"Elling" - September 2007 (London)

Based on a Norwegian film of the same name, "Elling" is the title character's struggle to reassimilate into society after a spell in a mental institution. Elling (John Simm) is set up in a flat with Kjell Bjarne (Adrian Bower) who has also been released and the two form a classic odd couple style relationship. Assisted by social worker Frank (Keir Charles) they navigate the difficult route back into 'normal' life. Doesn't sound like bundle of laughs, but they manage to find plenty of them.

Simm is almost unrecognisable from his TV roles, not so much in appearance but in his physical and vocal portrayal of 'Mummy's boy' Elling. He appears weedy and timid - a far cry from his usually strong characters. He brings the character to life with such definition that during the first half of the show I found myself suffering a severe personality clash with Elling. Fortunately as the character developed I found him more sympathetic.

Adrian Bower's Kjell Bjarne provides much of the play's humour as he seeks to experience the outside world (and female company in particular) for the first time. Kjell Bjarne is written fairly two dimensionally but Bower does well with the material.

While Simm & Bower are the star attractions of the production, Keir Charles gives social worker Frank a real sense of depth and we feel his genuine concern for the well being of his charges, and also his frustration at Elling's reluctance to take forward steps. In fact, given my early problems with Elling, it was Charles' performance I found the most enjoyable.

The humour in the piece comes from the characters and the language, with wordplay featuring strongly at times. There's a little slapstick in the mix as well and the best way I can describe the tone is as similar to an episode of "Frasier". With great performances, a genuinely funny script, sympathetic characters and a little to think about it's a wonderfully enjoyable evening. And I couldn't help but feel that "Elling" was everything I had hoped "The Walworth Farce" would be, but wasn't.

Elling runs at Trafalgar Studios in London until 6th October 2007.

"Your Ex Lover Is Dead" - September 2007

In the middle of a very hectic week of theatregoing fitting in a stop at the Arches Live festival was always going to be a stretch but I desperately wanted to manage it. For one I wanted to catch Kirstin McLean's 'Open Grave' (which we ended up being too late to get tickets for), but I was also keen to see this one as it has Andrew Field of the excellent Arcades Project blog as it's director. Although, the set up of a couple reunited for dinner two years after splitting up didn't strike me as particularly promising.

Those of you who read View From The Stalls regularly will know by now that I love sharp, quick, witty dialogue, and that I'm particularly fond of stylish direction that really puts a stamp on a piece. "Your Ex Lover Is Dead" had both. In bucketloads. And excellent performances too. And I adored it.

The stated reason for the dinner is that Victor wants to show Trudy the draft of his new play based on their relationship, but is that really why they are there? Victor and Trudy are accompanied by a waiter and waitress who act as the audience's guide to the dinner and the couple's previous history together. They do this in a number of ways throughout the piece - sometimes re-enacting scenes from the relationship, at others simultaneously speaking the couple's dialogue, and on occasions through interactions between the narrators and the couple. It's a brilliantly executed conceit and it benefits from the constant changes rather than allowing the audience to become 'comfortable' with it over the course of the piece.

To carry it off successfully requires an incredibly polished set of performances from the cast and split second synchronisation. We've seen productions at the Arches really struggle with its particular acoustics due to the cavernous spaces and stone walls, but these guys really nailed it and even managed to use it to enhance the effects of their synchronisation.

Kevin Millington as Victor and Lucy Voller as Trudy were both totally believable in their roles, keeping Victor sympathetic rather than pathetic, while avoiding casting Trudy as the villain of the piece. Nils Hognestad does well as the waiter, particularly when portraying Victor as the relationship broke down.

But it's Eleanor Buchan who makes the greatest impact here, making the waitress an impish sprite clearly enjoying putting the relationship under the microscope, while also bringing out the joy and hope that once existed at the start of the relationship. She has a great stage presence that demands the audiences attention.

Deborah Pearson's writing is pacy, clever and most of all funny, all in a style reminiscent of Steven Moffat. Her use of repetition is poetic and adds levels of emotion but isn't overused as can often happen.

But this isn't all about style, there's a good deal of substance here too. How much do people change over time? Or are our memories too subjective and rose-tinted? Or perhaps even then, the person wasn't what we thought they were? All interesting stuff that most of us can relate to either with former partners or just old schoolfriends.

