hour”. Before hand I had a jolly good tinkle on the ‘Anatomy Of The Piano’ Man’s Piano, at the entrance of Summerhall. It was a musical day. So a light hearted Lesbian Romp was just the ticket. There were lots of pictures of of some beautiful examples of the vulva, cinder-cooked bra masturbation scenes and lots of surreal silliness.
Believe me, Women’s Hour by Sh!t Theatre is very sexy and will appeal to gay girls and straight men in equal measure. This was a massive fuck you to homophobes everywhere!! The essence of the play is feminist, yes, but done with tongue firmly in cheek that’s a real treat to witness. Yet, the silliness detracts from what are really quite core issues in the modern world, & one finds oneself not completely willing to laugh along. Yet…
*
It was loud.
It was proud.
It had all the right ingredients for a mid-afternoon orgy. Take a cushion and a box of tissues!
Reviewer : Make ‘Calvert’ Divine
How to Keep an Alien
21st to 30th August 1815
£18 / £13 / £8
Reviewer : Steven Vickers
Paul Bright’s Confessions Of A Justified Sinner
Queens Hall
19 – 22 August 2015
The Queen’s Hall
20.00
Divine is not well read up on Scottish Literary Talent. So before I went to this immaculate presentation and celebration of the life of a stranger. To be honest I didn’t have a clue. Now this is nae surprising. Paul Bright was a Glaswegian hooligan turned actor come play write of sorts, who was celebrated by a select few, He somehow managed to secure an Art Council Grant to make a film that was only seen by the select few. He enjoyed taking acid and made his film at Traquaire. Spooky coincidence No1. Divine loves Traquaire and has taken Acid there.
*****
*****
There is much to be taken from learning about the life of a man that didn’t as much make a dent of an impression on his critics. They hated his work, he got slated. I actually felt more akin with him than anyone else in the audience tonight. George Anton, tonights host. shunned Paul, once George Anton had achieved well paying roles in London, he told Paul that the relationship between them was over and that he had moved on. Paul died young at 47, leaving George Anton the executor of his estate. His estate comprised of one box. In that box was a tape of the telephone message that George left on Paul’s answering machine, ending the relationship between them. Were they lovers?
Or was this whole presentation the work of one man’s guilt at not been there for his friend?
Paul was Punk as Fuck. the whole Punk ethic of do it your own way shone through here. But what I dinnae understand is, What did he actually achieve? An unfinished film? A published book. Surely there are artists who are more deserving of the reverence that came forward tonight for a man that, well to be right fare, didn’t achieve much at all. I think this is why I enjoyed this lecture so much. What was represented tonight was a tribute to a misunderstood Genius who was never given the opportunity to heal from the battle scars of life Who knows what would have become had Paul been given the opportunity to heal. FIVE STARS
*****
Art is a funny thing.
But I’m not laughing.
I’m thinking!
A tragedy, a fitting epitaph and a moving lesson in performance art.
Reviewer : Mark ‘Divine’ Calvert
A Gambler’s Guide to Dying
Traverse
8th-30th (not mondays)
£7 – £18
A Gambler’s Guide to Dying is written & performed by the one-man, up & coming theatrical behemeoth that is Gary McNair. Last year his sell-out ‘Donald Robertson is Not a Stand-Up Comedian‘ was pretty a damn fine piece of writing, which now seems more a part of McNair’s juvenilia when compared to this masterful & mature piece of stagerie. Directed by Gareth Nicholls, the theatre was again full & I took my seat before a no-expense spared set of mothball carpets & cardboard boxes. On entering in clothes clearly rifled from his grandpaw’s wardrobe, McNair invites us into the pre-millennium Gorbals of Glasgow, where life expectancy is low, drinking his hard, fights are harder & everyone likes a flutter. According to McNair, back in 1966 to avoid the grievous depressions that watching England win the world cup created north of the border, his grandpaw – Archie Campbell – placed an accumulator bet on the World Cup, citing England to win… & win he did, a small fortune that would eventually be laid on another bet later in life, to see if he could beat pancreatic cancer & live as long as the Millennium. Basically, the guy’s bucket-list was all about distracting his loved-ones from his inevitable & painful demise.
Archie was the kind of guy – or so he says – who would fall in the Clyde & spring up with a salmon in his mouth. His windfall at the age of 32 was the starting block for McNair’s examination of familial relationships, the fuzziness of memory-collation – the version of a version of a man – & the ancient rags-to-riches folk motif dearly loved by all. There was even a spot of the Aenied in an opening passage quite remarkable in such a young playwright, when as Aeneas entered the underground & looked forward to the Age of Augustus, so did McNair spin through his grandpaw’s post-win life with the same epic ease. A fantastic piece, that flows all warm & funny – if it would have had a couple of the later, perhaps superfluous scenes, cut out, it would have been an easy five stars, but in the end a very worthy FOUR STARS.
Reviewer : Damo Bullen
Mumble Theatre 