Rating Guide
None = Unmissable
= Unwatchable
Page number refers to the Fringe programme

Aki (Danse) - Sur la Ligne Entre la Terre et la Mer (page 51)
Drams (very good)
Venue Garage Chapiteau-Theatre du Risorius (Venue 85)
Address Princes Street Gardens West
Reviewer Ksenija Horvat

In an unusual milieu of a circus tent in the Princes Street Gardens, beside the merry-go-round whose music blasts through the first few moments of the show, the dancer's body wriggles out of a blood red dress like a delicate butterfly out of a cocoon.

From the first scene to the last, in a series of vignettes illustrating a ballet dancer's journey towards self-discovery, Akiko Matsuda's poised performance is as artistically intriguing as it is aesthetically beautiful. This one-woman show, on the border between dance and physical theatre, is a reflection of the artist's own evolution from the restrictions of classical ballet towards modern dancing as a more natural aesthetic expression.

Matsuda moves across the stage with trance-like elegance and flair. Even the most complicated movements seem as if they have been performed with natural ease.

Sur la Ligne Entre la Terre et la Meris performed on parallel bars.
© Ksenija Horvat August 2001
Akiko Matsuda's website

Cirque Surreal - Voyagers - World Premiere (page 49)

Drams 0 It's enhancing and good fun
Venue The Meadows Theatre Big Top (189)
Address The Meadows Melville Dr
Reviewer Thelma Good

If you have never been to the circus go to this! It's spectacular physical theatre in a circus show to blow you away with it's talent. On massive circular stage, the circus ring of this State Circus of the Imagination, we're taken off into a voyage of delight.

A youth appears, I have to go home he says looking shy and lost. And we want him to get there. He looks like a refugee in cheap clothes, bewildered and shaken by what he has seen. Once he's up on the stage, he's taken off around the world by a medley of brightly costumed people from every point of the compass. And what costumes by Russia's theatrical designer Natalia Chistova. Based on the ethic clothes of the four parts of our globe they are light years away from the circus costumes of the past. Throughout Colin Thrope's score enhances this amazing quality show.

You'll see acrobats who twirl and tumble in amazing ways above you and a heartbreakingly beautiful duet of love between a white woman, Jacqui Sysum, and a black man, Juan Carlos. It's sensual and loving as emotionally powerful as the Bolero ice skating routine which won the Olympics. The story of the homeless waif runs through it all. An aerialist enters but his trapeze is too high. Wanting to help, the youth fetches a ladder. Opps, and he's aloft in a panic. These two are the Collins Brothers, clowns who have you laughing and astonished. They defy disaster and clamber over one another dangling desperately above the stage they want to get down on but not too quickly. There more much more before the youth finds where he belongs.

Director Phillip Gandey's show brings the artistry of theatre and circus marvellously together with circus professionals of the highest calibre. It celebrates the miracle and the wonder that is our human race so positively. It sent me home hopeful. Not many festival shows you can say that of. And they do Candy Floss!
© Thelma Good August 2001 Until the 26th at various times each day
www.circus-online.co.uk

Dancescapes II (page 49)
Drams (Very Good)
Venue The Garage (81)
Address Grindlay Court Centre
Reviewer Garry Platt

Louis Kavoras has become a regular on the fringe and established himself as a fine director and choreographer of modern dance and is a magnet for people wanting to see and experience good entertaining dance. Dancescapes II is essentially a vehicle for dancers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, College of Fine Arts to strut their stuff. What a vehicle it is and what dancers they are.

Essentially 6 pieces interspersed with 5 tiny transition sets. This is a packed hour of physical dance well performed and finely judged. The opening piece essentially a lampoon of the mythical 'Cheer leading, Rah! Rah! All American Girl' sets off the show with pizzazz and a sense of humour and then goes onto deliver a series of wonderful vignettes each exploring different themes, situations and emotions.

Worthy of mention is 'Mixed Meters' which I especially liked for the subtle emotion and control the dancers displayed. I also thought the piece entitled; 'My Brother' displayed Kavouras's own mastery as a dancer and was well matched by Mathew Sardoval his partner in this piece. Keep it coming UNLV, you've clearly got what it takes.

Runs Aug 5-27 (not 13, 20) 13.00 (14:00) Tickets £ 7.00 (£5.00)
© Garry Platt August 2001

Dystopia - Warwick University Drama Society (page 53)
Drams Very Good
Venue The Underbelly (61)
Address Edinburgh Central Library
Reviewer Garry Platt

The Underbelly has a new theatre space and it's great; something like a small corrugated aircraft hangar with a lighting frame set inside it. It creates an enclosed space with good acoustics and wonderful opportunities for lighting and set design.

