Theatre

A Good Clean Heart

2016GOODCLE_UA

26/08/16

Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh

A Good Clean Heart by Alun Saunders is a bilingual play, told half in English and half in Welsh (subtitles in both languages are projected onto the front of a bus stop, perfectly integrated into a dazzling, at times frenetic, multi-media collage).

It’s Hefin (James Ifan)’s eighteenth birthday, and his adoptive parents , Gwilym and Ros, give him an envelope. It’s a letter from a brother he’s long forgotten; they were separated by social services when Hefin was very small. And Jay (Oliver Wellington) has always wanted to reconnect with the little boy he was so heartbroken to lose.

They’ve both got problems; Hefin’s angry outbursts cause him trouble at home and at school, and Jay is tagged and under curfew after spending months in gaol. And, when they meet, things start to get very complicated indeed.

I loved this play; both performances are exemplary, and Mared Swain’s lively direction makes for an exciting, kinetic production, which never loses pace.

The writing is sympathetic; this isn’t a judgemental play. Hefin, Jay, Raymande, Ros and Reann: they’re all badly flawed, but they’ll be okay. They’re real. They’re just doing their best to get along.

And this is a wonderful, heart-warming production.

5 stars

Susan Singfield

The South Afreakins

2016SOUTHAF_AVI

25/08/16

Spotlites, Edinburgh

The South Afreakins is a duologue performed as a monologue, a two-hander expertly performed by a single actor. And, my word, it’s really very good indeed.

Robyn Paterson is a playwright and actor, and she’s clearly talented in both fields. This piece, inspired by her parents’ immigration from South Africa to New Zealand, is all about displacement and belonging, and the difficult relationship so many immigrants have with ‘home’ (is it where you live or where you’re from, where you fall in love or where you lose someone?). We see Gordon and Helene, newly retired, scared by the violence erupting in South Africa, and keen to start a new life elsewhere. New Zealand appeals to Helene far more than to Gordon; he wants to stay where his roots are. But Helene refuses to live in fear; she knows she’ll be poorer in New Zealand – no servants for her there! – but she wants to live a peaceful life. And Gordon loves her, of course he does, and so he goes along.

Paterson switches effortlessly between characters; a simple shift in the body language, a tilt of the head or a shrug of the shoulders, and we know exactly who she is supposed to be. It’s captivating; we are completely drawn into their story, and our emotions are wrapped up in theirs.

It seems a simple tale, but it covers a lot. There’s a lightness of touch which means that, although it’s not the focus of the piece, Helene’s instinctive racism is exposed, as well as her wish to deny it, even to herself. We know that the violence that frightens Helene is that of the oppressed rising up against the oppressor, and we know that Helene represents the oppressor here. But she is just a woman, living the life she was born into, coping, like we all cope, with the cards we are dealt.

It’s a subtle, thought-provoking piece, that has us laughing and then stops us short. I highly recommend you catch it while you can. It’s only here in Edinburgh for three more days!

4.8 stars

Susan Singfield

Yuri

2016YURI_UD

24/08/16

Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh

Who is Yuri? It’s a good question and one that lies at the heart of this entertaining and unsettling farce from August012, in association with Chapter Arts Centre and the National Theatre Wales. Maybe he’s exactly what he appears to be – a teenage Russian orphan, discovered by Adele (Carys Eleri) sitting amidst the pretty Christmas things in Lidl, all ready to be taken home. Or perhaps he symbolises the inevitable fears and anxieties visited upon any couple when they become parents for the first time, bringing a demanding, wordless stranger into their home and relationship. In any case, Adele and her husband, Patrick (Ceri Murphy), have been wanting a child for ages and now, it would seem, they have been blessed with one. But Yuri (Guto Wynne-Davis), is challenging to say the very least…

Despite being staged in one of the scuzziest venues on the Fringe, Yuri is a warm, absurd and, in many respects, rather scary play, that exerts a powerful pull on the audience’s emotions. The cast work hard to embody their characters – and do a fabulous job of it. There is a certain deftness at play here, which makes the complex issues at the heart of this piece seem somehow light and whimsical. It’s fascinating to watch. We might not always be entirely sure of what’s going on, but by golly, we aren’t bored for one moment.

