Theatre

A Series of Increasingly Impossible Acts

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08/08/14

Northern Stage at King’s Hall, Edinburgh

According to their publicity material, “The Secret Theatre Company is a 20-strong ensemble of actors, writers, directors and designers created to challenge the way theatre is produced and presented in Britain.” They promise exciting, dangerous, risk-taking performances, and “never the same show twice.”

In reality, this translates into a group of young actors dressed in their PE kits, sitting at the edge of a stage, until an audience member chooses that night’s ‘protagonist.’ This, it seems, is the extent of the risk: the actors don’t know which of them will be called upon to perform the lead role. Oh, and there are lots of improvised bits, where one actor has a list of questions to read, and another has to respond spontaneously. So far, so drama workshop exercise.

There isn’t much of a narrative, and ‘protagonist’ seems an odd choice of word to describe the main actor, as there is nothing so traditional here as a character. There’s just a name (tonight’s was Cara), and a series of barely linked scenes. OK, so there’s some pretty full-on wrestling, some clothes swapping, a decent soundtrack and a bit of Romeo and Juliet quite nicely spoken. And, of course, there’s those “impossible tasks” – bending an iron bar, licking your elbow, eating a whole lemon. All made easier, it is revealed, with a little help from your friends. “What was tonight’s show about, Cara?” asked one of the actors. “Exhaustion,” replied Cara, “Exhaustion and friendship.” These words were added to the other – equally bland – statements scrawled on a whiteboard at the back of the stage, presumably the themes ascribed to previous shows.

In truth, this didn’t seem to add up to much. It didn’t feel risky, dangerous, innovative or vital – or any of the other epithets quoted on the publicity posters. It all just felt a little bit… so what?

1 star

Susan Singfield

The Fair Intellectual Club

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07/08/14

Studio 2, The Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

The Fair Intellectual Club is comedian Lucy Porter’s first foray into play writing, and it’s certainly a promising start. It tells the true tale of three young women who, in 1717 – at the dawn of the Scottish Enlightenment, set up an illicit club with the aim of studying literature, science and philosophy, determined not to be kept in ignorance merely by virtue of their sex. This was a risky venture, with social censure and reputations at stake, and Porter cleverly conveys a sense of genuine peril and brave rebellion.

The director’s light touch means that we focus on the actors (Samara MacLaren, Caroline Deyga and Jessica Hardwick), who convey their respective characters with exuberance and wit. The three girls have a convincing rapport, with all the love, anger, misery and jealousy of a real friendship beautifully portrayed. There are moments of real heartbreak – and of untamed laughter; this play is definitely one to watch. It has a contemporary resonance that should not be ignored.

4.6 stars

Susan Singfield

Lear’s Daughters

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01/08/14

C Nova Venue, Edinburgh

Lear’s Daughters (Footfall Theatre Company) offers an interesting premise. What would Shakespeare’s famous play look like presented from the point of view of his daughters, Regan, Goneril and Cordelia? Presented in the rather unprepossessing C Nova venue (complete with occasional distracting bleed-through from a raucous performance next door) the production delivered rather less than it promised. The performances were pretty good overall, with Goneril a stand-out, but the lack of a programme prevents me from identifying any of the four actors featured. Shakespeare’s dialogue (including lines by the play’s other characters) is assigned to the daughters, who constantly bicker about their father’s needs. Lear himself is represented by an empty wheelchair and the character of the Fool is now a nurse, who sings (seemingly unrelated) songs throughout the performance. This is either going to be A) a refreshing novelty or B) an irritation, and sadly I leaned towards the latter. When the Fool/Nurse continued to sing whilst being blinded, I started to feel disengaged from the proceedings. I think at the end of the day, if you’re going to mess with the bard of Stratford On Avon, you’d better have something pretty amazing up your sleeve and I’m not convinced that Lear’s Daughters actually did. But the performers acquitted themselves well under quite trying conditions, so I’ll be lenient.

3.2 stars

Philip Caveney

Wastwater

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03/08/14

C Nova Venue, Edinburgh

I’ve been a fan of playwright Simon Stephens ever since I saw Punk Rock at the Ed Fest a few years back. Wastwater is an early work, originally performed at the Royal Court in 2011. This new production is ingeniously staged in a promenade style ranging between two main rooms linked by a middle one where uniformed extras guide you along designated pathways, into the next piece of action. Wastwater is essentially three short plays, linked only by brief mentions of characters from the previous section. Although an amateur production, the standards of acting in each part are uniformly excellent and the simple but effective staging manages to involve the audience to such a degree that they feel as though they are part of the action. The overall theme is one of transience – nearly every character is on his or her way to somewhere else. One minor niggle – some of the actors are clearly too young for the roles they are playing, but in a production as accomplished as this, that’s easy to live with.