Dystopia has no props other than a projector screen and some stark lighting set ups. But from the moment the play opens up, you know exactly where you are. This is the clubbing scene, the rave world, but not the loved up, chilled out, cool world we may be familiar with; this is the dark side, the threatening side, the sinister side. This is not just dance either; this is physical theatre and the sheer physicality of the whole piece hits you repeatedly like a ten tonne hammer from the minute the piece begins to the minute the piece stops. Four performers, two men, two women go at this piece with a 120% commitment. Every moment and movement is supercharged with energy and power.

These performers must suffer a heavy toll on their bodies they way they use them and deliver the story with such raw energy. Hands and eyes become metaphors, arms and legs become traps and self-loathing becomes a theme. Hunger and desire are fed constantly, sex becomes abuse but the consequence of gratification is not satisfaction but emptiness - what else is there?

This is physical theatre with not a word spoken, but a world explained, it's disturbing, and engaging - superb.

Runs 5 - 26 Aug at 14:10pm (15:00). Tickets £ 6.50 (£5.50)
© Garry Platt August 2001

Ladyboys of Bangkok (page 51)
Drams to relax
Venue The Meadows Big Top (189)
Address The Meadows Melville Drive
Reviewer Thelma Good

This is a glamorous show like you used to get - sexy yes but not seedy. The Ladyboys of Bangkok wear dresses to die for like 30's movie stars and they move divinely, Honey. I went to the show, in a tent set out with tables and chairs like a cabaret, after seeing the stunning Voyagers in the next door tent. I'm fairly broadminded but these aren't broads, they're guys who make the most convincing women I have ever seen. Princesses not queens.

Dancing and miming to pre-recorded songs this show could in less skilled hands be ghastly but they know what they are doing. Soon you relax unwind and let these fabulous creatures entertain you. As a woman I found the stories they weave into their act which includes songs like My Way where a woman turns into a man in front of your eyes very well performed. With a warmth towards the sex they can transform into, the women they become are refreshing and very enjoyable. Flirting deliciously, playfully with the men in the audience and winking at the women they are attractive to all.

Even sitting at a table on my tod (the life of a reviewer can be a lonely one) I had a smashing time clapping and singing along. It's a top flight cabaret show, very entertaining and well worth seeing. I'd said to someone the day I saw them that I didn't think I'd go to the Ladyboys - never mind review them. I'm glad I didn't stand by my words for the Ladyboys of Bangkok gave me a really good time making me feel good as a woman. Go with a group to get the most fun. Until 25 at 19:00 and 21:15 Mon - Sat, Suns only at 19:00
© Thelma Good 5 August 2001

Medea (Company East) (page 51)

Drams 0 Mega Brill!
Venue The Garage (81)
Address Grindlay Court
Reviewer Garry Platt

The Garage Theatre, run by the remarkable Shakti always seems to turn up trumps year after year after year. And 2001 is no exception. Company East have brought their traditional Japanese Noh Theatre / Greek Tragedy / jazz dance hybrid version of Medea and it packs a hefty punch. The set couldn't be simpler; completely black with a stark contrasting lighting set up. A large cast, the majority wearing drip white make up populate this grim, heartless world, and the torment they experience and explore seems to seep out of every pore. Some of the key characters wear traditional Japanese style clothing and this works well, the flamboyant colours juxtaposed against such a stark background and story appears to make the characters stand out in a higher relief.

Someone who is not familiar with the story of Medea will not learn it from this production. The dialogue is in Japanese and the hyper activity on stage does contribute to clarifying the story, but this should not put you off. Even without knowing the Medea story, the spectacle of the performance and the emotion and personal commitment made in each of the performances makes this an exciting show to see regardless.

The music they use to add depth to the piece gives an adrenalin rush, it is sometimes deafening but always powerful. This group gives the show its all and it's evident in the experience and the thoughts and reflections it puts into your mind.

Hiro - the company leader gives an endearing speech at the end that is very touching. This is a group of young people who clearly wanted to make a theatrical impact and succeeded.

© Garry Platt - 5 August 2001
Runs 5 - 27 Aug at 15:45 (16:45)

One Night Stand (see also Ksenija Horovat's review)
Drams
Venue Hill Street Theatre (Venue 41)
Address 19 Hill Street
Reviewer Brett Sheffield

A lone woman's slow footfalls echo across a darkened set as she slowly makes her way to the microphone. Nothing can be heard but the sound of slow breathing and before a word is spoken the anticipation of the audience is palpable. This is the beginning of One Night Stand, a Norwegian dance drama comedy.

Written and directed by the performers, Anna Dworak and Morten Traavik, One Night Stand takes a surreal look at the conflict of sexual relationships. This in an intimate performance, well suited to a small theatre. Unfortunately the venue is less than ideal, with much of the action taking place on the floor, out of sight of all but the first row or two, so get there early and choose your seating carefully.

A very funny and energetic performance, complemented by some very up-beat jazzy modern music. Simple but effective props, including a plastic ray-gun, a vacuum cleaner and more inflatable things than you will care to poke a stick at, are used to describe some disturbingly familiar scenes. Anna and Morten keep the audience engaged throughout, with only a few dead spots, giving you the chance to look about the set and wonder at what you've been watching.

