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Barry and Stuart: Show and Tell

Martin Miller — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:22:52 +0000

Look out Paul Daniels, avert your hypno-eyes Mr Piffles, for Barry and Stuart are back to bring their dark magic tricks to the Edinburgh crowds and this time they are going to show you just how they do it. With blatant disregard to the magician’s code, Barry and Stuart are going to perform two shows tonight, one “The Show”, a gloriously inventive hour of entertainment and, a little later, you have the option of returning for “the tell”, an in-depth blow by blow account of how every single trick is done. It’s one hell of a gimmick and with magic like this you simply have to return to find out how on Earth they pull it off.
The show itself is as playfully macabre as ever, as blood trickles down their back after sitting on a nail bed, they really have created a suspenseful hour of magic where you aren’t sure just what will happen next.
Barry Jones and Stuart Macleod are brilliant front men, funny and charming yet managing to keep the illusion of danger at the forefront of the audiences mind. But it’s the involvement of modern technology that makes them stand head and shoulders above the rest. They encourage the crowd to go to Twitter and Facebook during the show to aid them in tricks and have a genius use of 3D glasses, were wearing them will, quite literally, make the world Rose-tinted, allowing the coloured powerpoint in the background to show how the trick is done.
It is clever stuff but it does seem a little odd to reveal the tricks during “The Show” and then later in more detail with “The Tell”. However those who choose not to return for the second portion really will miss out. For the “The Tell” is an excellent show in itself, combining new tricks with detailed reveals that really show the huge and impressive knowledge they have for magic.
A thoroughly entertaining, blisteringly energetic show that manages to shock and thrill even at the cost of the mystique.

4/5

Tonight Sandy Grierson Will Lecture, Dance and Box

Sam Laydon — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:09:56 +0000

Edinburgh always throws up some shows that are challenging to categorise and this real curate’s egg of a production is one such example. Sandy Grierson is an established and charismatic performer in Scottish theatre but his solo show is anything but conventional. It purports to tell the story of his supposed great-grandfather, Arthur Cravan, an apparent polymath and fantasist, a boxer, dancer, poet, muleteer and many more besides.
The strongest aspect of the show is Grierson’s effortless interaction with the audience – he is a real charmer, capable of persuading one unsuspecting audience member to spar with him onstage, and others of taking on various roles in the story, becoming his foils in the process, allowing him to flirt and chat his way through his frankly unbelievable story. Aside from his entertaining antics, exuberant dancing and boxing, and terrific chutzpah, it’s hard to see what this show is really about. Perhaps the legendary figure of Cravan represents our own desire to be something that we are not, or people’s sense of self-deception. The show in itself is one big act of deception in that Grierson’s central claim to have met Cravan is frankly unbelievable yet he shows just enough to convince you that the central character is, indeed, a genuine figure, leaving you wondering what is real and what is not.
Overall, though, when you emerge from the theatre itself, not much lingers beyond the impression of Grierson’s eccentric and charming acting talent.

3/5

Hex

Martin Miller — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:48:04 +0000

‘Hex’ is fast becoming one of the hottest word-of-mouth shows around. The production team have done a fantastic job of keeping under wraps just what is about to transpire, keeping the ace up their sleeve with a deliberately vague plot synopsis in the Edinburgh Fringe Program and some vaguely related artwork on the flyer. If like many of tonight’s crowd you have managed to avoid the spoiler and are only aware of the stellar reviews it has been getting, then you are in for a treat.
The play, at its heart, is a humorous and fun comedy which centres around Toby (Ben Clifford) a cynic to all forms of alternative therapy and his new-age hippy partner Gwen (Sarah MacGillivray) who believes in everything and anything that is slightly out of the norm. She has invited two healers to come to their home to fix a little problem with the sofa, much to the irritation of Toby.
The first half is a thoroughly enjoyable and smartly written play, it is light, fun and very funny as the two argue as only couples can, but hidden in between the laughs, they are dropping tiny clues to the narrative U-turn ahead. For Hex goes in a wonderfully insane, crazy direction that manages to be gloriously bonkers yet so, so right. Once it heads in that direction it keeps pushing the absurdity in a number of inventive and imaginative ways that has the audience both shocked and roaring in laughter.
The writer, Sam Siggs, has created something very interesting indeed, with some great jokes and ideas. It is just a shame that at fifty minutes run time it does feel like an extra ten minutes could have been used to give the play a more clear cut ending, instead of its slight finale which deliberately leaves the problem unresolved.
Nevertheless this is a wonderfully funny production, and you’ll be cursing yourself if you miss it.

