23/08/19

Gilded Ballon , Rose Theatre, Edinburgh

We’re at that stage of the Fringe where we’re experiencing WWSTE (Wish We’d Seen This Earlier). Searchers is a good case in point. Happening nightly down in the bowels of the Rose Theatre, it’s hidden away from the crowds, and that’s a real pity. This powerful, adrenalin-fueled fusion of high-octane rock, physical movement and poetry is something that’s crying out for a bigger audience.

Singer songwriter Taigé Lauren relates a cerebral road-movie of self-discovery, as her character, Mary, impulsively leaves her partner of three years and drives off into the heart of the American West, looking for a new beginning. Inspired by John Ford’s celebrated film, The Searchers, this is a trip in every sense of the word.

Lauren is a charismatic performer, and her three-piece band provides a kick-ass aural landscape for her vocals. She also moves with incredible grace and precision, using every inch of the stage. I love this show – it has me stamping my feet along to the urgent rhythms, even singing the choruses of songs I’m only hearing for the first time – and I’m totally suckerpunched by a climactic revelation that I really, REALLY don’t see coming.

There are just three nights left to catch this little gem so, if you don’t seize the opportunity, you’ll only have yourselves to blame. Get on down to Rose Street and share the experience. You won’t regret it.

4.6 stars

Philip Caveney