Author: Brett Herriot

***** (5 stars)

“Utterly superb”

Wow!  What a start to my Fringe – two absolute crackers on my first day, and they could hardly be more different if they tried…

The Elves and the Shoemaker at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on the Royal Mile is a delightful combination of masterly storytelling and magically inspired puppetry, with something to please everyone – and should not be missed.

The BBC’s First Homosexual is a brilliantly crafted play which everyone over the age of approximately twelve – though probably one should say sixteen – should see.  Created from material held in the BBC’s archives – including extracts from the original radio broadcast, draft scripts, and internal BBC discussions – the play brings to life the process by which the first-ever broadcast documentary on the subject of male homosexuality – Homosexuality: The Condition, The Cult and The Crime – was brought to homes all over Britain and wherever else the BBC’s Home Service could be heard.

Stephen M Hornby has done a brilliant job of dealing with what the programme notes call “basically a load of outdated and offensive claptrap” and producing a nuanced and multi-layered picture of life and attitudes in Britain in the 1950s.  The process by which the BBC documentary came into being, the guarded language used, the careful strategizing, the choice of approach geared towards countering the objections within the BBC itself, the challenges of finding ‘experts’ willing to speak out on what was both a controversial and a ‘not nice to speak about in decent homes’ subject, and extracts from the documentary itself, are interwoven with the story of young man, Tom, who is struggling with the conflict between his feelings and the expectations of society.

Three actors – Jolyon Benson, Max Lohan, and Andrew Pollard – between them play goodness knows how many parts.  Jolyon is superb as the young, ardent, hopeful Tom, who works in Burton’s the tailors in Manchester.  Max and Andrew between them play a wonderful range of characters ranging from the perfectly RP fairly high-up BBC man to the extraordinary trio of young women Tom’s mother invites round for tea on consecutive weekends.  Judging from the murmurs of recognition, the widely differing characters and situations Tom encounters when he ventures into various gay haunts in London were all extremely accurate and well-remembered…

Scenes and characters change in split seconds and with the minimum props.  The action is played behind and around a desk, in a very small and low-ceilinged acting space.  Lightning-fast adjustments to costume and accent present a fabulously rich gallery of portraits, quite wonderful to behold.  Lighting and sound underline the action and assist the rapid transitions of time and place.

It’s probably hard for younger people today to have the slightest idea of quite what it was like to be gay in the second half of last century.  I was born in 1950 and didn’t really realise I was gay till the 1980s but, being a girl, didn’t have quite the same struggle as men did, since Queen Victoria apparently refused to believe that such things as lesbians could exist…  However, I well remember having to watch my back and my pronouns and never being able to talk about my home life or really be myself apart from two hours once a month with the Nottingham group of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement!

It’s appalling to hear the 1950s attitudes towards homosexuality; the language used to describe us, the concept of its being a curable ‘disease’, or a matter of choice.  Groans of recognition met the revelation of the name of one ardent protester against homosexuals – Mary Whitehouse – who chose to regard us as “crippled individuals, a filth we must clean up”…  Things have changed a lot since then, and life is considerably easier for some of us – story lines don’t have to end with us dying miserably alone, and public figures and presenters on TV can be openly part of the rainbow community. 

But.

Part of me wonders if things are indeed so very different today, especially in Africa and south Asia where discrimination and oppression are on the rise again…  How many Toms are there all around the world, feeling isolated and unsupported and, when they hear the equivalent of that 1950s BBC documentary, believing that their only option is to try to be ‘cured’ so that they can live the life of love and raise the family they yearn for?

Grab all the young rainbow people you know, and all the old-and-grumpy [and not so old] homophobes you may encounter, and insist that they see this show!  May some of them, at least, be changed by it and appreciate just how hard it was to be different in ‘the old days’…

And may some of them determine to ensure that people never have to suffer such appalling treatment in future!

Thank you to all concerned in such a brilliant production!

The BBC’s First Homosexual, Assembly George Square (The Crate) Venue 8, The Fringe, Runs until Sunday 16^th August for more information and tickets go to: The BBC’s First Homosexual | Edinburgh Festival Fringe

**NOTICE: Assembly George Square THE CRATE is not in George Square itself but on Buccleuch Street just behind the Square!!  Allow yourself plenty of time to find it, or miss an outstandingly good show…

Scottish Storytelling Centre v30

***** (5 stars)

“Absolutely Fabulous!”

What a brilliant way to start my Fringe!

Judging by the reaction to The Elves and the Shoemaker, Andy and Theatre of Widdershins have produced yet another magical hit – enthralling the youngsters and entertaining the adults who filled the Netherbow Theatre.

Andy’s brilliant with kids [and with their adults], engaging them from the moment they enter the [sold-out] theatre – sorry, shoe shop!  Elvis Schumacker the Third offers to measure their feet: no standard sizes here, rather ‘so cool’, ‘rock goddess’, ‘fantastic frog’ and any number of ‘slightly whiffy and three quarters’…. Everyone wants their feet measured, and it takes several increasingly frantic ringings of a bell to drag him away from the excited kids and take centre stage.

When he does, and the lights go down, there’s instant silence, filled with excited anticipation – hardly a peep from anyone but the very tinies, and Andy doesn’t disappoint.  From yet another wonderfully inventive, brilliantly designed set, characters emerge and draw us ever deeper into the wonderful world of his grandfather, the first Elvis Schumacher, and his superb [and eco-friendly] shoe shop.  It’s an idyllic life, where everyone is happy

UNTIL

An ugly grey factory suddenly appears in the middle of town, belching out smoke and pollution, and engulfing busloads of sad-looking workers who arrive every morning.  No-one knows what’s being made – until a strange advert is shown on everyone’s TV.  Bunion Soulless urges everyone to buy his shoes – bargain prices, three for two offers, and one size doesn’t fit all…

Grandad can’t compete [familiar, anyone?]

What is he to do?

I don’t want to spoil the surprise – you’ll have to come and find out for yourself: but hurry!  If today’s anything to go by, you may find it hard to get a ticket…

The audience, even the tiniest, were held entranced throughout.  There’s plenty of opportunity for participation, and everyone joins in enthusiastically providing some of the sound effects.  Andy’s incredible imagination and creative craftsmanship provide a feast for the eyes and ears.  There are jokes for people of all ages – my favourite has to be the name of the highly exotic not-at-all-a cuckoo cuckoo in the clock.  Brilliant puppetry – so many splendid characters, all individuals and excellently created and voiced – and shadowplay, wonderful wordsmithing, fantastic set and props, and even some real magic, are accompanied by a charming musical soundtrack and clever lighting. 

Absolutely fabulous!

Don’t miss it!

You’ve only got till 16^th….

The Elves and the Shoemaker, The Fringe, Scottish Storytelling Centre Venue 30 for more information and tickets go to: The Elves and the Shoemaker | Edinburgh Festival Fringe