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Rating Guide
None = Unmissable
= Unwatchable
Page number refers to the Fringe programme
No reviews yet...
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Attention Please!
Fatty Attack!! (Page 71)
Drams ?? - Really not sure what to make of it all..
awarded by Theatre Editor.
Venue Sweet on the Royal Mile (Venue39)
Address Radisson SAS Hotel, 80 High Street
Reviewer Ellie Fazan
Three beautiful Japanese girls wear (vastly) fat suits and perform
erotica. First they strip... then they strip. Again and again. What to make
of this? How far do you really take a big fat joke? In parts this is
hilariously funny, in others I felt I wasn't really supposed to laugh. What
did it all mean?
'Once upon a time in Japan, plump women were thought to be beautiful
and to embody richness'... Underneath the ridiculousness of it all the
piece aims to question ideals of beauty and normality, creating a world
where there is no standard for these concepts.
It’s actually a good show. The dancing (under the fat suits) is well
choreographed and reflects both Western and traditional Japanese
styles. As with all small venues in Edinburgh’s Fringe it was much too hot
(imagine how those poor girls feel) and the audience were literally
sweating, though the girls showed no sign of strain despite the suits. The
Japanese crew and cast giggled as shocked and bewildered viewers left...
Fear audience participation...
©Ellie Fazan, 16th August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs until 21 August at 14.50.
Company - Trio los Romanticos and HOCUS POCUS Theatre Company.
Comany Email hocpoc@cool.plala.or.jp
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Caravan. (Page 71).
Drams
Venue Aurora Nova at St Stephens (Venue 8).
Address St Stephen St.
Reviewer Thelma Good.
There are some very sexy moments in this tale of a circus that visits a small
town and the passions that erupt. But the best scene is a tiny sub-plot when a
cat encounters a dog in a back alley.
Why is that? Because it's tightly executed so that even those sitting at the back
can follow what's going. Skillful though these Antipodean manipulators are, too
often in other scenes they forget we are feet away from their puppets. Occasionally
they even forget to direct the action to the audience. The result is the story
gets confused too often.
There's a potential great show in Caravan with its music, animation and
extraordinarily detailed puppets. But it's yet to arrive despite having received
awards before this British Premiere.
© Thelma Good 26 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 30 August at 16:00 not 10, 17 or 23.
Company Black Hole Theatre Company (Australia).
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Chronicles - A Lamentation. (Page 71).
Drams .
Venue Aurora Nova @ St Stephens. (Venue 8).
Address St Stephen Street.
Reviewer Ksenija Horvat.
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Chronicles - A Lamentation - The
Goat Theatre Co.
© photographer 2004.
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Chronicles - a Lamentation is an experiment in polyphonic singing.
By using traditional songs and laments of Albania as their starting point, Song
of The Goat Theatre from Poland weave a delicate arrangement of song and movement
that tells a story of Gilgamesh, the king philosopher who searched for immortality.
Coming from a country where one acquires polyphonic singing with mother's milk
and where ritual still makes an important part of one's life, your reviewer
entered St Stephens' theatre expecting to be taken beyond borders of art, to
the place where the creative act merges with life.
Immediacy and blurring the lines between a performer and a spectator is
the essence of ritual, and Song of The Goat Theatre's performers relied,
perhaps too heavily, on their songs to reach the audience. The result is
mixed. While the show indeed proves an impressive act in terms of singing,
and the performers move ever so softly through the space making their mythical
characters come live, they remain oddly distant, never transgressing the
fourth wall. One wonders whether this could have been overcome in a more
intimate space, however, St Stephens is widely known as one of the most
atmospheric venues, and in the past Theatre Slava's Cassandra successfully
boomed off the same stage and carried its audience past the veils of space
and time.
If one overlooks the show's somewhat static quality, the performers' voices
and live music will make for an enjoyable experience. What it is not, and
perhaps it should be, is a powerful enactment of a ritual which would take
us all into its rich depths and turn us into willing participants, rather
than just impassionate viewers.
© Ksenija Horvat, 7 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 30 August (not 16th, 17th, 23rd or 24th), In Polish.
Company Song of The Goat Theatre (Poland).
Company Website www.piesnkozla.pl
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Cinderella
and the Flower Fairies (Page 71).
Drams .
Venue Metro Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14).
Address 13 Bristo Square.
Reviewer Fiona O’Hanlon.
Burklyn Youth Ballet once again return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
with Cinderella and the Flower Fairies, a ballet-adaptation of the familiar
fairytale of sibling rivalry, magic and requited love. What distinguishes this
production, however, is that Cinderella loses a ballet shoe rather than a glass
slipper, has stepsisters who can not command poise never mind ‘point,’ and is
surrounded by a bevy of beautiful flower fairies during her ball preparations.
Dancing to an entirely appropriate score by Johann Strauss, the thirty strong
cast of professional and pre-professional dancers entice the audience into their
magical fantasy world in which carefully choreographed – and elegantly expressed
- ballet routines co-exist with humorous slapstick pantomimic episodes. What
makes the piece, however, is the array of vibrant costumes which not only serve
to effectively distinguish the ‘good’ characters from the ‘evil’ (the ‘evil’ stepmother
and stepsisters have hooped skirts) but also serve to uniquely identify each Flower
Fairy as a character from the work of the 19th Century British poet and illustrator
Cicely Mary Barker.