This is a challenging piece that’s well worth seeking out.

4.8 stars

Philip Caveney and Susan Singfield

Unseen

2016UNSEEN_AVH

24/08/16

Spotlites, Edinburgh

Unseen is a play about homelessness, and it’s clearly been meticulously researched. Holly (Ashley McLean, who also wrote and directed the piece) is homeless after losing her job and falling out with her friends; Maria (Lara Fabiani) is an old acquaintance, whose world-view is challenged by a jolt of recognition: someone she actually knows is huddled under a sleeping bag in the street. This makes her question her own security, as well as her attitude to the rough sleepers she passes every day.

Maria is ‘us’; she’s the filter for the audience.Holly is ‘them’, the nameless, ignored men and women, whose shattered lives should shame us all. What sort of a society is this, where the safety net is so full of holes? We live in the world’s sixth richest country; how can this be acceptable?

The issues are well articulated here. Holly is a believable character with credible responses to the situation she finds herself in. Maria’s sense of unease, her feelings of guilt, sympathy and fascination, are conveyed with conviction. If there’s a problem, it’s with the narrative drive. Sometimes it all feels a little too much like a lecture; the same ideas could be conveyed with a lighter touch, perhaps? And I’d like to learn more about Maria and to see how their friendship develops – and the complications their unequal positions might create. I’d like a stronger character arc, I suppose, to really draw me in to the girls’ stories.

But, all in all, this is a very worthy piece, which certainly wears its heart on its sleeve.

3 stars

Susan Singfield

Wonderman

Wonderman_edinburgh_FOURSHEETS-quartersize_final

21/08/16

Underbelly Potterrow, Edinburgh

Based on the short stories of Roald Dahl – and incorporating a true incident from his eventful life, Gagglebabble’s collaboration with the National Theatre of Wales is a sprightly mix of drama and music with a deliciously dark heart. Though musicians are onstage throughout the show, it’s somehow not so much a musical as a comic drama with songs. These days, Dahl is best known for his children’s books, but anyone of a certain age will be well aware of his parallel career as the author of comically disturbing stories with a ‘twist in the tale.’

In 1940, young airman Roald Dahl is rushed to hospital after crashing his plane in the Egyptian desert. He has serious facial injuries and is suffering from temporary blindness. Swathed in bandages and pumped full of drugs, he begins to hallucinate – and the hallucinations take the form of several of his most successful and grotesque short stories – including Man From The South, for my money one of the best stories ever written.

This is a brilliant ensemble piece – the script and lyrics by Daf James are witty and entertaining, the music by Lucy Rivers is delightful and the seven-strong cast perform faultlessly in their multiple roles. The one hour and five minutes zips by in a trice and if there’s a single disappointment here, it’s simply that it’s over so soon.

One delightful image – sheets of paper blowing around the stage in the rush of wind from an electric fan, stays with me as I leave the theatre. Wonderman is aptly named. This is a fabulous production.

4.8 stars

Philip Caveney

Just by Ali Smith

Unknown

21/08/16

Piccolo, Assembly Gardens, Edinburgh

At a time when arts provision in state schools is under real threat, it is heartening to see what amazing opportunities can be created for students when a team of dedicated educators goes all out to show what theatre can be.

Corelli is a school-based theatre company, with the not inconsiderable benefit of being attached to Greenwich Theatre. Clearly, this gives them access to professionals across the board, not least to their patron, the wonderful Scottish writer Ali Smith. Her play, Just, was originally penned for the National Theatre Connections programme, and it was she who suggested a revival by the young company. And what an excellent suggestion that was.

It’s a fascinating play all about conformity, and what we choose to be offended by. This is a Stepford world, where Waitrose shoppers are always presumed innocent and outsiders are guilty by default. Everything is very nice exactly as it is, and anyone who threatens the status quo is immediately killed.

Corelli Theatre Company’s young actors certainly do the piece justice (if you’ll excuse the pun). The ensemble work is deftly choreographed, the terrifying Ukip-coloured crowd moving and speaking with impressive precision and control. And the leads have been very well cast too; Edie Friar, as Victoria, is particularly good, an appealing rebel determined to stand up for what she knows is right.

