"Deep Cut" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

As the winner of both a Fringe First and a Herald Angel at this year's Fringe, I was lucky to grab one of the few remaining tickets for "Deep Cut" at the Traverse. The run has now completely sold out, and deservedly so. Sherman Cymru and Philip Ralph have put together an impressive tale told from the viewpoint of Private Cheryl James' parents.
As a visitor to the James' house the audience are pulled into the tale as Des James (Ciaran McIntyre) talks about his daughter, her death and their quest for answers as to how or why she died.

The play highlights some of the inconsistencies and failings of the investigation into Cheryl's death, and the other 3 soldiers (Privates Sean Benton, Geoff Gray and James Collinson). Although no conclusion as to the cause of the deaths is come to - you are left questioning the events and witnessing the frustration of Des and his wife, Doreen (Rhian Morgan) at the lack of answers. The James' don't know if she committed suicide (the inquest verdict was open), but they are prepared to accept that it is a possibility. What they are continuing to fight and campaign for is a proper public inquiry that can look at all the evidence into their daughter's death. If it was suicide were there systemic failings at the barracks, if it wasn't then who was responsible?

The James' story is intercut with additional information about Deep Cut brought to us by Jonesy (Rhian Blythe) one of Cheryl's contempories and the other figures that have featured into the investigation into the deaths by the media, the police, the military and the Blake enquiry (Simon Molloy, Robert Bowman, Frank Blythe).

A well written and performed piece that makes you feel slightly guilty for enjoying a drama based on real tragic events.

The script book is well worth picking up - it's more like an academic text than a script; giving you sources and information beyond what you see on stage.

Photo used with permission.

Deep Cut continues at The Traverse until 24 August - the run has sold out.

"How it Ended" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

"How it Ended" caused much confusion when it was originally suggested to us in the Comments on our Fringe Preview. We quite liked the sound of it but didn't remember seeing it in the Programme. Then we realised it was in the Dance & Physical Theatre section - and we never read that. And having now seen the show I can officially declare that it was clearly placed in the wrong section. You see, I actually quite liked it and that couldn't possibly have happened if it really was Dance & Physical Theatre.

You Need Me's tale of a young Welsh woman who meets a French trainee pilot during the Second World War isn't exactly a fun piece of theatre. But there is plenty of joy to be found from it. The writer and cast make the relationships between the characters utterly believable and it makes for compelling viewing.

The Dance elements are fairly limited and I'm sure there are many shows using this much more extensively who have slipped their way into the Theatre section. There are some fine moments - the way the baby takes form is magical to watch - but there are also problems with the show. In a tight space with limited raking, the decision to stage a number of scenes with characters sitting or lying on the floor is an appalling error - to the extent that I'd estimate about 60% of the audience were unable to see considerable sections of the piece. So if you're going to catch this make sure you sit in the front row.

But even with a restricted view it was clear I was watching a production of genuine quality and I guess we'll have an extra 12 or so pages of the Fringe Programme to wade through next year.

And thanks to Roger for bringing the show to our attention

How it Ended runs at C Cubed at 9.15pm until 25th August

"My Grandfather's Great War" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

The admiration and respect Cameron Stewart has for his Grandfather is clear from the outset, and by the time the hour is up the audience will feel much the same. But this isn't about heroes - although Captain Alexander Stuart certainly was one. It's about what we put ordinary men through.

War is presented here with all its horrors and we are reminded how quickly we forget the lessons of 'The War to End All Wars'. Captain Stewart was clearly a thinking soldier and while that may be what the modern army looks for, it was no doubt a dangerous thing in his time. As a result, for the most part he kept his thoughts to himself and committed them to scraps of diaries which he sent home to be reassembled after the war, and it's these diaries that have provided the material for the show.

Cameron switches between delivering his grandfather's words and providing family and historical background to them. It's a useful storytelling technique and augmented by some startling sound effects and the damp stone walls in Baby Belly 1 he really creates a powerful atmosphere. While there are moments when his 'Johnny Ball' style jumping around start to distract from the focus of what he's saying, it has little impact on the overall effectiveness of the show.

As with "The Factory", it's impossible to really convey the impact of such trauma in a one hour show - and that's probably just as well.

For those who want to know more about Captain Stewart's experiences, copies of the book were available at the end of the show.