Hex

Medea

Adeline Amar — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:45:58 +0000

The famous tragic tale of Medea is given a modern twist by Orange Prize nominee Stella Duffy, who wrote the story with a feminist twang in mind.
The intimate setting is nicely realised, from the stage décor to the small number of characters. One will also command the attempt to modernise the direction, with the Greek chorus singing the interludes and embodying the voice of women and their compassion for Medea, betrayed by Jason. Kudos also to the one male actor playing the three male characters, which helps draw the audience into the story.
But those points left aside, the play as a whole is just disappointment. The quality of acting is plain inconsistent, with most actors confusing “dramatic acting” with “worried forehead lines”, and seemingly unable not to keep one arm stuck to their side at all times. The feminist message is drowned amongst all that awkwardness, and the dramatic element of the story is so over-played it becomes dull.
If there is one reason for seeing the play, however, let it be the main act – Nadira Janikova. Her presence and charisma can be felt the second she walks on stage, and she superbly delivers her lines in a flawless performance that makes Medea a human person the audience can relate to. Janikova shines through the whole play, and one wonders how fantastic the play would have been, had the rest of the cast had had half her talent.

2/5

The Ducks

Martin Miller — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:00:29 +0000

This is a dark and fascinating play based around one of the hottest issues- the ever spiralling numbers of youth unemployment.
The play revolves around two men, one volunteering, the other forced to join at a work scheme they work together to clean out the local duck pond. Dean Ashton and Thomas Morrison both excellently bring to life the characters of R, an aggressive, beer swilling mans man and K who in turn is a quiet and awkward with a passion for being a DJ. The two slowly befriend one another before things become much, much darker as R, angry, lost and alone forces his way into K’s world where he bullies and manipulates his friend.
This is a dark comedy that explores the notion of masculinity in modern man. Both characters as they become locked in a power game is an intriguing and compelling watch. Made all the more effective by the little drips of information about the two men that forces you to speculate and ponder over the events that have brought them to this point.
Wonderfully written, it manages to be both jet black and yet hold some great funny moments, like a fantastic, heated argument over penguins. Made all the better by two accomplished actors who do a great job of making these characters feel totally real.
As K slowly begins to fight back, the tension slowly builds and it really feels like it is heading towards a jaw dropping climax. Sadly, the only shock is the fairly mundane finale. A pity as this is a smart, subtle and intelligent look at two men, who could be any one of the 2.5 million unemployed in Britian today.

3/5

Olivia Lee Chats Them Up

Martin Miller — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:45:57 +0000

Festival chat shows are a dime-a-dozen here at the Fringe but only a handful really are able to do the format justice. It’s a tough gig, as you have to be entertaining, quick on your feet, be funny yet let the guests be just as funny… get it wrong and even the strongest personality can crumble. Sadly, despite being in the very likeable hands of Olivia Lee, hilarious in Balls of Steel and Olivia Lee’s Naughty Bits, that’s just what happens tonight.
She’s fun and cheeky but she makes a host of mistakes that rather than get the audience onside have them staring at the floor to avoid her gaze. Poking fun at the crowd is expected, but she’s only been on for five minutes before she’s mocking some one’s clothes, commenting on a lady sitting by herself or making reference to a man being fat. It’s far from offensive but it hardly relaxes the crowd.
Luckily she has three very strong guests to bail her out: Tiffany Stevenson, Chris Martin and Tim FitzHigham. Disappointingly, Lee’s interactions with them is up to no good. Stevenson runs rings around our presenter, giving Lee not a chance to say anything of note except nod in agreement. Chris Martin doesn’t even chat with her instead just gives a small segment of his stand-up routine, but poor Tim FitzHigham gets the worst deal: his fascinating stories are repeatedly interrupted so often that he has to politely ask her to let him finish a story.
A chat show with little chat, this is a weak hour of entertainment, she’s painfully out of her comfort zone and it makes for an equally painful watch.

2/5

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical

Keira Farrell — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:00:34 +0000

When the audience arrive, a playwright has just finished a new musical and is waiting for the producer’s feedback. Problem is, the producer hates it and there’s only 65 minutes to create something entirely new before the writer loses his funding. Floundering for inspiration, he turns to the audience for suggestions.
That’s the premise of ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’ and it makes it hard to review, as every performance will be unique. This evening the audience was treated to a martial arts based musical set in Medieval Cardiff castle and it was brilliant. The cast are amazingly talented in vocal ability, acting skills and comedic timing – they pick up on one another’s cues almost seamlessly and perform in a range of diverse musical styles based on further audience suggestions. Every once in a while the ‘writer’ steps in to ensure that the musical is going in the right direction, and sometimes just to torture his fellow cast members, and it’s all absolutely hilarious.
This troupe has such amazing range that it’s impossible not to want to go again to see what else they can do: the show should carry a warning label for those with addictive personalities. Utterly, utterly brilliant.