Lucy Cuthbertson (director) and Shermaine Slocombe (producer/choreographer) can be justifiably proud of what they have achieved. The youngsters in their care have been given opportunities here that all children should enjoy. Theatre really is for everyone; drama does matter, and – at Corelli College at least – a new generation of performers is being offered a chance to shine.

4 stars

Susan Singfield

Luna Park

2016LUNAPAR_O4images

19/08/16

Zoo Southside, Edinburgh

It’s the morning of Delmore’s eighteenth birthday and, on a cold winter’s day during the great American depression, he and his mother, Rose (Eugenia Caruso) are barely getting by. There’s no money for a birthday cake and Rose can’t even motivate herself to sew up the tear in her cardigan. That night, Delmore (Jesse Rutherford) has a dream, and we’re taken with him into a series of flashbacks charting his parents’ relationship, from the optimism of their first date in Luna Park on Coney Island, to the devastation of their marriage falling apart.

Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Donald Margulies, Luna Park is a piece about coming of age, about finding your own place in the world and accepting who your parents are. It’s nicely acted (Caruso is particularly good in her role), and the direction is visually very pleasing, particularly the balletic movement in the transitions between scenes. If there’s a criticism here, it’s that the various household objects used to delineate different areas of the house sometimes feel too much like clutter; on this small stage, less would almost certainly be more.

The play itself has a beautiful simplicity, which helps to make the characters utterly believable, but the tension seems to dissipate quite quickly, and there isn’t much of a denouement; we’re left feeling that we’ve witnessed maybe half of something very good, which is a real shame.

3.5 stars

Philip Caveney & Susan Singfield

Stunning The Punters

2016STUNNIN_AWM

16/08/16

Spotlites, Edinburgh

The description tour de force is often used and seldom deserved; but I can’t think of a better description of George Dillon’s extraordinary performance in this searing monologue that features excerpts from three theatrical works.

Steven Berkoff’s Master of Cafe Society is the tale of a struggling actor facing up the bleak prospect of another day’s failure; Robert Sproat’s Stunning The Punters is the story of a skinhead who indulges in racist slogan-scrawling alongside some London railway tracks – and Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is about a vision experienced by a would-be suicide.

Dillon is a truly gifted actor – every utterance, every gesture draws the audience in to his respective characters and holds us spellbound. Anybody who cares about serious theatre and the actor’s craft should make their way quickly down to Spotlites to catch this performance. Rarely has a show been more aptly named.

5 stars

Philip Caveney

Sally Phillips & Lily Bevan: Talking To Strangers

2016SALLYPI_AAU

16/08/16

Assembly, George Square, Edinburgh

Sally Phillips and Lily Bevan are here for one week only and their impeccably delineated character sketch show is sold out tonight, so it might be a tough one to get tickets for.

Before the show starts, we’re informed that Phillips has broken her foot (by jumping on – or off – a table…?) but that she’ll be performing anyway, just “I might be a bit still!” Testament to her professionalism is the fact that it doesn’t impede the show in any way. Yeah, she’s got a bandage on her foot and she limps uncomfortably on and off stage during each scene change, but, once in position and in character, it makes no difference.

This is a sort-of-sketch-show, a series of monologues, where the two actors alternate different roles. And it’s really rather good.

Standouts include a miserable research scientist who’s spent forty years studying ‘numerosity in lions’ (only to be overwhelmed by the sudden realisation of the pointlessness of her life’s work), a terrified tour guide pressured into performing the role of Catherine of Aragon (whose brave attempts to render a Spanish accent provide the biggest laughs of the night), and an extended – and slightly bonkers – routine about Bette Midler and her phone calls to a cancer support group.

These women are seasoned comedians and their performances are precise and polished. If it’s a little safe, then that’s okay – not everything has to be edgy and provocative. I would have liked to have seen them perform at least one duologue, but overall this was a marvellous show.