My Grandfather's Great War runs at Underbelly's Baby Belly at 2.45pm until 24th August
Image used with permission

"The Sword of Maximum Damage" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

Okay, you want to have a show at the Fringe based on the world of competitive role playing games? Roll a D10 dice to choose a type of show. A six - Theatre it is. Never mind, at least it wasn't Dance. Roll again to fix a venue. Five - Underbelly: lots of passing trade but also lots of competition, but you've got a space near the exit so no need to worry about the whole 'fire hazard' thing. Cast next - a D20 for this one. Fifteen! Strong, your cast is. And lastly the script. A ten - a brave attempt that doesn't quite live up to its potential. Right, that's enough of that...

It's an entertaining piece but it somehow never quite reaches the level of comedy that the situation and characters should provide. I suspect there may have been a dilemma regarding how much to make the humour at the expense of the characters without it alienating their potential audience. And yes, the audience did appear to be very much letting their inner geeks out for the night - I can't imagine many other shows where a major discussion takes place in the queue about the potential drawbacks should we ever perfect cold fusion.

Anyway, back to the show. The cast's enthusiasm is obvious and the characters are well defined and all have a bit of substance to them. Normally that's a bonus but to some extent it's a problem here as the character building comes at the expense of the laughs. Despite the frequent smiles it generates there just aren't enough laugh out loud moments to lift it above the ordinary.

But there is more than enough here to make it worth seeing if you have a gap to fill, and don't be put off if your knowledge of role playing games is non-existent - you'll get the general idea without too much difficulty. And for those who have dabbled with such things (even I was eight years old once) it will bring the memories flooding back.

Sword of Maximum Damage runs at Underbelly at 8.40pm until 24th August
Image used with permission

"Stolen Secrets" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

Following the success of last year's "Mehndi Night" Mulberry School for Girls in London have again worked with playwright Fin Kennedy to bring a production to the Fringe. While it's undoubtedly an entertaining piece of theatre it lacks that feeling of discovering a window into a different world that "Mehndi Night" brought me. And I did miss that aspect a little.

But what we do have is a script and a number of performances so filled with energy and vitality that it's contagious. Made up of four "urban fairytales" inspired by locations and characters around the school, each has its merits but my own favourite was "Make & Mend" which featured three very strong performances. Waldorf particularly enjoyed "Mrs Jones".

Unfortunately some lines of dialogue were difficult to pick out due to a lack of volume and it's disappointing that some of the cast still appeared to suffer a shortage of confidence at the end of the show's run. Especially considering the quality of their 'product' and the audience reception (if Saturday was anything to go by).

The set design was both clever and effective but I do wonder if it was responsible for the loss of a 'missing tale' due to time restrictions, and having read it in the Programme/Script it's a real shame as I'd love to have seen what they had planned for performing it.

But none of the flaws take away from the fact that it's a little gem of a show that you can't help but be charmed by. We'll certainly be making space in our schedule to see what they have planned for us next year.

Stolen Secrets' run at Venue 45 is now completed
Image used with permission

The Bird & The Bee -Edinburgh Fringe (interim post)

With a busy Sunday planned (mostly non-Fringe) we won't get the chance to post our thoughts on Saturday's four shows until Monday.
But we want to do a quick post about the interlinked shows 'Bird' & 'Bee' to say: See 'Bee' as a standalone piece and give 'Bird' a miss.

"The Factory" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

After our abortive attempt to see "The Factory" by Badac Theatre Company at Pleasance Courtyard on the opening Sunday we made a a special trip through to catch this mid-week. We seem to be having a very war-related based August (Oh! What A Lovely War, Fall, My Grandfather's Great War, How It Ended, Restitution) but this was potentially the most draining experience of them all. How can you do a dramatic piece about the holocaust sensitively?

Even in the queue the scene starts to be set as we're asked to deposit any bags into a trunk. I'm not sure if the stripping of possessions is an intentional mirroring of what happened to those on the way to the death camps, or just due to the space restrictions in the venue, but the former was very much in my mind as we deposited our belongings.

I don't know how successful "The Factory" is in portraying the true experience of those who entered the machinery of the Final Solution; that would be impossible to achieve. However the company does its best to show you the terror and emotional journey of the three nameless Jews being sent to their death and of those involved in achieving this end. Ultimately we all knew we were walking out of there, so there was a natural limit to what they could achieve. We're told at various points that we're witnesses to what happened and not to forget. It's a reminder of horrific events that happened, and that they could happen again.

What you do get is a very personal experience, that will have a different impact on different people. For me, I felt powerless and had to physically stop myself from interrupting the performance on at least 3 occasions. Standing idly by was not easy to do - I would have been interested to see what they would have done if someone had intervened. During the final scene I noted several others who, like me, were avoiding making eye contact with others so that their emotions didn't make themselves too manifest.