Directed by Joanne Whitehill, Cinderella and the Flower Fairies appeals
to both children and adults alike, as whilst clear facial expressions and arm
actions enable youngsters to follow the plot at its most basic level, the range
of ensemble combinations and varied foot work sustains adults’ attention for the
duration. Yet the piece’s ability to enchant and enrapture would not be possible
without a good backstage crew who manipulate props and lighting in order to ensure
that the ballet moves seamlessly from scene to scene - thus maintaining the magical
illusion of a fantasy world.
Magic, mesmerising, memorable…this is a family show not to be missed.
©Fiona O’Hanlon 14th August 2004 - Published on
EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 22nd August, daily at 10.30.
Company – Burklyn Youth Ballet.
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Damaged by Miracles. (Page
71)
Drams
.
Venue Pleasance Courtyard. (Venue 33).
Address 60 The Pleasance.
Reviewer Ellie Fazan.
Damaged by Miracles tells the story of pain and desire throuigh mime and movement.
It is sometimes dance based, sometimes almost absurd, but is entirely captivating,
down to the facial expressions of the performers. 'I have become human' a recording
of the girl tells the audience - but what defines human? we are forced to ask.
Nudity - the baring of skin and honesty of flesh is perhaps not enough.
In this perfectly polished production, the movement is inventive and captivating.
There is a complete lack of a coherent script, although that is not to say that
the words are not well planned and rehearsed. In fact the few words there are
mark the performance, and indeed are haunting. Music heavily influences
this creation, and its really effective lighting creates great shadows.
Although this is a stunning visual performance, some regular theatre goers may
have some trouble getting to grips with it. The beginning of the show was plagued
with lighting difficulties when I saw it with the performers left standing in
the dark - some of the audience remained that way throughout the performance.
©Ellie Fazan, 8th August, 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs until 30th August at 13.40.
Company, Falsa Imago.
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Dances of India.
(Page 72).
Drams None needed!
Venue The Garage. (Venue 81).
Address Grindlay Street Court.
Reviewer Ksenija Horvat.
Another dance extravaganza from Shakti, this time in the company
of dancers from the famous VasantaMala Indian Dance Institute, (founded
in Kyoto in 1968 by Shakti’s mother, the first woman to bring Indian dance
to Japan. A daughter of Japanese mother and Indian father, and a student of Martha
Graham and Alvin Ailey, Shakti has succeeded in creating
a unique style, whilst honing traditional Indian dances to perfection. Her previous
productions such as Kama Sutra and The Pillow Book have delighted
many and scandalised some.
On this occasion, Shakti and VasantaMala
offer their
audiences
Dances of India, a collage of five different
numbers, ranging
from
enactments of traditional folk tales and religious
dance - the latter in
the
shape of the beautifully performed Invocation to
Ganeisha - to
Bollywood
style. There is something for everyone in this show,
and if the beauty
of the
music and the colourful costumes do not grab you in
the first
instance,
the humour, virtuosity and grace of this superb band
of dancers will
win
you over soon enough.
Mums and dads - don't forget to bring along your children. This is a show your
little angels must see.
© Ksenija Horvat, 15 August 2004 - Published on
EdinburghGuide.com
Runs until 30 August, 12:30am (15th to 21st), 11:00am
(22nd to 30th).
Company - Shakti and VasantaMala Indian Dance Institute.
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Derevo – Tanya
Khabarova – Reflection (Page 72)
Drams None needed.
Venue Aurora Nova @ St Stephen’s (Venue 8).
Address St Stephen Street.
Reviewer Fiona O’Hanlon.
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Reflections -
Derevo Co.
Tanya Khabarova
© S.Kuznetzov.
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Renowned Russian physical theatre company Derevo return to the Aurora Nova Festival
at St. Stephen’s to follow up their highly acclaimed 2003 ensemble performance
Islands in The Stream with an equally strong – yet completely different
– piece Reflection. A ‘dance fable inspired by images of the Creation,’
Reflection is a sombre, spiritual yet sensuously spell-binding solo-piece
created and performed by Derevo founding member Tanya Khabarova.
A master of her craft, Khabarova creates binaries only to undermine them.
One such distinction is that of joy and pain, a polar opposition fabricated by
means of the juxtaposition of light and darkness, ritualised routines and unpredictable
movement, and Sizintsev’ s and Gaivoronsky’s music which ranges from upbeat cabaret
to eerie screeching - contrasts which are literally diametrically opposed through
the Khabarova’s skilful yet exquisitely simple use of stage space.
Yet it is only as such binaries are blurred and broken down that the audience
realise the importance of this initial section whose jarred juxtapositions do
not allow spectators to become enticed into the on-stage action but rather force
them to retain a quasi Meyerholdian/ Brechtian critical distance – an estrangement
which encourages individual spectators to themselves ascertain the identities
and relative contentedness of the ‘beings’ which emerge from varying degrees of
smoke and darkness.
The fact that Khabarova clearly and convincingly represents each of these
beings; her androgynous appearance and masterful movement enabling her to transgress
traditional boundaries of kind and gender in order to portray everything from
insects and animals to early man and elegant lady clad in black velvet dress and
heels - to name but a few - is testament to the dedication and skill of this versatile
performer whose artistic vision is achieved without elaborate props and costumes.