Polly Webb-Wilson's design is also worth mentioning making surprisingly effective use of what appears to be a simple set using it to convey the restaurant and several locations from the past.

I'm conscious of not overdoing how good this piece was, as many of the reasons that contributed to how much I enjoyed it are that it pushed the right buttons for me personally, both stylistically and with its dialogue. Your mileage may vary.

And even for me it did have one miss-step. While I liked the idea of the 'musical' set piece, it was the only one that I felt wasn't strong enough - a nice concept but lacking in content.

Although it didn't quite have that magical spine tingling or jaw dropping moment of "Black Watch", "Lysistrata" or "The Recovery Position", "Your Ex Lover Is Dead" is right up there as one of the most enjoyable productions I've seen this year.

"Rupture" - September 2007

"Rupture" had caught Statler's eye during the Fringe, and as it was developed through the National Theatre of Scotland Workshop that had brought us the very good adaptation of "Venus As A Boy" it didn't take too much convincing for us to make the midweek trip through to to The Traverse in Edinburgh.

It was also of interest due to the involvement of a number of people we've seen in other things - we're considering doing a Scottish theatre equivalent of the Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Davey Anderson (in collaberation with the company) has managed to pull together the interconnected lives of 6 people in a tightly written and directed show, and it's strength lies in its pacing. The characters are quickly drawn with minimal fuss, and the cutting between different scenes and the rearranging of the deceptively simple set to allow this verges on choreography.

Brian Ferguson gave a comedic tragic performance as the overly keen to be liked doorman security guard Stewart. There was a guilty pleasure in the chuckles in the audience as we laughed at, not with him, as he interacts with the others, and in particular with the entrepreneurial Polish immigrant Monika (Agnieszka Bresler) and desperate businessman Colin (Neil McKinven). There were good performances from all the cast with Gabriel Quigley as Colin's wife Tracy, Owen Whitelaw as her neddish younger brother Derek and Molly Innes as the just plain weird Caroline completing the strong ensemble.

We'd seen Agnieszka before as eponymous heroine of the Glasgow College of Nautical Studies performance of "Lysistrata", which was one of the shows we've enjoyed most this year. Another face from a student performance was Owen Whitelaw and it was good to see those we've seen appearing in shows with a wider audience.

This wasn't by any means an out and out comedy, the humour was just that found in everyday situations and was counterpointed by some deep, dark blackness. However it all gelled together well for me and I was desperately hoping for a happy-ish ending.

Traverse 1 is fast becoming one of my favourite places to watch theatre as the versatile performance space means you never know quite what to expect. What started off as a fairly straight forward set went through two main transitions, the first of which still makes my head hurt.

Photo by Eammon McGoldrick, used with permission.

View From The Stalls is 1 year old...

Happy Birthday to us... Happy Birthday to us... It's incredible that we've been doing this for a year now, and it's even more incredible that so many of you pop in now and again to catch up with our scribblings.

Although 'View From The Stalls' didn't start until this time last year we did retrospectively cover shows since we stepped up our theatregoing at the start of 2006. With our latest addition of "Rupture" we'll have written about seventy four shows ranging from the phenomenon that is Black Watch, nearly thirty Edinburgh Fringe productions, delightful student theatre and even the odd musical. We've seen shows in an enormous range of venues including the stunning Rosslyn Chapel, a student bar, and airside at Edinburgh International Airport. But nowhere was more surprising than finding ourselves tempted back to Glasgow's Theatre Royal.

Our aims today remain as they always were, simply to share our responses to the productions we see and add another voice in a Scottish theatre blogosphere that remains sadly quiet at at time when theatre in Scotland is flourishing.

Thank you to all those whose productions we have seen for providing us with so much entertainment and stimulation, and particularly those of you who took our comments in the honest and genuine way they were intended. (For the record we're only aware of one individual we managed to seriously upset) Thanks also to all those of you who have shared your own thoughts by adding comments, welcomed our contributions to your own blogs, and added us to your links/blogrolls.

We've still got plenty to see later this year, and we're already starting to look forward to 2008, so please do stick around.

"Hamlet" - September 2007

What a mixed bag this turned out to be, and what mixed reactions it provoked. But before diving in, I do need to be upfront about my previous relationship with "Hamlet", in that I don't have one. I've never seen it performed until tonight. I've never read it. I've never even read notes on it for school. But I do like to see Shakespeare done well and was looking forward to eradicating this unintentional (and quite honestly embarrassing) gap in my theatregoing experience.