4.5 stars

Susan Singfield

 

Mervyn Stutter’s Silver Jubilee Charity Gala

C4019F1E-0BEA-1DB2-90FABBB9A3769199

Assembly Theatre, George Square, Edinburgh

15/08/16

If the Edinburgh Fringe has anything resembling royalty then Mervyn Stutter is arguably first in line to the throne (now that Richard Herring seems to have abdicated). Amazingly, Mervyn has been running his Pick of the Fringe show for twenty-five years and this special gala has been arranged to celebrate the occasion and to raise money for charity. Think of an old-school variety show, offering short selections of comedy, theatre and music, and you’ve pretty much got the idea. As well as helping those in need, it’s doubtless a great way of alerting the public to performers they might enjoy in more depth – fliers for all the featured acts are available on the way out.

On comes Mervyn in his trademark pink suit, and treats us to a few of his risqué ditties from down the years, before introducing the first act, Tom Binns, in his role as ‘Hospital DJ,’ Ivan Brackenbury. It’s a great start to the show. Binns’ comedy comes from the ineptness of his character, who makes a series of clumsy announcements and then compounds them with selection a toe-curlingly inappropriate songs. It’s a great comic premise and Binns delivers on it, big time. You’ll find his show at The Assembly George Square.

The next act, I Am Rhythm, features a lively troop of eight South African men who perform a couple of frenetic traditional dances from Soweto, which involves them slapping, clapping and chanting in a dazzling display of syncopation. Fans of this kind of music (and there are many) will find their show at Dance Base (Venue 22).

It’s always a pleasure to see comedian Jo Caulfield, even if the short selection she offers here is already familiar to us from earlier shows. No matter, her tales of a louche Londoner adapting to a new life in Edinburgh are cannily observed and very, very funny. You’ll find her at (where else?) The Stand Comedy Club.

Circa are difficult to describe. This four piece contemporary circus troop offer a short extract from their current show, Closer, which is all about relationships and combines incredible balancing with a series of bodily contortions that will astonish you. They are currently appearing at Edinburgh’s infamous cow-shaped venue, Udderbelly.

Angel, a play by Henry Naylor is set in Kobane, Northern Syria and is the true-life tale of an acclaimed female sniper, credited with over one hundred kills. Lead actor Fillipa Braganca treats us to a short extract and I find myself wishing that she’d been granted more time. Naylor’s last play, Echoes, won him the 2015 Fringe First Award and this one is also garnering great reviews. You’ll find Angel at the Gilded Balloon, Teviot.

 Next up is Sarah Louise Young (who we have already seen and loved in Royal Vauxhall). Here she’s in her Cabaret Whore role as La Poule Plombée, a French chanteuse in the vein of Edith Piaf, but played (expertly) for laughs. She sings about baggage (pronounced to rhyme with Farage) and milks the song for every bit of humour. She’s accompanied on the piano by Michael Roulston and, just in case you think she’s not working hard enough, you can also catch the duo in their show Songs For Lovers (and Other Idiots) at Maggie’s Chamber on Cowgate. La Poule Plombé, on the other hand, can be seen at The Voodoo Rooms.

In an extended set, the cast of Showstopper: The Improvised Musical stroll onstage and create songs inspired by suggestions shouted out randomly by members of the audience. They settle on a show set in 10 Downing Street, starring Theresa May and her cleaning lady. It’s quite uncanny how they do it, but there they are, producing lyrics that actually make sense and rhyme, working in the style of Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber. This Olivier award winning show is at The Pleasance Courtyard twice a day. Go along and marvel.

Rory Bremner is a name that surely needs no introduction, but he gets one anyway. He wanders onstage, tells us about his long relationship with Mr Stutter (they’ve been bumping into each other at the fringe for quarter of a century) and then he throws in a few of his brilliant impersonations. (His Barack Obama is quite something.) His show, Rory Bremner meets… is at The Gilded Balloon at the Museum.

Last but not least, we are treated to a couple of songs by The Jive Aces – purveyors of old time swing. Dressed to the nines in their yellow outfits, they soon have everybody clapping along to their song, before leading the crowd in a chorus of Happy Birthday, as somebody brings out a special cake to mark Mervyn’s anniversary. The Jive Aces are at Assembly George Square Gardens – and Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe is at The Gilded Ballloon, Teviot every day at 13.00, with a fresh set of acts each time.

4 stars

Philip Caveney