Indeed, the main prop - a huge wooden cross-like shape which serves as the back-drop
throughout – holds multiple symbolic possibilities: Christian cross, totem pole,
or tree (Derevo means tree in Russian.) The multiple meanings generated by this
centre piece can be seen to be a microcosmic representation of a work which ultimately
does not reflect but refracts, as Khabarova’s Reflection on Creation
evolves through each spectator’s subsequent self-reflection.
©Fiona O’Hanlon, 7th August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs August 7th-9th, 11th-16th,22nd-23rd, 25th -30th at 22.45.
Company - Derevo
Company Website www.derevo.org
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Dias de Las Noches. (Page 72)
Drams none needed
Venue Aurora Nova @ St Stephens. (Venue 8)
Address St Stephen Street.
Reviewer Ksenija Horvat.
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Dias de Las Noches - Teatra Novogo
Fronta Production.
© photographer.
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For years Aurora Nova has delighted the Fringe audiences with the shows
that are theatrically poignant and emotionally profoundly engaging. It
does not come as a surprise then that Teatr Novogo Fronta's show
Dias de Las Noches is another of those exquisite, artistically and
technically flawless productions that will be remembered fondly long
after they leave the town.
The production comes across as a mixture of dance, narrative and abstraction,
a feast of circus skills, burlesque, cabaret and one of the best applications
of butoh I have seen in years. It is carnivalesque, histrionic and nightmarish
in its makeup, attacking one's senses with true relish. Its performers will charm
you, tease you, toy with you, make you eat from the palms of their hands. And
when all is said and done, they will leave you reeling with a distinct feeling
that something quite important has just happened in front of your eyes, though
you cannot quite figure out what it is.
By means of tears and laughter, sweat and waterguns, Dias de Las Noches
tells a story about the life of immigrant actors, the masks they wear and the
sadness they hide in their souls. About art, politics, friendship and the fear
of living and dying, it is relevant, timeless and utterly beautiful. This is a
genuine Fringe First material if there ever was one, and whether they actually
get one or not, do yourselves a favour - do not miss this show.
© Ksenija Horvat, 7 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 30 August (not 10th, 17th or 24th), 11:30am, Performed in English and
Russian.
Company Teatr Novogo Fronta.
Company Website www.tnf.cz
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Doderskratt - A Dramatic Concert.
(page 72)
Drams none.
Venue Aurora Nova @ St Stephens. (Venue 8)
Address St Stephen Street.
Reviewer Ksenija Horvat.
Theatre Slava is renowned for creating hypnotic theatre, the whirlpool of
song and dance that soaks all of one's senses. In their work they always
seek to merge ritual with new performative styles, to question the very
definition of theatre, and to continuously challenge one's perception of
the nature of performance.
Doderskratt is yet another departure in their exploration, and the company
have chosen to advertise it as a dramatic concert. One may certainly call it so.
However, Doderskratt is so much more - it is the return to ancient storytelling
through movement, word and sound. It transcends any singular tradition to encompass
them all, and is one step away from a true enactment of ritual. As the performers
entrance you with their stories from world culture about Death's laughter and
passage of life, and as the powerful sounds of folk, jazz and rock rhythms swell
through your veins, you are invited to become a participant, rather than a mere
viewer of their celebration.
As with Cassandra's performance several years ago, St Stephens's austere
patriarchic environment seeks to become a barrier between the performers and their
audience. This time, however, this barrier crumbles under the sheer energy that
blazes from the stage, making this production an unforgettable experience for
all generations. Perhaps one of these days we will be able to welcome them in
a more natural environment, such as Calton Hill or the shores of Maggie's Loch,
and to become part of the organic ritual experience that is the essence of Theatre
Slava's magic.
Performed in Swedish.
© Ksenija Horvat, 12 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs until 30 August (not 17th and 24th), 17:00.
Company Theatre Slava (Sweden).
Company Website
www.teaterslava.org
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Exquisite Indian Dance
(Page 73).
Drams None.
Venue Dance Base – National Centre for Dance (Venue 22).
Address 14-16 Grassmarket.
Reviewer Fiona O’Hanlon.
Exquisite Indian Dance’s triple-bill blends the traditional and the modern
demonstrating the grace and diversity Indian Dance styles Kathak and Odissi. The
first section – performed by renowned director, choreographer and dancer Aditi
Mangaldas – skilfully applies classical Kathak movement to modern Indian rhythms,
whilst the second – performed by the acclaimed dancer and choreographer Surupa
Sen and protégée Bijayini Satpathy, both of The Nrityagram Dance
Ensemble – is a multi-layered performance which incorporates aspects of various
related dance styles and martial arts into traditional Odissi movement and imagery.
The first piece is concerned with a monsoon and winter, and the second
consists of a traditional invocation to Lord Jagganath (the presiding
deity of Odissi dance) and a representation of a girl’s transition into
womanhood. Ostensibly very different in style and content, the works
complement each other – both are visually striking pieces based on
humanity’s relationship with nature and the Gods, and display the
elegance and deep emotion of Indian dance. These qualities are most
clearly expressed through the dancers’ intricate hand movements and
facial expressions, yet the pieces’ ability to enrapture the audience is
almost inexplicable – perhaps a combination of movement, ornate
traditional costumes and varied atmospheric lighting and music, whether
it be that of the bells on the dancers’ feet or the pre-recorded
soundtrack.