But even with my less than passing familiarity with the play, I was aware that it doesn't normally start with "To be, or not to be..." I understand that this, and the absence of Rosencrantz were the major changes to the piece, but I'm hardly an authority, so I'll leave that for others to comment on.

What I am happier discussing is the performances that we saw from the Citizens Theatre Company. I really enjoyed Andrew Clark's "Hamlet" which was always engaging and at times evoked the menace and gallusness of Hamlet as done by Robert Carlyle in the style of Begbie from Trainspotting.

Barrie Hunter was entertaining as "Polonius" and was a show stealer in his role as the Gravedigger which was played very cleverly solo, with only a skull for his on-stage partner. The 4th wall came tumbling as he addressed the audience in a music hall style to much delight - with the possible exception of a couple in the front row who found themselves suddenly damp.

As "Claudius", John Kazek gave a weighty performance but while his quiet delivery of some lines may have brought out a deeper aspect of the character, I suspect the dialogue will have been lost to much of the audience. Fletcher Mathers did well as "Gertrude" to convey her difficult relationship with "Hamlet" as it developed over the course of the play.

Sam Heughan as "Guildenstern" and Mark Wood as "Laertes" both disappointed, giving performances that seemed fixed and unresponsive and definitely acted. Samantha Young's "Ophelia" appeared soulless and almost disinterested for much of the time although when she was finally brought to life by madness, Young produced a beautiful, moving and memorable performance of her final scenes. It's such a pity the spark wasn't ignited earlier.

Guy Hollands' direction is a prime example of how the production is at turns wonderful and woeful. The first section of the 'play within the play' is presented effectively as silhouettes on sheeting to great comic effect. But we then have the clowns front and centre with 'enhanced' prosthetic genitalia. In a normal audience this would provide a moment or two of humour and the audience would move on with the scene but it's a terribly miss-judged set piece for a production that will no doubt regularly be half filled by school parties as it was tonight. The nudges and giggles continue for several minutes after the action has moved on, much to the distraction and irritation of the remainder of the audience. And it's a shame, as for the most part the school parties tonight were well behaved and their reaction to that section was wholly predictable.

While undeniably striking, the main response to the set was almost certainly - What is it? as the huge copper triangle with holes cut out was lowered and raised. Waldorf suspects it was representative of Swiss cheese in The Mousetrap, but I'm unconvinced. The "Ghost" was effectively realised and well lit, although the dry ice was seriously overdone.

Overall, Clark's "Hamlet" was effective and interesting enough to carry the production for me, with a bit of assistance from Kazek, Mathers and Hunter. I think Waldorf was less impressed.

Hamlet runs at the Citizens until 13th October.

News from The Citz

In a comment on our Pay Less...See More post, Helen from The Citizens' Theatre has brought us the welcome news that the £3 previews can now be booked in advance rather than by just turning up on the day. Excellent way to have a cheap night out as the Citizens bar prices are nice and reasonable. They still have their cheap Tuesday nights too.

We also notice they've sneakily launched another blog. TAG already has a busy presence on the blogosphere, but The Citizens' Theatre has launched its own contribution. Best of luck with it.

"Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical" - September 2007

As I've spoken about before, I have 'issues' with musicals. It takes something a bit special for me to get past the absurdity of what I'm watching and really buy into it. The big draw for us seeing Limelight's amateur production at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall was the involvement of Kim Shepherd & Glen McGill whose performances had impressed in "We Will Rock You". But even with that, I suspected "Jekyll & Hyde" would be close to my tolerance threshold - I just wasn't sure which side it would fall. Fortunately the performances were strong enough to ensure that it fell the right side of the line, despite any remaining concerns about the material.

Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn's musical suffers from the fact that it's essentially a one man show with a large supporting cast rather than having a number of genuine lead parts. It makes it difficult to care a great deal about the other characters due to their limited stage time - despite the best efforts of the cast.

It also suffers from a lack of truly memorable songs - there's certainly nothing that you'll have stuck in your head for a week after leaving the theatre. It doesn't help that the ending seems rushed and unsatisfactory - the jump in time before the final scene seems to miss out much that would be of interest and the resolution lacks imagination.