Brave and physically demanding performances from the 5 person ensemble leave you slightly disappointed you don't get to show your appreciation for them at the end.

The Factory runs as Pleasance Courtyard until 24 August (times vary)

"The Third Condiment" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

I think this is the show with a poster that mentions a comparison with Ricky Gervais - and that's pretty much on the money. What we have here is very much in the tone of "The Office". The plot is so slight it's not worth going into - certainly not to give any serious consideration of the issues raised in passing. This show is all about the performances and the comedy.

As the central character Dave, Sam Morris provides a hugely impressive performance without which the show simply wouldn't work anywhere near as well as it does. Polly Keane's Jennifer Saunders inspired Hatty pushed all the wrong buttons for me, but was undeniably a hit with others. For the most part the remaining cast provide strong support, however Charlie Eccleshare's portrayal of Rubric suggested an attitude towards his daughters that veered towards being uncomfortably inappropriate (although given the comparisons with "The Office" I'll accept that this may have been entirely intentional).

It's certainly a well put together show, with some genuinely funny moments and a nice line in soundtrack references. It made for an entertaining end to the evening, although I suspect it would benefit from a couple of pre-show drinks.

The Third Condiment runs at The Zoo at 9.05pm until 25th August
Image used with permission

"Literally" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

We had a bit of a gap to fill so signed up for Paul Parry's campaign against the incorrect usage of the word "literally"...

In an mildly amusing manner he highlights the increased misuse of the word in recent years - and names and shames some of the prime culprits. He also tells of his efforts to gain publicity for his campaign by doing things literally - one of which involves his cycle trip from A (Norway) to Bee (middle America). Parry is amiable enough that it makes for an entertaining hour, although, I suspect I may well be cursing him (literally) every time my brain now 'pings' when I hear it misused - (including in "The Third Condiment" which immediately follows his show). But then I guess that's what he's aiming for.

Literally runs at The Zoo until 25th August at 7.55pm
Image used with permission

"Free Outgoing" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

"Free Outgoing" a Royal Court Theatre production at The Traverse explores what happens when a teenager does something she really shouldn't, and it all gets caught on camera. This is a tale of moral outrage, conservative values and how technology can let the genie out of the bottle - and make it impossible to put back.
Deepa is her mother's golden girl who, in a situation reminiscent of Claire Swire, quickly become infamous for an act of teenage stupidity, that has wide reaching consequences on her mother, brother and community as a whole.

Lolita Chakrabarti gives a particularly striking performance as Malini, Deepa's mother, whose hard-worked for life is falling apart before her eyes and who has no control over the events that are threatening her family. Whilst Amit Shah effectively portrays her teenage son Sharan, who has lived his life in his sister's shadow and is now directly affected by her disgrace. Although set in a conservative area of India, strong performances from the entire ensemble bring us a story that could happen in any country in the world.

In the past if you fell down stairs or slipped on a banana skin the most you had to worry about as some bruises - both physical and to your dignity. Anupama Chandrasekhar's tale reminds us that now due to the ubiquitous camera phone you can become an unwilling celebrity.

Free Outgoing runs at The Traverse (various times) until 24 August.

Photo by Marc Bremner. Used with permission.

"Romeo & Juliet" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

With budgets tight, Nonsenseroom's decision to stage Romeo & Juliet with a cast of only three is understandable, but it takes a talented and committed cast to make such a production work. Fortunately that's exactly what Cameron Mowat, Louise Bolton and Stuart Nicoll have supplied.

Rather surprisingly this hasn't necessitated that the text be played for laughs. Yes, there is humour - but it comes from the text. It would have been very easy to go down the road of over-the-top wigs and falsetto voices, but instead we have a cast who, along with director Bruce Strachan (and some clever costuming), have crafted each of their multiple characters clear identities allowing them to be easily distinguished. Even the occasional moments when characters are required to change on-stage are handled sombrely. Indeed, the representation of Tybalt's death by Nicoll shedding his costume is an incredibly powerful image.

The wonderful atmosphere the location provides, both in the chapel and its grounds, is further enhanced by Fiona Rutherford's harp playing - her accompaniment for the scene with the Apothecary truly creates a sense of impending tragedy.