Although a capacity to relate imaginatively to the dancers’ vision is
required throughout, it is perhaps most crucial in the third and final
piece, Jatayu Moksh – a complex tale steeped in classical and
religious imagery which forms part of the great epic The Ramayan.
Soloist Surupa Sen metamorphoses into a deer, a whimsical wife
and a ten headed god – to name but a few. What is extraordinary is that
all are portrayed using only movement and expressions.
Even those previously unfamiliar with the genre will appreciate the
subtler aspects of the innovative choreography which marks Exquisite
Indian Dance from the outset, namely eclectic movement capable of
transforming a bare stage into a magical and truly exquisite world.
©Fiona O’Hanlon 13 August 2004 - Published on Edinburghguide.com
Runs August 14,19 at 12.30; 15, 20 at 3pm; 17, 21 at 5.30pm and 18, 22 at
8pm.
Company – Kala 2004: Performing Arts of India.
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Freshmess – Triple Bill.
(Page 73).
Drams
– after a slow start it becomes an enjoyable insight into the world of hip hop
and funk.
Venue Dance Base (Venue 22).
Address National Centre for Dance, 14-16 Grassmarket.
Reviewer Sophie Lloyd.
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Freshmess.
© Nico Major 2004.
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An original and creative dance crew, Freshmess perform a mixture of hip hop and
funk styles to a range of beats and sounds. It is a triple bill exploring different
movements and means of physical expression – a great introduction to the world
of ‘street dance’.
The opening piece is a little fragmented lacking unity and character, but
this is rectified in the subsequent routines. The second set Compound
, as the title suggests, combines different elements to form a whole.
The music is mingled with voices asking a series of questions provoking
two male dancers to break down dance routines into their primitive
components. They then explore and merge the different movements,
steps and rhythms. The company finish with Moonwalk on a Rainbow
in which all six dancers come to life fusing their individual styles and
expression. The ease with which they perform make the moves look
remarkably easy.
The dancers work well together while also revealing their individual flair
and talents. If contemporary dance interests you then it is a show worth
seeing.
©Sophie Lloyd 13 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 22 August at various times.
Company – Freshmess based at Dance Base.
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Japan Experience - Salome
(Page 74).
Drams .
Venue The Garage. (Venue 81).
Address Grindlay Street Court.
Reviewer Garry Platt.
The Garage venue run by Shakti has a reputation for drawing groups and performers
from Japan to appear on the Fringe and they manage to attract some remarkable
shows which otherwise would never appear in this country. Company East
has being travelling to the Fringe and appearing at the Garage for a couple of
years now. They have developed a reputation for devising emotionally charged and
powerful dance pieces and consistently win good audiences. This years show is
Salome and it's a exciting and intense piece.
Like most of Company East's performances you are clueless as to what is happening,
who is playing what part until well into the piece and what the Japanese dialogue
means - but frankly it doesn't matter. It's the dancing that captures your attention
- it's the passion and conviction of the performers that holds your concentration.
The dance space is totally black - walls, floor and ceiling. It creates a atmosphere
of repression and desperation into which the dancers bring further elements of
cruelty, and violence. This is a Salome who may be beautiful but also quite mad
and rotten to the core.
Sometimes in Dance adulation is given on reputation rather than performance, but
not here. Company East do give a fine performance. But I wish they would
provide some rudimentary outline for the audience in terms of the story and narrative.
If you want to watch dance performed with an honesty and enthusiasm watch this.
©Garry Platt 20 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 30 August at 14:00.
Company Company East.
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Lights Far Out North.
(Page 75).
Drams
for Quartet.
Venue Bedlam (Venue 49).
Address 11b Bristo Place.
Reviewer Thelma Good.
Three seperate pieces, Lights Far Out North (2004), quartet (premiered
here at the 2004 Fringe) and 'in the flesh - 09-12/02/04' melt from one
to another in this short dance programme. The choreographer Kathrina Farrugia
has created three distinct peices though each show her overall aesthetic for
precision and a seeming liking for slow movement. Lights Far Out North
is performed to a mix of music by Jan Micallef and Matthew Mills and transport
sounds. The dancers relating and rerelating to one another as they dance and
move, sometimes on the floor . In the flesh has one live dancer and one,
Lise Uytterhoeven, visible on video on the sheet behind, it explores
women's relationship to their skin and the body and the hunger within performed
to music by Mark Rainbow.
The premiere and latest work, quartet, where Farrugia joined her dancers,
Lucinda Hakes, Clare Thurman and Amanda Vella Laurenti is the
most accomplished. with points where the dancers give us the dance equivalent
of a sung round. It increasingly creates a strong meditative mood danced to
the music of Philip Glass. As a developing choreographer Farrugia peices should
attract dance purists, her use of lighting is also interesting. For those dipping
a toe into dance what you get is a chance to see a choreographer developing
her muscles in these works all created this year. Muscles I hope she will use
further to explore the more strongly narrative aspects of dance while retaining
her ability to create an tangible atmosphere. Her company where she designs
and directs as well does attempt and largely succeed in living up to their intention
to "fuse movement, sound and design".
© Thelma Good 24 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 28 August at 14:00.
Company – three-fortyonedances.
Company Website www.three-fortyonedances.co.uk
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The Love that dared not speak its name. (Page 75)
Drams
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Venue C Venue.(Venue No 34)
Address Adam House, Chambers Street.