Okay, enough about the problems with the show as the production more than makes up for them. As "Jekyll"/"Hyde" Bobby Mitchell puts in an excellent performance vocally and does a great job in representing the crucial transformation scenes. While "Confrontation" may not be memorable as a musical number, it most certainly is for Mitchell's alternating performance as both parts of his dual role.

Rachel Brown as Hyde's love interest "Lucy" and Kim Shepherd as Jekyll's bride-to-be "Emma Carew" both produce performances that delight, but their limited stage time leaves you wanting so much more. The supporting cast are universally strong with Glen McGill's "Sir Danvers Curew", Ian Hammond Brown's "Utterson", Ross Walker's "Spider" and Fiona Patterson's "Nellie" particularly noteworthy.

Limelight have done well to compensate for the limitations in some of the songs, ensuring that they are pretty spectacularly choreographed by Clare Stewart and just by sheer numbers of cast on stage. And what a stage! Ronan @ Fine Designs' set is nothing short of brilliant and the use of the laboratory set is particularly well done.

This was easily up to the standards of a professional production and if anything the venue seemed to restrict a production which could have been just as at home on a much larger stage. I still consider myself a reluctant attendee at musicals but this was certainly a very enjoyable evening and hopefully we'll be back through to Dunfermline for Limelight's 2008 production of "Chess".

Picture courtesy of Stagepics

"An Audience with... Hilary Kay & Paul Atterbury" - September 2007

I suspect that the most common reaction to the title of the post will be "Who???". The subtitle of "Have you had it long madam?" may serve as a hint towards their involvement with the "Antiques Roadshow" but even then many of you will be thinking "Which ones are they then???" Which partly explains the somewhat disappointing audience at the Citizens for what was an enjoyable evening.

Still trying to work out who they are? I guess it doesn't really matter - much in the same way they tell us that locations and items tend to blur into one another, so do the experts on the Antiques Roadshow. Although having been with the show for 29 and 17 years respectively, these two are certainly familiar faces to the millions who watch each Sunday evening on BBC1.

Starting with an examination of the origins of the "Antiques Roadshow" and its presenters and experts we're then given what is essentially an insiders guide to the whole Roadshow experience along with amusing anecdotes, aided by video clips from time to time.

These sections are obviously pretty structured and as a result they come across as definite performances rather than off-the-cuff dialogues, but as performances they lack a little polish. The decision to have the house lights down also doesn't help as it leaves Kay and Atterbury often looking out blankly into space rather than being able to see and engage with the audience. While seeing the theatre 1/3 full may be disheartening, it would have built more of a rapport.

During an interval the audience are then able to provide written questions for them to answer in the second half of the show. This makes for a more relaxed and spontaneous section where although many of the questions will be covered in most shows, others seemed to provide a genuine element of thought.

For the casual "Antiques Roadshow" viewer this was a lovely evening of behind the scenes chat, and while true enthusiasts would probably learn little they didn't know already, Kay and Atterbury make for amiable company.

I'm afraid I probably have to put much of the blame for the low turn out down to the Citizens. On leaving the Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir John Mortimer shows earlier in the week we were handed flyers for the upcoming production of Hamlet and the Citz programme, but no attempt was made here or with posters/announcements to remind people of the other shows in the "Audience with..." series. A sadly missed opportunity.

"An Audience with... Sir John Mortimer" - September 2007

Subtitled "Mortimer's Miscellany" this was a bit of a departure from the usual "Audience with..." format at The Citizens. Joined on stage by a pianist and flautist, Sir John Mortimer shared memories of his life as barrister and writer and gave performed readings of some of his favourite poems, writings and sketches. In these he was joined by the excellent Nichola McAuliffe and Liza Goddard in bringing the pieces to life.

Best known as the creator of "Rumpole of the Bailey" much of the evening focused on legal anecdotes and his relationship with his father, while other segments touched on politics and marriage. Despite appearing physically frail at times Sir John is clearly mentally sharp and while the format may be suited to a gentle evening's entertainment, the content was frequently anything but gentle. The performance of Cavafy's "Waiting for the Barbarians" spoke more tellingly about current politics than any newspaper editorials, while a number of his anecdotes were filthy enough that they would have been at home in the routine of an Edinburgh Fringe stand-up.

It is these moments of Mortimer's 'bite' along with the performances of McAuliffe and Goddard that leave a lasting impression, as many of the legal anecdotes are of the variety one finds in Christmas stocking-filler books (as the show's subtitle suggests). The musical interludes were a nice touch that added to what was an enjoyable evening, if not quite what we had expected.

