Summerhall

19 / 21 / 23 August

12.30

£8-£10

The amphitheater style Demonstration Room of the majestic Summerhall is an interesting beast/ An unsettling performance space for an unsettling performance that represented a Bi Lingual Primal Scream Therapy Session performed in the dungeon of Hannibal Lecter.

Two siblings recreate the traumatic morning when one of the family members was seriously injured in an accident, with the Dialogue acted out in bulgarian by the Sister and translated to English by the brother. There was also quite a Bonkers dance blooming with white carnations, prformed not once but three times.

Its Art Jim
But Not As We Know it.
THREE STARS

Reviewer : Mark ‘Divine’ Calvert

 Venue13 

10.00

2-23 August

£6-£8

An early start for Divine on this Sunday of Theater. Arriving at the venue with only minutes to spare before the start of the performance, I took my seat in the packed theater. A packed theater at 10.00am two weeks into the fringe just doesn’t happen. It was this that told me something of merit was about to unfold. I was not mistaken.

The Performance is titled.”Pomegranate: A Shadow Ballet” A story of unrequited love told through the medium of puppetry and Ballet. All silhouettes of a very talented cast acting and dancing behind a screen. Performance art as good as this doesn’t need to be explained but it does need to be experienced. An interpretation of every hard luck story about giving ones heart away to a ball breaker. And just how painful the consequential process of such an action is. Ouch! 

We follow our hero’s through the stages of heart break and renewal, expertly Interpreted through choreography and dance. The Shadows Of Love are laid to bare in such an exquisitely beautiful way. 45 minuets of eye candy performed to a haunting soundtrack,played by one achingly beautiful violin.

This wonderful work of art I can not recommend more Highly. Sexy and another Masterclass. Five Stars.

Reviewer : Mark ‘Divine’ Calvert

Beyond Zero

Monday 18th August

Festival Theatre

This offering from the Edinburgh International Festival began with a recital of music composed by Aleksandra Vrebalov and performed by the world famous Kronos Quartet to a massive screening of film footage photographed from the start of the first world war to the Bosnian conflict in the 1990’s and called “Beyond Zero 1914 to 1918” A contemporary classical composition of music accompanying the footage of the soldiers who had no choice,other than to fight in this clumsy, barbaric and sad war. 

[embedhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FskOzt6INlQ[/embed]

The cello was played by Sunny Yang, violins played by David Harrington and John Sherba, while the Viola was played by Hank Dutt, the latter being the most emotive of instruments to reproduce this contemporary master piece. Seductive and powerful are words that describe the sensations that the music summoned. Death and destruction never sounded so romantic and dare I say it. “Healing.” One has to ask. If the film had not been screened at the same time as The Kronos Quartet’s performance of this sublimely beautiful score, would the association of war have been so forth coming? Music and the way that we receive it is such a personal thing, as are the images that music summons. So on this note I will have to leave that question open,as I do not have the answer. It was an amazing experience. FIVE STARS

Reviewer : Mark ‘Divine’ Calvert

Venue 13

Aug 15-23

9.15pm

£8/£6

American-born writer and actor Douglas de Souza’s manic creation based on legitimate concerns about the DSM, America’s psychologists’ bible, The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Who decides who is insane or unsafe, or not normal? De Souza is angry at what he perceives is the homogenisation of people and society. Any serious deviation from the societal norms could mean you match a profile in the DSM. He mentions, for instance, that homosexuality was in the book from 1952-74 as a Sociopathic Personality Disturbance. I read up on this myself and whilst the reference to homosexuality was removed the disorder was simply renamed Sexual Orientation Disturbance (*1).

To illustrate his point de Souza performs his on-man show in 6 segments, each with a different character whose experiences offer different angles into how the perception of mental illness affects the individual. He enacts an artist, a conman, a Russian club promoter, a conspiracy theorist, a clubber and a psychiatry patient. The highlight of these scenes was the raver which amidst the pumping rave music of a club our raver dances and cavorts whilst extolling the virtues of club drugs and the nihilistic attitude and disenfranchised feelings of a generation that have lost faith in a society that rarely values its margins, and these margins are being squeezed all the time. The spectrum of what is considered normal gets smaller and smaller. This is a piece of theatre with a voice and a powerful message; in a world where governments make seem to be more and more paranoid about the behaviour of their citizens, snooping and attempting greater control, what is wrong with humans being paranoid also. By labeling people as mentally ill may we be hindering the advancement and growth of consciousness?

