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| Edinburgh : A&E : Festivals : Fringe Reviews |
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 Childrens |
Rating Guide None = Unmissable 
= UnwatchablePage number refers to the Fringe programme The Acrobat. (Page 8). Drams
.Venue Pleasance Courtyard. (33) Address 60 The Pleasance. Reviewer Ariadne Cass. The Acrobat follows an Italian postal worker’s struggle to leave in search of a better life. The fantasies and fears of his psyche are played out while his worry immobilises him. A physical piece, with dialogue and songs in Italian with key dialogue in English, it's surreal and obscure physical storytelling. However, the action is obscured by poor direction and it becomes unclear where the boundaries between fantasy and reality are. The title is misleading; there are no acrobatics, although there are prolonged dance sequences. Very little extravagant physical virtuosity is displayed at all. Where there might have been humour or clowning there is a sense of aimlessness, with the pace drooping at times. That said, it may be that the venue is partly to blame. The Pleasance Cavern is not a good space. Even with only eight people in the audience it is still difficult to get a good view. It lends itself particularly badly to physical theatre - you need some space and distance to appreciate this form. Only when the lead actor wanders off stage and the lights come up is it obvious the piece is over. This production is also just too surreal to hold the attention of most children. ©Ariadne Cass 15 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Runs to August 15-17, 21-24, 28 at 11:30 every day. Company - Concrete Temple Theatre.
Comedy Club 4 Kids. (Page 9). Drams
.Venue Underbelly. (Venue 61). Address 56 Cowgate.With extra show at Cow Barn, (Venue 201) Reid Hall on Sunday 27 August at 15:15. Reviewer Ariadne Cass. This is a stand up comedy show for children. Every show has a different rotation of adult stand up comedians. In the middle of every show, a child gets up to do a spot. It's an innovative idea. Tonight's child is Emily, eight years old. She is precocious and actually not half bad. Her set lasts for five minutes. She is quite literal though, as are most of the children in the audience. The more sophisticated humour of the grown up comedians is lost on them a lot of time. At times there seems to be a struggle with appropriate subjects and jokes. There are occasional pauses, remembering that there are certain things you can't say in front of children. Without cynicism and black irony, they seem a little bereft. Perhaps stand - up comedy is not a medium that children can fully appreciate. But it is still an interesting experiment and a great opportunity for children to perform. ©Ariadne Cass 15 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Runs to August 27 at 17:40 every day. With extra show at Cow Barn, (Venue 201) Reid Hall on Sunday 27 August at 15:15. Company - Fat Cat Productions. Company Website - www.fatcatproducts.co.uk
Drams
soft ones for kids.Venue Baby Belly (Venue 88). Address The Caves, Niddry St South, off Cowgate. Reviewer Rebecca Smith. Cutlery Wars comes with the disclaimer 'WARNING: This is not a normal children's play. There are no songs. No joining in. No happy ending.' No kidding! Passing itself off as experimental, satirical, black comedy for kids, the play examines the prospect that kids cannot progress to high school unless they pass the dreaded Year 6 exams. The play is simply staged with two mature-aged, uniformed students perched on a brick wall exchanging an hour's worth of random, inane banter. The friends' discussions range from dissecting the widely-held assumption that Humpty Dumpty was an egg, to foxhunting, to a dismembered C3PO toy. This Beavis and Butthead pair have failed their exams so many times they're nearing 30 and are prohibited from growing up - trapped by the school rules of being excluded from sports due to health and safety concerns, and forced to remove all body hair on 'shaving day'. They pass the time with their long-running cutlery wars; a role-playing game where the king of forks battles the queen of tea spoons and other such imaginary utensils. The absurdity of all this does gather some laughs, but mostly by the actors at their own jokes. Written by James Campbell and produced by Fat Cat Productions, best known for the successful Comedy Club 4 Kids, Cutlery Wars does deliver glimpses of the creative, black satire it promises. Swearing disguised as dog breeds like 'dalmation' and 'shih tzu' is a tactic bound to be popular with kids. The depressed undertone of the two students is convincingly delivered by actors Carey Marx and Matt Kirshen as the script tackles the idea that conformity is marriaged to success and growing up is learning to do as your told. They could have taken this dark notion further, but instead we are given lengthy sight gags and awkward pauses. Put plainly, this is a disappointment. In their words 'If you can't handle that, dalmation off and see something with primary colours.' I recommend going with the primary colours... ©Rebecca Smith 10 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com. Runs to 27 August at 14:30 every day, except Monday the 14th Company - Fat Cat Productions.
The Dream Dealer. (Page 9). Drams
.Venue Augustine's (Venue 152). Address 41 George IV Bridge. Reviewer Morag Hannah. After a shaky start, and twenty minutes later than advertised, the young cast of The Dream Dealer soon found their feet and threw themselves wholeheartedly into the musical. A cautionary tale about being yourself and resisting peer pressure, complete with a thinly-veiled "don't do drugs" metaphor, it's excellent pre-teen/young-teen fare. The children are all at the very least passable singers, and some, in particular the lead female, show the potential to become very good indeed. The two adult cast members, a teacher and the eponymous villan, set a solid standard without overshadowing their young co-stars. John Keilty's Dream Dealer had more than a hint of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's child-catcher about him, and his black leather coat and pale complexion made for a brilliant contrast to the colourful but no less sinister ice-'dream' van. The musical itself delivers catchy, pleasing melodies, and (often funny) lyrics that only occasionally stray into condescension and moralising. The message came across loud and clear, with a cheering sincerity and enthusiasm from the youngsters. While by no means flawless, this is a show where the thought most definitely counts. ©Morag Hannah 12August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com . Run ended Aug 13. Company - The Dream Dealer. Company Website - www.thedreamdealer.com .
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