"An Audience with... Sir Alex Ferguson" - September 2007

Following Alan Cumming's triumphant return to Glasgow, another Scottish legend also took to the stage this week, although fortunately for the audience at The Citizens his entrance was somewhat more conventional. Walking out to a packed theatre that had been sold out almost since tickets went on sale, Sir Alex was given the welcome Glasgow reserves for its local heroes.

Ferguson's relationship with Glasgow is complex, or at least it should be. As a former Rangers player who as manager of Aberdeen broke the Glasgow domination of Scottish football, he should by rights be unpopular with at least half, if not all of a Glasgow audience. But his achievements at Manchester United have allowed Glasgow to put aside past differences, and recognise his success both there and at Aberdeen with the respect it deserves.

Accompanied on stage by writer Martin McCardie taking on the role of interviewer, Sir Alex spoke about his Glasgow roots, working on Clydeside, his time as a player at several clubs and then his managerial career. Appearing slightly nervous at the beginning of the evening, Sir Alex soon relaxed and proved an able storyteller with an astonishing memory for players names and match details.

The memories shared were a vibrant mix of the humourous, the insightful and the reflective. Happy to reveal his mischievous side as a player and showing clear affection for many of those he's worked with over the years, Sir Alex kept the audience enthralled.

A billed runtime of 80 minutes turned into two hours with the last 50 minutes or so made up by taking questions from the audience. No topics were declared off-limits and no questions were avoided, with many answers leading on to additional anecdotes. While many of the questions were fairly predictable the answers were not always so - his mention of Paul Gascoigne as the player he most regrets not managing to sign took me by surprise. He provided a very interesting analysis about the way his famous crop of young players were brought through to the first team in response to a question on Alan Hansen's "never win anything with kids" comment. He was also willing to discuss his infamous "mind games" although he played this aspect down a little.

There were a few moments where the legendary Ferguson steel came through. His continuing anger at the BBC was unrestrained, while the sense of injustice at what he perceives as the favourable treatment of some Arsenal players clearly still burns.

One further thing that struck me during the questioning was the way he responded to a question from a young boy of ten or twelve. Rather than giving a response aimed at a child he gave the question full respect and answered it in exactly the same manner as the others - without any suggestion of talking down to, or patronising him. It's easy to see why many talented young players would want to play for him despite his fearsome reputation.

The evening flew in and the audience were clearly delighted by Sir Alex taking time out from his schedule to share an evening with them. He was duly rewarded with a standing ovation after the final question, partly for a wonderfully entertaining evening but more for the man and everything he has achieved.

"The Bacchae" - August 2007

A National Theatre of Scotland production, directed by John Tiffany of "Black Watch", adapted by the highly regarded David Greig, and starring Tony award winning Alan Cumming. Does the Guardian run a Fantasy Theatre Competition? Because this would certainly be my entry. Back in reality, "The Bacchae" was everything I'd hoped it would be, but also a little of what I'd feared it might be.

Alan Cumming as Dionysus owns the stage every moment of this production - from his incredible entry to his last curtain call. His performance is electric and pitched absolutely perfectly to the audience. Every look, glance, gesture, and inflection is carefully crafted and never fails to hit the mark. "Star" is an overused term, but few would question Cumming's entitlement to it.

But while it's Cumming that makes the show, he's also responsible for its failings. The scenes without him simply can't compete. It's not a problem with the performances or Greig's writing, it's just that Cumming's performance is so entrancing that you just want him back on stage. In fact the only way I can think to resolve this difficulty is to keep Dionysus on stage watching the scenes and reacting in silence.

Tony Curran as Pentheus gives a hugely enjoyable performance - particularly once he falls for Dionysus' scheme and does well to match Cumming's intensity in many of their shared scenes, however again this leaves some of his moments with other characters feeling flat in comparison.

The chorus of The Bacchae are excellent at times, and you can almost cope with Cumming's absence for periods as they take centre stage with series of musical numbers. There are some great voices in there, but many of the lyrics can be difficult to pick out.

There are additional prices to be paid for Cumming's genius. Much of what we get is phenomenally entertaining and sections are reminiscent of those comedic giants of the Scottish stage - Rikki Fulton & Stanley Baxter. This almost pantomime like tone is a joy to watch, but it's at the expense of some of the themes of the play. We aren't really left considering the conflict between repression and hedonism, or even the dangers of rejection and revenge. The pay offs are all in the performances.

