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***** (5 stars)

“Completely Immersive”

What an experience!  I can’t quite believe that this is my fourth five-star performance of the four Fringe shows I’ve seen so far this year…

Hamlet, prince of Denmark, is grieving the death of his father and inconsolable because his mother, Gertrude, has married the king’s brother Claudius a mere month after she wept bitterly at her husband’s funeral.  Hamlet’s father’s ghost appears to him, telling him that he was murdered by his brother.  Hamlet devises a way to confirm the ghost’s accusation: he will arrange for some actors to act out the king’s death, and see whether Claudius and Gertrude’s reactions show their guilt or their innocence.  Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, daughter of Polonius and sister of Laertes: crazed with grief, the prince rejects Ophelia, who goes mad.  By the end of the play, the only person left standing is Hamlet’s friend Horatio, who remains to tell the sad story of the Prince of Denmark.

This Hamlet takes place in the George Mackay Brown library upstairs in the Storytelling Centre.  We enter the lovely intimate setting and find our seats in the ring of chairs round the edges of the room.  There’s a skull on one chair – do I sit beside it, or keep a respectful distance?  In the middle of the floor a black hooded figure sits silently, head bowed…

The figure rises to their feet and invites us to take part in the performance.  People are invited to take a named role and given their script; and everyone does so very willingly [though I feel sure there would be no compulsion if one really didn’t want to].  The rules for the session are made clear: all weapons are imaginary and will cause no harm and the casting is gender-blind.  Almost all lines and stage directions are on the script, though there will be a place for some improvisation of action and maybe even dialogue.  Script still in hand means that the character is still alive.  Some characters are asked to keep their final directions hidden from the rest of the cast.  We are all invited to join in any singing that might happen.  There is a brief rehearsal of a stage fight, cleverly adapted to the left-handedness of the willing performer who cheerfully declares their complete ignorance of sword-fighting of any kind.

And so begins a completely immersive and interactive performance that has us gripped from the opening lines, where Hamlet directs his newly-cast fellow-players in the delivery of their lines – speak the speech trippingly, I pray you – and goes on to describe graphically the many appalling ways in which actors can mangle, distort, and otherwise ruin the playwright’s words.

Hamlet is a very long play.  This version is cunningly edited to include all the essential bits while leaving out quite a lot. It’s instantly clear what’s happening in each scene, and what the context is – at least, it is to me: but then I’ve been watching performances of the play for quite a number of decades now…. [I miss Rosencrantz and Guildenstern – but don’t particularly miss the comic gravedigger…]. The ghost scene is particularly impressive, as Hamlet plays both himself and his dead father: from behind a skull mask he delivers his father’s lines at an incredible speed and without drawing breath – an impressive display of breath control.

Emily Carding is outstanding in this gripping performance which I can guarantee you will be quite unlike any other Hamlet you’ve ever seen.   One of the enormous joys of their performance is hearing so many incredibly well-known lines as if they are just coming to Hamlet’s mind as he is speaking them.  Lightning-swift changes of volume, tone, attitude and behaviour reflect the tortuous tumult of the prince’s emotions – all the time delivered with intense feeling and compelling eye contact: we are all witnesses to, and partakers of his torment.

All the volunteer performers give laudable and believable performances, but the shoutout must go to the Ophelia, whose wordless mad scene was truly memorable.  At the end, only Horatio is left standing, surrounded by corpses: Hamlet disappears from the acting area, leaving us to laud ‘his’ performance with prolonged and heartfelt applause.

Kolbrun Bjort Sigfusdottir directs a wonderful, vibrant performance by Emily Carding – don’t miss this extraordinary experience at this year’s Fringe!

Hamlet (an experience), Scottish Storytelling Centre, Venue 30, runs until 17^th August for more information and tickets go to: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/hamlet-an-experience

***** (5 stars)

“Gripping”

Congratulations, Noel and Antonia, that was brilliant!

I have to confess that I was somewhat apprehensive when I saw what Box Tale Soup were offering this year…. They scared me almost witless with a chillingly effective 1984 last year from which it took several hours to recover!

When I saw the show’s title and realised that this year’s offering would be drawn from the works of Edgar Allen Poe, I knew that those of you who love to be horrified and/ or terrified would be in for a treat.  I well remember as a teenager being terrified by chilling movies from the Universal Studios’ black and white series of Poe adaptations.  I feared I might have to bring along a cluster of cuddly toys to see me through the show…

Fear not, gentle reader: I emerged in one piece, and not so severely traumatised that I couldn’t go about my Fringely business afterwards… <Phew>. As with most of Poe, the chill effect comes in the mind, and after the event: I’m sure the themes that run through the show will continue to occupy me, though hopefully in daylight hours rather than the wee small hours of the night!

Box Tale Soup have done it yet again, producing a show which focuses on the author’s text, brings it to vivid life and invites one to engage with the work itself as soon as possible.  Even with some intermittent bodymike problems, the audience was gripped.  There were obviously some Poe aficionados in the audience – the reference to the orangutan brought some knowing reaction, and the raven’s quothing was also very familiar.

In this show, rather than sticking to one narrative we are treated to what seems to begin as a lecture about Poe, a discussion of his writings and the ways in which they draw the reader in from the author’s very first words.  The tell-tale heart plunges straight into the mind of a madman who insists that he is sane, even while we doubt his veracity.

This alone would be a masterly piece of storytelling, with some really inventive puppetry and scenery – but almost immediately we become aware that all is not well with the lecturer/ storyteller.  Can he hear the unearthly song?  Can he see the black-clad figure singing a heartrending lament?  What is preying on his mind as he keeps losing the thread of his lecture?  To whom does he keep protesting that he hasn’t forgotten?

By the end of the show we have heard some of Poe’s poetry and visited a remarkable number of his stories, some of which I knew, some of which I thought I knew but didn’t, and some which were completely new to me.  There’s some wonderful original music from Dan Melrose, hauntingly sung by Antonia as part of an inventive soundscape and accompanied by superbly atmospheric lighting. 

Above all we have Box Tale Soup’s consistently inspired use of recycled and reclaimed materials to create their exceptionally versatile puppets, costumes, set, and props, and a wonderful choreography as Neil and Antonia weave their way around, among, and through it all to create the magic that they do so well.  I particularly loved long walk through the catacombs and the seemingly unending glass of Medoc, while Ligiea herself  was bewitchingly memorable, and the Ligeia/Rowena transformation ingeniously managed.

Guilt, revenge, loss: all these surface again and again in Poe’s writings – and he writes so graphically, with such a masterly understanding of all these emotions and motivations.  We are frequently reminded that there are 26 different theories about the cause of his death in 1849, with the implication that any or all of the above could have been the cause…. There’s a lot to ponder in this show, a lot that will continue to haunt me [though blessedly I hope not to lose any sleep over it!] and so much to admire and applaud in this latest fabulous creation from Box Tale Soup.

Will we forget A Ghost Among The Living? Nevermore!

Hurry and get your tickets now!  The first ‘night’ audience was very good for a Fringe show and word of mouth will only serve to make the tickets increasingly sought after…

A Ghost Among the Living, Pleasance Dome (Queen Dome) Venue 23 runs until 31^st August for more information go to: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-ghost-among-the-living

***** (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