Reviewer
Balletmania presents two premiere works, Possession and Ballet Rimbaud,
each inspired by the literary Parisian life and gay love affairs of American writer
Gertrude Stein and French poet Arthur Rimbaud. The opening scene of Possession
introduces Alice B Toklas, Justine Berri, who describes how she and Stein
fell in love at first sight - she is her girlfriend, lover, wife and husband.
In a brilliant ‘coup de theatre’ Stein is played by a man, Ian Mackenzie Stewart,
tall and thin with cropped grey hair. The couple dance and glide exquisitely against
the Shostakovich Jazz Suite which captures the carefree decadent spirit of 1920s
Paris where Picasso and Hemingway are friends. Gentle, intimate and beautifully
dramatised through dance, this twenty minute ballet is a delightful portrait.
Unfortunately the tempestuous relationship between Rimbaud and Verlaine is not
so well defined. Adam Gullidge and Steven Windsor are young accomplished dancers
who partner well in some vivacious duets – to rock music by The Doors - but they
do not have mature emotional skills. Looking serious staring out to the audience
is not acting. A host of unidentified characters playing friends, wife and mothers
simply creates a confusing, unfocussed narrative.
The 15 minute interval is tiresome – Fringe goers get restless. On a high note
the choreography throughout by Sheila Styles is inventive and energetic,
graceful and balletic. Ballet Rimbaud has great potential with stronger direction,
while Possession is a winner and should be picked up by a major dance company.
© Vivien Devlin 4 August 2003 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 30 August at 1555.
Company - Balletmania.
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Optiphonic. (Page 75).
Drams .
Venue Underbelly. (Venue 61)
Address Cowgate (entrances on Cowgate and Victoria Street).
Reviewer Marisa de Andrade.
Never has hip-hop found a more appropriate home than at the Belly
Dancer
at the Underbelly. Here, in a hot, sweaty basement, a crowd larger
than the house
arrives for a bit of urban magic. I'm sure they are not disappointed. If
they've come for
a raw almost uncut display of hip-hop, they get exactly that. A company
of hoppers, poppers and
lockers literally throwing themselves to the rhythms of the old and the
new.
This is no perfectly executed masterpiece, but rather a soulful rendition
of a dance style
that's taken the world by storm. There's an interaction between the
company that eases the
audience. Makes them relax when a few budding dancers stumble in their
handstands or fumble
on their heads. It's all easily forgiven. Their passion for the medium
soothes technical
hiccups. Personality is their trademark.
It's forty-five minutes of edgy dance. Nothing else though. The piece isn't particularly
coherent and a sound structure is lost in the trendy beat. At times the choreography
is a bit like organised chaos. But there are dancers, one in particular, who set
the stage alight. Dancers who are ready for the big league, but need direction
and an artistic base. If you haven't heard of then yet, I'm sure you will. Either
from this vigorous performance, or in the mature pieces which I'm sure will follow
in the years to come.
© Marisa de Andrade 8 August 2004 - Published on
EdinburghGuide.com
Runs Aug 8-21, 19.05.
Company CocoaMotion Productions.
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[PS04] A Paint Show (Page
75).
Drams .
Venue Bedlam Theatre. (Venue 49).
Address 11b Bristo Place.
Reviewer Garry Platt.
This show is unique on the Fringe and that's a claim you can rarely make but it's
perfectly true here. This "happening" requires the audience to come
committed to getting involved and ready to participate. Don't worry this is nothing
like the show XXX, you're not going to get sexually assaulted or anything
like that, but you will probably find yourself covered in paint at the end of
the evening and the flimsy paper thin overalls they give you to protect your own
garments aren't always up to the job. I saw one or two audience members leave,
and perhaps the show organisers should do more to explain what will happen, I
suspect it would attract more people than it would put off.
The success of this event depends greatly on the audience and whether they are
prepared to engage with the piece and the players. Other than this it's light
comedy and rather fun. It's certainly different and if you want something that's
a trivial piece of fun then this is it.
©Garry Platt 20 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 28 August except the 15th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd.
Company Experience This!
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Pig Iron in Flop.
(Page 75).
Drams None at all!
Venue Pleasance Courtyard. (Venue 33.)
Address 60 The Pleasance.
Reviewer Marisa de Andrade.
It's a kind of unintentional humour that suggests it will begin any minute,
only for you to realise
that it began fifty minutes ago and it's almost over. Not because it's
childish banter.
Flop's clowns are not clowning around. They have a dignified
purpose - although
probably not what Stephen Hawking had in mind when he wrote A Brief
History of Time.
They're out to save the Universe. (They accidently destroy it at a tea
party!)
This miming and murmuring trio are inherently amusing as they fumble
with time. They create
a world of mystery behind closed doors and one of improvised hysteria
before our very eyes.
The trio enjoy a mock Madhatter tea party with a childlike innocence,
then indulge in a
darkness that would make IT grimace.
If there was a method technique to clowning, this would be it - rehearsed and
refreshing all at once. And if that's not enough, these clowns are trained dancers
too. Their spontaneous outburst to the 'whicky-whicky' of a makeshift turntable,
will leave any dj well impressed. Good thing Flop doesn't slow down - that
would make you realise the silliness of your sniggers. An explosive ending leaves
you feeling as you should after an afternoon of captivating clowning around.