This is a magnificent production but it is a little unbalanced by Cumming's sheer presence, and in trying to avoid him overpowering the show by ensuring he has plenty of offstage time, they have in fact only highlighted how empty it is without him. "The Bacchae" is a truly memorable show, but the memories are all Alan Cumming.

"The Bacchae" runs at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow until 1st September and then at the Lyric, Hammersmith from 5th to 22nd September.

Photo by Richard Campbell.

"The Walworth Farce" - Edinburgh Fringe 2007

Druid Theatre's production of Enda Walsh's "The Walworth Farce" was another award winner, and we'd heard good things. So despite it meaning an 11a.m. start on a Saturday we dragged ourselves out of bed and along to The Traverse. Even with its early start it was a sell out, so we settled down to be entertained.

Staged in a grubby rundown flat in the London borough of the title, the impressive set made me want to break out the marigolds. The tale of Dinny (Denis Conway) and his two young adult sons, Blake (Garrett Lombard) and Sean (Tadhg Murphy), starts somewhat confusingly until you realise you're seeing a play within a play. The daily routine of this dysfunctional family is to re-enact the events that led them to leave their idolised (idealised?) Cork City and 'settle' in the hustle and bustle of London.

Living in the shadow of their agoraphobic and paranoid father, Blake and Sean both take reassurance in their routine. However Sean in particular is starting to wonder if a better life might be awaiting him outside the flat, a realisation helped by his daily trips to Tesco to purchase the needed food for their play.

Despite the strong performances of the cast, especially Lombard in his multiple female roles I found myself wondering where exactly where we were going. People around me were laughing at what appeared to be the right places, whilst I sat barely smiling. The performances alone were struggling to hold my interest. Fortunately the arrival of Hayley (Natalie Best), the checkout girl from Tesco, just before the break brought a much needed lift.

The glimpses of the darker side to Dinny that we'd seen in the first act with his bullying and dictatorial treatment of his sons comes to fruition after the break. Rather than the polished and performed tale of the last day in Cork that's unfolding within their re-enactment, Sean finds the courage to confront his father with his true memories of that day. The brutality that his father, with Blake's help, inflicts on Hayley being the final catalyst. It's also a scene between Dinny and Hayley that results in the strongest audience reaction.

The ending is suitability dramatic, and tragic as befitting the farce in the title. However I was left feeling a little let down by it all - it just didn't work for me. Perhaps I need a little more sophistication with my farce. However I wholeheartedly agree about Ryvita.

"Hugh Hughes in...Story of a Rabbit" - Edinburgh Fringe 2007

Although "Hugh Hughes in...Story of a Rabbit" had been well received, even winning a Fringe First, this isn't always an indication that we'll find something wonderful (and shows how theatre is a very subjective experience). However the reviews and a recommendation from Helen Smith prompted us to give it a go.
Statler had reservations from the outset as I'm renowned for having a "low tear threshold", so a story that intertwines a tale of a dead rabbit and a dead father could result in a very soggy Waldorf. I'm infamous for having cried during Bambi - when he was born. However, despite its morbid subject matter this is very much a feel good show.

From being greeted with a handshake by Hugh Hughes (Shon Dale-Jones) at the door, to an audience member being given a cup of tea (as you drink a lot of tea when someone dies) to the explanation of where his father's soul was when Hughes was returning home after the funeral the whole show is wrapped in niceness and charm.

Dale-Jones' presents Hughes as a somewhat bumbling and simple character, who is likeable enough, but with a tendency to smile just a little too much. This was tempered by some audience interaction at the start - where we possibly saw the man behind the mask. We were apparently the first audience in which someone had tried lying to get a cup of tea, and the third to give Aled (the man behind the music) a round of applause when introduced...but hadn't applauded Hughes himself. In some ways the more spontaneous reactions to these events provided more humour than the later set pieces.

The projections on the back drop worked well as did most of the props, including a versatile Action Man. The upbeat ending was welcome, but did make me feel like I'd just spent some time with a life coach.

All in all I enjoyed the show at the time (despite the mad dash across the Courtyard to Markus Birdman at then end due to it overrunning), and felt I'd spent a pleasant afternoon. However the badges handed out by Hughes at the end are probably what I'll remember most.

