The Space @ North Bridge

15/17/19/21/23 August

17.15

£5-£8

It was while watching this special little play that I thought, god bless the Edinburgh fringe. The artistic diversity that this month tosses into the Apollonian aether is simply mind-shattering. I went into see Spectrum quite blind – I knew that it was about an autIstic woman, but not in a million years did I expect the show I was about to see. Set in the world of 50’s Oklahoman cattle-slaughtering, Temple Grandin is an intelligent Autistic woman, brought to life both in body & spirit by Meave Bell. We follow Miss Grandin from her early years, when she was thought to be retarded, to the glorious moments when her innovative techniques in cattle-husbandry take the american mid-west by storm.

Production wise, the play has some excellent moments using sound & light that bring the inner turmoils of autism into A stark reality. The supporting cast is also a fine complent to Meave’s work, with near-perfect american accents & quality comic timing, they were a real treat to watch. Especially so was Dermot Nelson, who definitely deserves some kind of starring role in the future. A magnificent, & thought-provoking FIVE STARS

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Reviewer – Damo Bullen

The Space @Surgeon’s Hall

14-23 August

£8-£9

21.05

This was a snapshot of a not too distant past, when true fans of celebrated artists would camp out all night to obtain tickets for access to the object of devotion. Indeed, this play mirrored my own experience of camping out all night for tickets to see David Bowie perform with Tin Machine at Bradford Saint Georges Hall in 1989. A time when concert access was not governed by a credit card and a computer. 

 

Totally Devoted is a warm and funny play that brings a diverse set of characters together waiting for an audience with Robert Pattison. From the middle class house wife in constant contact with a caring husband, through the Northern English security guard who looks after everyone, to the excited Polish lady hoping to find love in the queue.

This is a play that could easily be the source material for a television sitcom. Light entertainment and refreshingly lovely. Very enjoyable indeed.FOUR STARS

 

 

 

Reviewer : Mark ‘Divine’ Calvert

Summerhall

Aug 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24

12.30

£8

On entering the theater a lady with feathers on her jacket (later we find out she is a grouse) asks if we have any bread in our bags. We sit down and our eyes settle on Rita Grebe, a woman who believes she’s a bird–a Great Crested Grebe. It’s impossible not to find Rita fascinating; she’s grotesque, but weirdly beautiful. Her Grebe feathers draw you in first, as the eye admires her plumage, and soon I?m drawn to the two feathers that spring from Rita’s head, like playful exaggerated eyebrows raised quizzically. We’re soon drawn further in to this alternative world by Caroline Smith’s performance. Her physical movements and facial features are compulsive; I would like to turn away, but can’t, it’s mesmeric; the feeling is further enhanced by Rita’s vocabulary and diction: Germanic, colloquial, idiosyncratic, not always easy to follow, but the sounds that Rita makes attract: Rita invites us to become twitchers, and able to jizz (double meanings abound: in this sense it means identification of bird-like features.). Later in the performance Rita invites the audience (twitchers) to take photos on their mobile phones. Unsettling, but again compulsive. The performance is darkly comic, even when it is not entirely clear why. When Rita feeds (or rather gently stuffs) bread into the grouse, for example, it’s uncomfortable, but there’s disturbed laughter.

The performance is enhanced by the setting; we are in what appears to be a semi-derelict studio that contains semi-circular wooden seats of the type that might be seen when watching Victorian scientific dissections of human organs. There is also a lady behind Rita narrating the performance in sign language; however, quite subtly she enhances the performance further with facial responses to Rita’s monologue. All of  which enhances the feeling of disorientation. The performance has something of the atmosphere of an avian inspired Chris Morris satire; the world is recognisable, but defamiliarized, and unsettling. In short, it?s fabulous; Caroline Smith?s performance is one of real artistry. For those who like to drink a little darkness, this show is essential.FIVE STARS

Reviewer – Paul Rivers

Summerhall

13-24 August

£10-£12

16.00

This is how it should be done.I joined a couple of friends waiting in a Que. The elevator doors opened and we stepped inside and down we went. Imagine being transported back to Andy Warhol’s art factory in 1967.

Only Andy had borrowed a Tardis to travel into the future to persuade Lux Interior, Poison Ivy, Nick Knox and Aphex Twin to collaborate with The Velvet Underground in an immersive cutting edge art project that was multi media and packed to the rim with everything that would captivate and engage my pleasure buttons. The spirit of Andy Warhol was very present. He was smiling. And like me. He, loved it. FIVE STARS

Reviewer : Mark ‘Divine’ Calvert

Summerhall

15.30

14 / 16 / 19/ 21 / 23 August

£5

Louise Mothersole and Rebecca Biscuit are the young & funky brains & brawn London-based behind Sh!t Theater. This year they have brought a slice of investigative journalism to Edinburgh, performed with a kind of bunny-rabbit relish as they bound across the floor of the delectable Anatomy Lecture Theater at the Summerhall. The show’s premise is the girls attempting to get onto various medical trials across London – which ultimately they fail to do – except for a £33 a dayer which is a hell of the £400o they were hoping for.