©Marisa de Andrade 10 August 2004 - Published on
EdinburghGuide.com
Runs Aug 6-30, not 10,17,24 at 16.05.
Pig Iron Theatre Company.
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Raw Beef. (Page 75)
Drams None needed.
Venue Gilded Balloon at Teviot (Venue 14) Venue changed from Fringe programme.
Address Bristo Square.
Reviewer Thelma Good.
Two men in pale peach tutus become many things babies, lions as well as a soldier
son and his mother. Evolving from scene to scene, the audience increasingly is
enthralled by Ivan Marcos and Al Seed. These skilled performers
devised Raw Beef with Brenda Waite directing - apart from the tutus their
only props are a length of rope, a tea chest, a rough sheet and a broom.
It's a vivid enduring production which contains within some arresting moments
- not least when the dying mother shot by her son turns into the forgiving Madonna.
It also plays with languages using Spanish, French and more as well as English,
often spoken by the actor for whom the language is not their native tongue. All
the ingenuity of Raw Beef suggests that this pair work together has a strong future.
© Thelma Good August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 30 August.
Company Hoax Productions.
Company Website www.hoaxproductions.net
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Ripe. (Page 75).
Drams .
Venue Dance Base (Venue 22).
Address 14-16 Grassmarket.
Reviewer Vivien Devlin.
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Silence created and danced by Ellen
Van Schuylenburch.
©Hugo Glendinning.
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Ripe is an eclectic programme of solo performances by four well-established international
dancer/choreographers. Namron has created a very personal work,
Missing, about the disappearance of his son, coinciding with his father’s
death. Stage set - a denim jacket on an empty chair. To a heartfelt soundtrack
of Peter Gabriel’s song “Fathers and Sons”, Namron walks in slow motion with the
aid of a walking stick, strokes the jacket, sits, head in his hands, rocks and
sways. This is an emotional elegy to his father and son.
Ellen van Schuylenburch's Silence was created in India and
is clearly inspired by yoga and meditation. Her slender, supple body moves seamlessly
through a series of exquisite balletic positions across the floor. Perfectly in
control of mind and body, she radiates an inner peace. For The Hurdy-gurdy
Man,American choreographer Stephen Pelton painstakingly studied
documentary films of Adolf Hitler noting every movement and facial gesture. Pelton
mimes, walks, marches, sits, grimaces, angrily stabs his finger in the air and
finally gives the Nazi salute - all to haunting archive recordings of Schubert
and Schumann lieder. It’s an unnerving, almost terrifying impersonation but why
not show a short film extract of Hitler to echo the dance and end on a chilling
note?.
The programme ends, unfortunately, with the weakest piece, Degrees of Freedom.
Described as an exploration of “identity and intimacy”, Gary Lambert
presents an empty, meaningless dance around the stage dressed in loose trousers
and T shirt - it looks like a warm-up exercise. Overall Ripe is a fresh,
energising, captivating celebration of physical movement, art and life.
©Vivien Devlin,13 August 2004 - Published on Edinburghguide.com
Runs 17-22 August, different times each day, (not Sun).
Company - presented by Dance Base Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2004.
Company Website www.dancebase.co.uk
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Ristorante Immortale.
(Page 75).
Drams None.
Venue Aurora Nova at St Stephen’s. (Venue 8).
Address St Stephen’s St.
Reviewer Georgina Merry.
Marvellous! This wonderfully choreographed piece is just the thing to get
you laughing. The use of masks and movement in this restaurant setting is
hilarious. Voiceless wit verging on slapstick is a good way to describe it,
with a little bit of melancholy in the mix.
Join the staff of
Ristorante Immortale as they go about their business. You will
recognise them the minute you see them - they are archetypal characters
amplified to the ridiculous. This does not mean that you can predict what
they will do - on the contrary, you will be surprised at just what they will
all get up to. For starters, the chef plays the accordion!
Unpredictable, hilarious and definitely entertaining, this performance breaks
the language barriers by communicating with humour and emotions. The whole family
will enjoy it. There is so much more to this piece than you would at first think.
It’s touching one minute, sad the next and then all of a sudden your laughing
your head off at rollicking good fun. Go and see it while you can!
©Georgina August 23 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to August 30 at 18:30.
Company Floez (Germany).
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Tracking -
Scottish Dance Theatre.
© photographer.
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Scottish Dance Theatre.
(Page 76).
Drams .
Venue Dance Base (Venue 22).
Address 14-16 Grassmarket.
Reviewer Vivien Devlin.
Scottish Dance Theatre is flourishing in leaps and bounds under the guidance
of artistic director Janet Smith. Winner of the 2003 Critics’ Circle National
Dance Award for outstanding company repertoire, this is a truly dynamic international
modern dance company.
The theme of Sean Feldman’s Moment is how we cope in the hectic
rush of our competitive rat-race world - is it possible to stop for a moment?
To a consistent electronic sound track, four barefoot girls and three men singly
and in couples run, chase each other and kickbox in playful manner with increasing
stop/start staccato movement. As if taking part in a tribal dance to a drum beat
rhythm they seem to be testing each other, some encounters appear threatening,
others trusting .
In similar vein, Track by Dutch choreographer Didy Veldman looks
at our emotional need to belong in society and private relationships. Out of the
darkness, against a menacing score, a solo dancer is captured in the spotlight.