Coming to a Theatre near YOU...

Well the Edinburgh Fringe is nearly over for another year, and we'll no doubt get round to posting some kind of 'highlights' post sometime soon, as well as writing up our two final reviews. But for a number of the shows we've seen this is far from the end, as they continue on to venues in London, around the UK and beyond. Here's where you can catch up with some of them...

Nonsenseroom's excellent production of Douglas Maxwell's "Ballad of James II" is one of the first to reach London with a short run at the Greenwich Theatre from 4th to 8th September.

The National Theatre of Scotland's "Venus as a Boy" based on Luke Sutherland's novel also reaches London on 4th September and runs until the 22nd at the Soho Theatre before visiting Glasgow's Citizens from 30th October to 10th November and then finishing up at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool from 15th to 17th November.

"Emergence-See" returns home to the USA with a number of dates around the country.

Fin Kennedy mentioned in a response to our review of "Mehndi Night" that he hoped to revive the show on returning to London following its reception in Edinburgh. No details yet, but keep an eye on Fin's blog for info.

Following an entirely sold out run of their incredibly intense production of the play version of "Blood Brothers" Lauder Studio Theatre company hope to schedule further performances in Fife. More info when get it.

Benchtours' stage-truck and "The Psychic Detective..." parks up in London from 29th to 31st August as part of the National theatre's 'Watch This Space" before hitting the road again to tour Orkney, Wick, Carrbridge, Skye, St. Andrews and East Lothian between the 8th and 23rd September. Although it didn't really work for us, others seem to have 'got it' and it is certainly something a little different. Full tour details on Benchtour's website.

TAG's production of David Greig's "Yellow Moon" returns home to the Citizens from 4th to 15th September after a hit run at the Traverse and then moves to The Round in Newcastle for 17th & 18th September before a visit to the Woodend Barn in Banchory on the 22nd.

That's all of the productions I could currently track down that have definite(ish) plans, although I'd certainly expect that "Damascus", "The Walworth Farce", "Hugh Hughes in Story of a Rabbit" and "Rebus McTaggart:Crimewarrior" will reappear in the coming months. If you manage to see some of these shows, do pop back and let us know how your opinions compared to our own.

"Failed States" - Edinburgh Fringe 2007

"An innocent man finds himself trapped in a nightmare world, as laws designed to protect against the threat of terror wreak havoc." So far, so Fringe... and once you add in the fact that this is a musical, alarms bells should be ringing. Even more so when this is all in earnest seriousness rather than knowingly tongue in cheek. Had it not been for the show neatly filling a gap in our schedule I'd have been nowhere near "Failed States" but incredibly it turned out to be one of the highlights of my Fringe.

From the opening scene where "God Save the Queen" is cleverly combined with "The Star Spangled Banner" it's clear this is an intelligent and stylish production with a cast capable of pulling off the herculean task of making a musical about terror laws entertaining.

Set over the course of July 2005 the show focuses on Joseph who has found himself with financial links to terror suspects and under intense interrogation by the authorities. But we also see the effect this has on his family and wider circle, how attitudes towards him are affected by the 7/7 bombings in London. We are also asked to consider to what extent we are willing to have our rights and freedoms eroded in the nameof security. But while the show is up front about its political views, it doesn't shirk from giving dissenting views a voice.

There may not be any outstanding musical numbers here, but they all serve the story well and the "Tube" number is particularly effective. The performances are excellent all round. Joanna Heap as Anya gives a particularly strong vocal performance, while Guy Lewis as Joseph gives a real insight into his anguish and frustration. Marcus Ellard and Steve McNeil give Joseph's tormentors a surprising level of depth, and Fanos Xenofos as Anya's father Massoud makes his own reactions to Joseph's situation believable. The conceit of having Joseph's deteriorating mental state portrayed on stage by Andrew Mathys' Franz works far better than it has any right to.

Andrew Taylor's script is witty and subtle, making it's points without bludgeoning the audience with them. Although there is a lot of humour here it isn't at the expense of dramatic tension and there is one truly edge of your seat moment.

1215 Productions have put together a great piece of theatre, and although it has already been performed in London, I hope it can find a continuing life beyond the Fringe - it deserves to, and audiences deserve a chance to see it.

Failed States runs at the Pleasance Dome until 27th August at 15:30.