Would I rather have seen Nonsenseroom mount a 'full scale' production? Possibly. But given the choice between this production and someone else's 'full scale' one, this one wins hands down every day of the week (and even more so on Saturday when your £25 ticket gets you a couple of glasses of wine, a light buffet, short Q&A and a late night tour of the chapel.)

Due to planned restoration work it's unlikely that Nonsenseroom will be able to stage a show at Rosslyn next year - and our Fringe experience will be much poorer for it.

Romeo & Juliet runs at Rosslyn Chapel until 23rd August (not 17th) with 'Special Performances' on the 16th and 23rd

"Markus Birdman: Sympathy For the Devil" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

We saw Markus Birdman as a last minute gap filler last year, and liked what we saw. So we headed back for his new show - Sympathy For The Devil - at the Pleasance Dome this year. In possibly the hottest venue at this year's Fringe (sit under the fan - we recommend it), we waited to be amused

And we were.

The show did seem to be a little unstructured at points, and was possibly being fine tuned for the Fringe audience (we saw it in the first week), but was still very funny. In particular with some unrehearsed audience interaction which prompted Markus to hope that no members of the press were there. Well we were (sort of) but it was hysterically funny and 'spitroast' is our new swear word of choice - you had to be there.

Calling on his family background with a father who's a vicar, and his own atheism we get some amusing family conflicts and moral dilemmas. Although we do have a quibble with his statement that 'the Easter story is the only tale you would tell a small child that ends with an execution' - we came up with Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood on the way home (although both are vigilante action rather than state sanctioned). Birdman's philosophy is that it's better to regret what you've done than what you've not. And you won't regret seeing his show.

Markus Birdman is at the Pleasance Dome at 8:20p.m. until 24 August.

PS Co-incidentally this was the XKCD cartoon that was posted on the day we saw the show.

"Restitution" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

This is why we go to the Fringe.
This two handed play written by Emily Juniper which she performs along with Peter Tilly is quite simply a beautiful piece of theatre. Tilly is Robert who is continuing his late mother's quest to locate a painting that was stolen from her family by the Nazis. And now he's found it... loaned to the gallery in which Berta works; and 'owned' by her mother.

Robert passionately makes his case to Berta of what finding the painting means to him but it becomes clear that they have different ideas as to how the problem should be resolved. Both Juniper and Tilly give wonderfully charged performances - Juniper's candlelit descriptions of the painting are enchanting.

Restitution runs at Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House at 3.45p.m. until 25 August.

"The Army of Reason" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

James Hammond's look at the aftermath of civil unrest following the murder of a controversial playwright was one of the shows that I'd been particularly looking forward to since the launch of the Fringe Programme. With some high and low points over the course of the play, it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, and if I left disappointed at all it was only slightly.

It's a cleverly constructed piece of theatre which makes the most of a small set. Essentially three short acts, we first see the events leading up to the writer's murder before jumping forward to a time where religious and secular factions battle in the streets.

We're given a run through of how law and order broke down and how the writer's children have become involved in the 'war'. Unfortunately Hammond concludes this section with a revelation that seems entirely unnecessary and serves only to distract from an otherwise all too believable reality. I'll avoid detailing the third act as I think it better if this is seen without prior knowledge. I'll just say that it started with me thinking "What the...?" and left me thinking "Nice. Very nice."

With a strong ensemble cast "Army Of Reason" is slickly presented and may just leave an audience with something to think about.

The Army of Reason runs at the Pleasancedome at 12.45 pm until 25th August (excluding the 12th & 18th)
Image used with permission

"Golden" - Edinburgh Fringe 2008

"Golden" is an attempt to create a Westminster based political satire loosely based on 'Macbeth' and on the face of it, it isn't an unreasonable concept. But a focus on the comedic is hugely damaging to the success of Theatre with Teeth's production.

While good for a few laughs, the knockabout tone removes any element of tragedy and depth from the piece and leaves it unremarkable in a sea of similarly styled student shows. Of course the other problem here is that the reality of the political machinations are frequently more interesting than anything fiction can create.

What we do have here though are five performers who cope well with the challenges of fast paced switching between multiple roles and manage to make each individual character sufficiently distinct. Nicholas Myles is particularly impressive as 'Political Ed' and 'Maguire'.

And there's a moment in the show that hints at what could have been, had the company made different choices. Out of nowhere Siobhan Williams gives 'Eva Golden' a powerful final speech where the laughs are left behind to great effect. It would have taken a brave decision to drop the comedy elements from the production but I suspect the result would have been more satisfying.

Golden runs at Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House at 11am until 25th August (excluding the 17th)
Image used with permission