An audible release of tension is heard from the audience when the house lights come on after the performance ends. Very different, very original, very funny and well worth watching. One and a half drams.

© Brett Sheffield August 2001

The Spurt of Blood (page 48)
Drams for me and a joint for Anne Widdicome
Venue The Underbelly (61)
Address Edinburgh Central Library, George IV Bridge (entrance on Cowgate)
Reviewer Jackie Fletcher

If it doesn't have a beginning, a middle and an end, and an actor can't say 'Of course the script was wonderful, darling! My character was all in the words' then it must be avant garde. In Britain, Antonin Artaud is still avant garde even fifty years after his death. Happily, to this admirable young physical theatre company, 7 and My Mate Ken, Artaud seems to represent an apt opportunity to push the boundaries of theatre into the 21st century.

Their rendering of The Spurt of Blood is an adaptation using Artaud's somewhat ambiguous theories about shocking the audience out of their smug complacency to create an all-too-brief hour of bone-bouncing music, chillingly aggressive movement and just a smattering of imaginatively-employed rubber. The space, a vaulted cellar, adds its own atmosphere, and, moreover, its just so good to see a piece of theatre in the round (in this case in the square) with a proximity to the actors which, given the menacing physicality, is almost intimidating.

Audiences, critics and even the theatre industry tend to dismiss the avant garde with trivial witticisms ('that woman holding the fish' is how I heard Miranda Richardson's Hamlet described), because they don't understand it rationally. The point that 7 and My Mate Ken are making is that theatre is about more than rational perceptions: it should kick you in the gut. You don't need to understand this production to come away with passion, emotion and stunning images of intense intimacy, humiliation, cruelty, confusion in bewildering profusion. More please!

I heard via the grapevine that the British Council are interested in them. Surprise, surprise. Go on! Send 7 and My Mate Ken abroad and show them that our theatre hasn't really stagnated to the level of boring male playwrights wittering on ad nauseum about the dispossesed, the dysfunctional and angst among the chattering classes.

The good news is that they are doing four extra performances. Until 26 August, 2001 18.00. and 23:00
© Jackie Fletcher. 25 August, 2001.

The Visions of Aleksenty Ivanovich (page 51)
Drams
Venue Continental Shifts at St.Bride's (60)
Address 110 Orwell Terrace
Reviewer Jackie Fletcher

The Lit Moon Theatre Company from Los Angeles has an excellent reputation as makers of a movement-based spectacle using masks, costume and lighting to create images and mood. This production is an fine example of their own brand of physical theatre, with masks and movement evocative of character and emotional response. The simple, but effective lighting adds to the expression and the sequential imagery, develops a simple narrative.

In this piece, developed from a short story by Gogol, the central character is a naive, soulful young man. He works, as did Gogol, in the civil service at a boring, repetetive job, along with a number of dull followers of a mundane and routine existence. His life is transformed by an encounter with a salubrious lady and suddenly his world is one of paranoia and delirium.

Aleksenty is an innocent - the mask and movement make this touchingly evident. The object of his fantasy is less satisfying, falling into the cliched movements of the stereotypical femme fatale. Could this be due to the fact that the role was played by a man? Or are female characters not easily rendered in depth in the sign systems of mime?

For lovers of image-based theatre this is an ideal experience. However, the story did not have much meat on the bone and situations and occurrences fell into repetition. On 5-18 at 19.30.
Jackie Fletcher 5 August 2001

Yumiko Izuta In Relief (page 51)

Drams 0 Just Amazing!
Venue The Garage (81)
Address Grindlay Court Centre
Reviewer Garry Platt

To do something new or unique in modern dance today requires some spectacular original thinking and ability to make it succeed, it would appear Yumiko Izuta has both. The Garage venue has a newly developed performance space called the Gallery, which is made for this kind of event; small, intimate, good acoustics and the room reacts well to the lighting. In this space Yumiko Izuta weaves her very special magic, for that is what it is. Looking serene, and beautiful and otherworldly, Yumiko delivers 45 minutes of absorbing and beautiful dance, but she utilises her upper body, arms and hands to a much greater and creative extent than we would normally expect. Her hands take on a life of their own, becoming fluttering birds, leaves in the wind, fire or water and with the simplest and virtually effortless movements she can convey so much.

Her approach is unusual, winning and very fulfilling to watch. The opening scene where you find Yumiko waiting on the stage in repose is the very definition of cool. Her costume is simple, beautifully cut and extremely versatile; doubling as a veil, angels wings, a robe and even a baby.

If you want to experience something that is spiritual, go and see this show. If you want to see dance performed in an entirely novel and exquisite way, see this show. If you just want to leave planet earth for 45 minutes and visit heaven, see this show.

© Garry Platt - 6 August 2001
Runs 5 - 27 Aug at 12:15 (13:00)