The mood suddenly turns to jollity and fun as we observe a happy group of friends
fooling around, teasing and laughing. Two giggling girls wearing red high heels
pose and pout, while another girl dressed only in her underwear appears distressed,
naked and isolated. Two young men meet, they collide, tentatively eyeing each
other up. To the whirl of merry-go-round music, the lonely and the loved go their
separate ways. Life goes on.
This imaginative double-bill shows off the youthful enthusiasm, energy, individual
talent and synchronised dance skills of this innovative ensemble.
©Vivien Devlin, 13 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 22 August, not 16 at different times each day.
Company-Scottish Dance Theatre.
Company Website
http://www.scottishdancetheatre.com
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Slammin’ (Page 66).
Drams
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Venue C (Venue 34).
Address Chambers Street.
Reviewer Fiona O’Hanlon.
Slammin’ is an innovative, energetic and eclectic blend of hip-hop and
contemporary dance created by means of a carefully choreographed combination of
gymnastics, break dancing, street and contemporary dance styles. Performed by
nine agile, athletic adolescents (between the ages of thirteen and seventeen)
and choreographed by Tamsin Fitzgerald. She formed Hereford based 2FaCeD Youth
Dance Company in January 2001 in an attempt to encourage boys into dance. This
show really is a fantastic achievement which is clearly enjoyed by both performers
and audience alike.
It encompasses everything from solo pieces danced to the latest break beats to
ones with full cast ensemble numbers. There's the exquisitely executed Sights
in the City, successfully incorporates each dancer’s distinctive personal
style, whilst remaining true to the characteristic hip-hop street culture of respect
and team-work. The seamless Slammin’ is a testament to the skill, drive
and dedication of 2 FaCeD Youth Dance Company.
Indeed, the cast’s vibrant vitality is only stemmed by the venue, whose limited
stage space and gently tiered seating must restrains the dancers’ freedom of movement.
It also restricts the audience’s appreciation of the intricate floor movements
central to the hip-hop genre. However, such a lack of space only serves to further
evidence the dancers’ control, timing and precision as the boys’ confidently perform
complex gymnastic moves despite an un-sprung floor, a lack of run up space and
their close proximity both to other dancers and the audience.
An energetic show which invites audience support, Slammin’ inspires spectators
to share Denice Williams’ sentiment: ‘Let’s hear it for the boys….Come on let’s
give the boys a hand.’
©Fiona O’Hanlon 8th August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 14th August, at 13.30.
Company – 2 Faced Youth Dance Company
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Stoll (Page 76).
Drams None required.
Venue Cowgate Central at Wilkie House (Venue 26).
Address Hasties Close off Guthrie St/Cowgate.
Reviewer Ksenija Horvat.
Stoll is chimeric, mesmerising and mythic.
Pointless to search for a unified meaning -
Stoll defies definition. It breaks all
boundaries. Stoll is as magical as life
itself.
Theatre de Klunka's offering to this year's Fringe is a challenging physical
piece that deals with betrayal and loss, with power-games and animality in man.
It plays with myths and divinities, scarring them in order to make them corporeal.
It blasts away taboos and challenges prejudices.
Or perhaps it doesn’t do any of these things - Let's
face it, Stoll is what you want it to be. Every
member of the audience will leave the show with quite
different impressions of what the play might mean.
There will be a consensus on one thing only - that
what they’ve witnessed is very, very good. Devised by
three exceptional young performers, Anna
Sanczuk, Hannah Richards and Helen
Bolitho, who switch from tragic to lazzi
performances in an instant, this show is a feast of
sound, clowning,
dance, and acrobatics. It is unpretentious, immediate
and incredibly gripping. It doesn’t patronise, but it
does make one consider the vulnerable and frivolous in
human nature.
A true contender for a Fringe First - I just hope
someone will have the sense to give it to them. In the
meantime, go and see it, you won’t be
disappointed.
©Ksenija Horvat, 16 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs until 21 August, 13:35.
Company - Theatre de Klunka.
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Teatro Delusio
(Page 76).
Drams None.
Venue Aurora Nova at St Stephen’s (Venue 8).
Address St Stephen Street.
Reviewer Fiona O’Hanlon.
Following their highly acclaimed 2001 Fringe production Ristorante Immortale
Germany’s Familie Flöz theatre return to Edinburgh with Teatro Delusio
a piece which does not – despite its title – delude its audience. Theatricalist
rather than naturalistic, illusional rather than delusional, Teatro Delusio
portrays its three theatre practitioners - Paco Gonzalez, Björn Leese
and Hajo Schüler - as unmasked puppeteers before they don their masks,
wigs and costumes and wordlessly invite the audience into their fabricated, fictional
world….
Backstage at an operatic ballet, three theatre technician archetypes endeavour
to placate not only a demanding director but also the myriad of ‘on-stage’ characters
- highly strung musicians, eccentric egotistical actors and beautiful ballet dancers
– who perform unseen behind the scenery backdrop. Suspending their disbelief,
the audience willingly adopt a viewing position which places them behind
the ‘on-stage’ action, allowing them to be witness both to the theatre technicians’
backstage antics and the true personalities which lie beneath the ‘ on-stage’
actors’ masks.
Yet what is perhaps most enjoyable is attempting to ascertain – in any given scenario
- which theatre practitioner’s skilful manipulation of mime, acrobatics and clowning
is responsible for the convincing portrayal of each of the twenty nine theatre-types
presented.