Two years ago, the girls brought their Job Seekers Anonymous to Edinburgh, & perhaps their reputation preceeded them, for the theater was pretty full. As we progressed, the audience really warmed to the girls & their X-files style quest, which was backed up by Visual Projections & bits of music. For me, however, there was a distinct lack of proper entertainment, only exacerbated by the girls constant failure to get on one of the trials. Still, as a scrap-book compendium of ideas, the piece is quite novel, & I’m happy to give the girls THREE STARS

Reviewer : Damo Bullen

9th-12th August

Royal Lyceum Theater  

19.30pm

£10-£32

The Royal Lyceum is a beautiful traditional theater; gilt tiers and opulent surroundings, it is a real joy to experience, & Ganesh Versus the Third Reich is suited perfectly to this grand location.  A powerful, sensitive, awe inspiring play, which leaves you questioning the very essence of reality and belief. It’s the tale of the Hindu God Ganesh who embarks on a journey to Berlin during the second world war to take back the swastika, which was originally a Hindu symbol of strength and overcoming obstacles. On another level the play is about the surprising and unlikely cast, who are in the process of creating the play, facing their own challenges and power struggles and questioning their responsibility in recreating history. It deals with issues of power and ownership, fact and fiction, mythology and the role it plays in the identity of culture. 

Ganesh versus the Third Reich is a wonderfully crafted piece of theatre working on so many levels, weaving humor and horror as effortlessly as it slips from the land of Gods to the folly of man. The space is ingeniously utilized, with back lit shadows and layers of transparent curtains that conjure up otherworldly scenes.  We are transported from mythical forests in the company of an elephant headed god to ominous train journeys through German mountain ranges, to then be snapped out of the moment, as the curtains are ripped back, to a stark empty stage and another layer of the process of the creation of the play. The visual layers echo the depth of truth that this beautifully crafted script explores.

The actors carry this play to another level of theater that seems almost impossible to achieve, a humane, humorous and powerful performance by each one of the unique characters that we meet. Ganesh versus the Third Reich is a thought provoking exploration of the nature of humanity. It questions how people create myths, how myths creates beliefs, that are then reduced to symbols that themselves become the corner stone of cultures that adopt them.  This wonderfully crafted piece exists on so many levels, making us question the very fabric of reality and history, and the part that we play in it. Powerful and beautifully executed. A mesmerising theatrical journey. FIVE STARS

Reviewer : Glenda Rome

Cafe Camino

12-23 Aug

Free Fringe

18.15

“Men marry because they are tired;

women, because they are curious: both are disappointed.”

Café Camino, a stones throw away from York Place is where Christopher Cuttings production ‘Bunbury is Dead’ is held. It is an original play, based around the famous quotes and plot twists of Irish wit and dramatist Oscar Wilde. It is sort of a sequel to the ‘Importance of being Earnest’ and it plays great tribute to the classic comedic masterpiece in writing and performance.

It is a play based around Algernon and his fictitious alter-ego Bunbury which is played by George Mills – really playing up to the stubborn yet high-flying Victorian. Mills shows shire understanding and dry humour in which to the audience reacted with laughter. The most breathtaking performance is from Peter Baker as Rupert, listing off Wilde’s beautiful quotes like he was on stage at the St.James Theatre in 1895 with wonderful camp naivety in his girl chasing character. Every audience member laughed and smiled at the charm of this production.

Some set and costume issues don’t make this play particularity easy on the eye however considering this is a part of the free fringe it really is worth taking this with a pinch of the Edinburgh spirit. Great comedy performances and clever writing won’t leave a Wilde fan disappointed – as this really is unique. A serious credit to this festival. Four stars.

Review by Thomas Boglett

 Gilded Balloon Teviot, Bristo Square,

2–25 Aug (not 11),

16.15pm,

£8–£9 (£7–£8)

Lucie Pohl was born a German, then was whisked off to New York by her family. An outsider from then on, the story of her formative years as an outsider supplies plenty of material for her excellent one-woman show.

Lucie is a funky performer, & such is her command of both the stage & alternative voices, at times I felt as if I was watching a play with a cast of several characters. The journey she takes us on is quite heartwarming, & one has to feel for her as the teenage Lucie returns to study where she thought was home – Berlin – but yet again feels like an outsider.

A very pleasant way to pass an hour indeed. FOUR STARS

Reviewer : Damo Bullen