5/5

A Man’s a Man

Keira Farrell — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:36:38 +0000

The poster for ‘A Man’s a Man’ bills it as a “good old fashioned musical” which “sparkles with originality”. Unfortunately, neither of those lofty claims are within reach of this production.
The plot here is focused on romance, and tired clichés abound. Emma and Andres dislike each other on sight, but have to work together for the sake of the musical and start to see the good in each other. Meanwhile, Ana wants her ex-boyfriend Raul back and so pretends to date Vicente, who promptly falls for her. The performers have fine singing voices but not enough acting skill to make the love stories engaging, nor the comedic timing to make the script full of limp jokes funny.
The staging relies on a number of frankly clunky devices, the worst of which is the flash video of calendar pages turning to indicate the passage of time. This happens twice, lasts too long, and is not even accompanied by music. In fact, the musical as a whole doesn’t actually have very much music in it. The show could do with less dialogue and more numbers from the musical-within-the-musical, which is the most engaging aspect of the performance.
There is potential here if the pacing could be sharpened up but as it stands ‘A Man’s a Man’ is far too insipid to be using a quote from Robert Burns as its title.

2/5

An Evening With Henry the Hoover and Friends – Free Fringe

Martin Miller — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 07:30:54 +0000

A Free Fringe chat show is a perfect opportunity to rifle through the masses of hidden performers in the hope of that one illusive gem of a show. Sadly there is nothing even remotely diamond-like tonight.
MC Sam is our compere: she’s loud, annoying and her opening game of getting the audience to decide if people prefer alcohol to sunshine and ugly kittens goes on forever. Her delivery is too childlike and you can literally feel any enthusiasm being slowly sucked out the room the more she continues. When a heckler shouts ‘When’s Henry the Hoover coming out to sing?’ you can’t help but nod in agreement.
The guests themselves come and go in a blur of mediocrity, with Will and Kate impersonators only managing to get the one or two chuckles. By far the most dire act in the whole show is a nameless comedian who wisely take his flyers away with him so we can’t find out any more details. A smart move since this reviewer would be warning everyone to keep well away. Literally it is ten minutes of laugh-free stand-up where desperate to fill the time he talks about mint and tea tree oil shampoo…not makes jokes about it, just talks about it before confessing he’s a bit hung-over.
Of course this is all filler for the big finale, Steve Aruni and his singing, dancing and saxophone playing Henry the Hoover. Aruni sings dark little songs about his ex-girlfriends and is helped along by the foul mouthed Henry. It’s odd yet kind of entertaining but despite only performing for ten minutes does become repetitive.
At an hour run time its over-long and feels even longer by some fairly atrocious guests. Never the less there is a sort of car-crash appeal to see what is coming next.

2/5

Nobody’s Home: A Modern Odyssey

Adrian G. Velazquez — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:09:50 +0000

Cleverly setting Homer’s Odysseus in contemporary times, ‘Nobody’s Home’ is an original and inventive play which considers the problems soldiers – and their loved ones – face upon returning home.
The plot sees Grant, a soldier in Afghanistan, unable to leave the war behind, so mentally scarred is he by the war’s atrocities. This leaves him hiding in the bathroom, unwilling to face ‘real life,’ while his wife Penny patiently faces her own battles as she waits for him to truly return.
The subject matter is handled with sensitivity and respect by the writers and cast, who brilliantly convey the different emotions the characters go through. Dorie Kinnear is superb in the different roles she plays. Her Penny is full of compassion and desperation, often at the same time, while Will Pinchin (who is on stage at all times) carries the role of Grant with strength, grace and aplomb.
Visually, the play is simple yet extremely inventive, using a scarcity of props to good effect. A bath in the middle of the stage succeeds in perfectly recreating a boat adrift on the seas, a psychologist’s office and even a secluded river in a deserted Afghanistan location. It is to the credit of the actors that they make these sets feel real and the dilemmas, hopes and concerns of their characters utterly absorbing. Never once do they hit a false note or lose our attention.
Some might feel ‘Nobody’s Home’ is slightly over-cooked in places and that it tries too hard to make a point that war is bad (as if we didn’t already know it), but if you immerse yourself fully in this well-crafted play, you leave with a sense of having seen something truly inventive and original.

4/5