The director Cindy Sibilsky makes excellent use of projections and a pumping soundtrack (Public Enemy, Underworld, Biggy Small etc.) to add to the excellent character acting of De Souza. Intelligent, thought provoking and current. 666DSM is something all psychologists and those with the power to pass judgement on people capacities should see and reflect upon. If we don’t it won’t be too long before we’re all in the book. 4 STARS

Reviewer : David McMenemy

References

*1 Spitzer, R.L. (1981)”The diagnostic status of homosexuality in DSM-III: a reformulation of the issues” American Journal of Psychiatry 138

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Festival Theatre

19.30

16th & 17th August (different times)

£15 – £35

Rona Munro’s The James Plays bring to life the period 1421 to 1488.  Munro has not attempted to create a historically accurate account, rather she has created superbly entertaining works of fiction, using facts as the starting point.  A co-production between the Nation Theatre of Scotland and the National Theatre of Great Britain, and directed by Laurie Sansom, The James Plays present the lives of the first 3 King James’ of Scotland.  The characters and their relationships are easily accessible to the modern audience. This is brave, engaging, entertaining Theatre.  Theatre at its best.

James I : Returning to Scotland, after 18 years in English custody, James McArdles’ slightly insecure James I faces the challenge of mastering his nobles and bringing them under the control of the Crown. James’ romantic side portrayed in his relationship with wife Joan Beaufort (Stephanie Hyam) is balanced with the ruthless strength he forges to command the respect of his country men.  Munro’s script provides laughter, poetry and political skulduggery whilst capturing the brutality required of a ruler in the 15^th Century.

James II : The first half of Day of the Innocents, dramatised through flashbacks of the young James II’s life, including the murder of his father, is challenging to engage with.  A puppet portrays the young king in his dark, nightmarish, chaotic dreams.  The power dynamics of the families who governed Scotland whilst James (Andrew Rothney) grew to maturity are captured excellently as the Livingstones, the Crightons and the Douglases vie for land and power.  James’ relationship with the young Douglas (Mark Rowley) develops and shifts painfully from youthful friend to defiant earl, resulting in a showdown, where James asserts his rule ruthlessly.

Both Plays – 5 STARS 

Reviewer : Nina Jones

Greenside @ Nicholson Sq (venue 209)
17:30
£14

15-23 August

It is a brave soul that takes on Shakespeare; it is a braver soul that posits what (or who) may be the true inspiration of Shakespeare’s works. ‘The Sonneteer’ tries to do exactly that.  Sebastian Michael’s new play explores the relationship between the bard and his “fair youth” Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton to whom he dedicated two narrative poems.

This seductive and passionate imagining is interwoven with a modern relationship between lecturer and student.  Through language and use of lighting,  each set of lovers are clearly identified.  Michael plays both older lovers whilst Tom Medcalf plays both student and Wriothesley, and is the true star of the show.  He is young but the sonnets caress and roll of his tongue masterfully infusing a command, not just of language, but of the complex and confusing idea of love and lust.

Historically, we may never know the truth behind the world’s greatest writer but this play makes a damned good effort in exploring one possible facet of his life.   ‘The Sonneteer’ demands from its audience full attention and even if one is not completely sure what is going on,  the sheer physicality of the actors and the rhythmic singsong of the sonnets will keep minds engaged FOUR STARS

Reviewer : Donna Bisset

 Venue 13

15-23 August

£6-£8 (2 for 1)

13.45

This play is a wonder to behold, a shadowy world of silhouettes, black & white film, projected poetry & gothic undertones – a perfect piece of theatre noir. The cast of four vibrant, young Canadian ladies enact an asimovian vision of the future, full of tarot imagery & mind-twisting momentum. Two scenes in particular are worthy of praise. At the beginning, there is a scene straight from 2001, where the four ladies grunt Neanderthal-like their way into the power of speech.  The other has one of the lasses masturbating with a phone while the wife of her lover speaks on the other end of the line.

This is a brilliantly executed piece of theatre, with gripping physical movements pulsating through an excellently written script. FIVE STARS

Reviewer – Damo Bullen

Venue 4 C too
(Near the castle on Johnston Terrace)
18:35
13-25 August
£9.50

This piece of theatre takes a look at a dystopian future where Union leaders and artists fight against the corporation. The two actors switch characters to play different sides of the struggle. As this is a topic that has been covered everywhere from 1984 to the matrix, it is quite difficult to get originality into such a script. The changes if scene and character where a nice touch and the soundtrack and use of video was also a pleasant addition, as were the references to other dystopian literature and film, (Bladerunner, 1984).

I couldn’t help feel there was a little bit lacking however. The two actors could be professional dancers, with their impressive muscular movement around the set, and I couldn’t help but think this could have been a fantastically choreographed dance piece, however the acting itself felt a little bit “am-dram”, to quote my companion.

It felt like it fell somewhere in between abstractness and really pushing the boat out, perhaps missing an extra push in terms of direction. It would be a great play to take young teenagers to or to pitch to fellow drama students, and it wasn’t without good sense of pace and convincing changes in character. The reason for the poor rating is more that on a sliding scale of comparative performances that I have seen in the fringe, I’m afraid it doesn’t quite sit as high as the three or four star-worthy shows I’ve seen. Edinburgh fringe goers are a tough crowd and with an oft re-worked theme taken from novels and movies, this didn’t offer enough originality to set it above its competitors.

Reviewer : Antoinette Thirgood