4.6 stars

Philip Caveney

I Killed Rasputin

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05/08/14

Assembly, George Square Theatre, Edinburgh

As both a theatre-lover and a Richard Herring fan, it was obvious that I would attend this show. Less obvious was what I should expect. I know that Herring has written plays before, but I haven’t seen them. The poster looks rather solemn and serious; would the performance eschew all humour to focus on the history?

Of course not. While this piece is certainly informative, it’s entertaining too (“laughing and learning, folks”), and the ridiculousness of the story the world was supposed to swallow is cleverly exposed.

The casting is audacious, with Nichola McAuliffe in the lead role of Prince Felix Yusupov, playing up his notorious gender-bending reputation. McAuliffe is magnificent and Eileen Nicholas, as his arch wife, Irina, is the perfect foil, these two ‘older’ women easily commanding the stage. (Pay attention, Hollywood! Pay attention, BBC! Pay attention, everyone! Women who are over fifty can be wonderful. Write more parts for them!) In fact, the sheer brilliance of these two actors creates what, for me, is the only problem with the play: their combined charisma and charm means that they steal the show, and so the enigmatic Rasputin (Justin Edwards), appearing as a ghost to torment Yusupov, perhaps fails to make as much impact as he needs to, and it is, at times, hard to see how the Russian aristocracy could have been so beguiled by this relatively ordinary man. However, this is a minor quibble – and there’s plenty to relish in the performance, not least the multi-role playing and clever direction.

Overall, the play works very well, combining artful exposition with delightfully silly humour, and really helps to illuminate this fascinating moment in history. 

4.2 stars

Susan Singfield

The Lieutenant of Inishmore

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03/08/14

Hill Street Theatre, Edinburgh

The Lieutenant of Inishmore is one of Martin McDonagh’s finest plays – a surreal blend of violence, dark comedy and mayhem. As presented by In Your Face Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe (Hill Street Theatre) it’s a truly immersive experience.

Picture this. You and fourteen others are ushered into a small, claustrophobic room. You can’t help but notice that the walls, floor and ceiling are lined with bin bags. You are issued with a splatter-proof hooded cape and foot covering. You also can’t help but notice that less than a foot away, a half naked man is lying unconscious on a torture table. Then the eponymous anti-hero strides in and the torture session begins…

Of course, it would be easy to dismiss all this as a mere gimmick and at first, I thought I wasn’t going to enjoy the performance. But as the action unfurled, as the gore sprayed around the room, I realised that I was actually loving this production, more so perhaps than the expensive polished version I attended at the Curve Theatre some years ago. When you’re so embroiled in the action, when the characters are actually including you in it, the manic humour of the piece comes to the fore and you find yourself laughing out loud at the absurdity of it all. This production is what the Edinburgh Fringe is all about. With such small audience capacity, In Your Face must be running at a loss, but they’re doing it for the sheer, unadulterated joy of putting on a show.

Make no mistake, this is immersive theatre at its most literal. Forget about breaking the fourth wall. Here, it doesn’t exist and at the play’s conclusion, there’s no time for applause, because the cast are helping you out of your gore-splattered covers and asking you what you thought of the show. What did I think? Phenomenal. For its sheer brass neck brilliance, this gets a full 5 stars.

5 stars

Philip Caveney

Hancock’s Last Half Hour

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04/08/14

Studio 1, Assembly Rooms, George Street, Edinburgh

As an enthusiastic Tony Hancock fan since childhood, it was a given that I would want to see Heathcote Williams’ Hancock’s Last Half Hour. Essentially a monologue, it chronicles the great comedian’s desperate last sojourn in an Australian hotel room as he steadily drinks himself to oblivion. Pip Utton doesn’t so much play the role as inhabit it. He manages to conjure Hancock’s rumpled desperation perfectly, while the voice is also spot on. You might expect a play with such a grim storyline to be a rather glum affair, but don’t be fooled. Williams’ script is liberally stuffed with acid one-liners that will have you laughing out loud, right up to the heartbreaking conclusion. I loved Utton’s post-bow speech, urging those of us who liked his performance to tell everyone via social media – and those that didn’t to keep our mouths shut! Well, Pip, I loved your performance and I’d urge others to catch it while they still have the chance. Please note, you don’t have to be a Hancock fan for this to work, but it certainly helps. Stone me – this is a cracker!

4.6 stars

Philip Caveney