A fast-paced, thought-provoking, multi-layered and musically varied piece which
ranges from the surreal to the ridiculous, Teatro Delusio is a highly
comic work which simultaneously captures the sadness and fear beneath the masked
clown’s grotesque smile.
©Fiona O’Hanlon 8th August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs August 8th-9th, 11th-16th, 18th-22nd at 18.30.
Company – Floez (Germany)
Company Website www.floez.net
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The Thinnest Woman Wins.
(Page 76).
Drams .
Venue Gilded Balloon Teviot. (Venue 14)
Address 13 Bistro Square.
Reviewer Marisa de Andrade.
Dixie FunLee Shulman dares to go where regular women wouldn't
even dream of in
The Thinnest Woman Wins. Women line up to see her show,
desperate to come out feeling
3lbs lighter. They come out feeling 13lbs lighter.
Dance, baton twirling, projections, Miss America pageants and abstract
verses,
are Dixie's mediums for her subversive take on body image in Western
society. Sporadic scenes
from different contexts replace the conventional style of theatre in
The Thinnest Woman
Wins. At the onset, an eccentric woman shaves her arm hairs, but
neglects to remove
'other' body hair. A vogue-esque modeling parade then flashes on a flimsy
screen.
Then, a budding baton twirler with big thighs and bulging tummy longing to
be a competitive
majorette, takes the stage. Her words are as compelling as her twirling
abilities awe-inspiring.
It's an interesting insert, randomly cut off with another onscreen
projection of models in
swimsuits. The audience takes in the suggestive hints, possibly confused.
But what follows
in the form of Nude Solo #73, is both groundbreaking and incredibly
brave.
Braced by her very flesh - in the flesh - without lycra tights or even a costume,
Dixie dances with passion and pride of the woman she is, all the while drawing
attention to the invasive realities of the female body. Her attention is both
bold and logical, leaving one to question a society that tolerates eating disorders
in the name of beauty. The Thinnest Woman Wins is more like an Ode to Dixie
FunLee Shulman rather than a lucid theatrical experience, but is magical nonetheless.
Dixie is the bravest woman I have ever laid eyes on.
© Marisa de Andrade 22 August 2004 - Published on
EdinburghGuide.com
Runs Aug 18-30 at 13.30.
Company Dixie Fun Dance Theatre.
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Turtle Dreams (Page
76).
Drams
Venue Diverse Attractions. (Venue 11).
Address Riddles Court, 322 Lawnmarket,
Reviewer Garry Platt.
Nothing can lend itself to pretension more than a dance programme. You only have
to read some of the examples that Dancebase put out to understand this, so the
example provided by Hiromi Ishikawa is a breath of fresh air. It describes
the history, the narrative and reason for the piece, no diatribe, no sanctimonious
nonsense of the type that appears in Pseuds Corners in that esteemed organ, Private
Eye. So even before the dance piece began I was on this dancer's side. The story
focuses on the memories of a young girl and the story of her life. The dance space
is small, perhaps 25 square metres and projected against some folded muslin at
the back of the stage are a series of slides which help tell story and maintain
the time line.
Hiromi Ishikawa, the dancer uses all the dimensions this limited space
can offer and for nearly an hour brings a controlled but expressive ballet to
the audience. Clearly a creative choreographer the range of interpretative movement
is impressive and a beautiful harmonic is achieved between her, the music and
images which flow through the back of most of the show.
An excellent piece of dance full of power and force, it makes compelling viewing.
©Garry Platt 20 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Runs to 14 August.
Company Dance Theatre KHAOS.
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Zoo-oid Fight Nite
Experience (Not in Fringe Programme).
Drams
when I saw it, could become none.
Venue Caves I (Venue 88).
Reviewer Max Blinkhorn.
Wow. First, "Experience", it certainly is, "Fight Nite"
, yes there are fights (not real ones silly!) Zoo-oid, mmm this needs more explanation.
This piece is in fact a mix of parody and metaphor….. it's atmospheric,…
it's absorbing,…. it's intimidating, and it's bloody good! Contemporary
Physical Theatre has brought many different and exotic forms and performances
to us but this has to be one of the best.
The theatre is dressed as a boxing ring. Different fighters are introduced to
us, Las Vegas style but they are not boxers. They represent different aspects
of world cultures and religions, stereotypes and genders. Each is pitted against
the other in a series of brilliantly choreographed fight/dance moves. The characters
are played almost robotlike as if they are part of a menagerie of creatures
controlled by a ringmaster who calls all the shots and wields the real power.
The actors stay in character in an uncompromising, unrelenting and committed
way. I have seen them at various events, menacing and embarrassing the public
with amazing intensity. At one point a member of the audience is ritually executed;
the rest of the audience enjoys it and applauds him.
Director Jonathan Grieve has created a highly topical and thought-shredding
work. The cast are fit and physically very dynamic, an impression which is accentuated
by excellent and beautiful costumes. Combined with a simple but effective set
and some audience involvement props, the result is a strong production that
drives along. If things had worked technically, this would have been a zero
dram show but they did struggle with a bust microphone which threw the Master
of Ceremonies, so one dram. If you want something wild and wacky, this is the
show for you.
© Max Blinkhorn 10th August 2004. Published on Edinburghguide.com
Runs 9-30 August (not 16th and 23rd ) 20:00 (1hr.15 minis)
Company: Para Active
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