Melody (Clerk’s Bar, 8 Aug – 29 Aug : 16:45 : 50mins)

“Foxtrot embodies the sensations of the everyday”

One of my favourite things about poetry is the great dissonance you often get between the initial appearance of the poets, and the sheer power of their voices and minds. Watching Jemima Foxtrot perform is like watching a pistol shoot anti-tank bullets – there’s a very sincere and powerful energy to her work.

Taking the audience on an evocative journey through city streets “Melody” explores the memories they summon as Foxtrot wends her way between heartbreak to joy, with a warmth and oddly dreamy sort of lyricism that fits her imagery’s day-to-day beauty to a tee.

The biggest boon to this performance is how easily Foxtrot embodies the sensations of the everyday, and presents familiar emotions and thoughts in a way that makes them rough yet compelling. It’s not very often that a performer’s vocal skill and physicality mirror each-other so well, but as she bounces from piece to piece, she embodies each new feeling with vigour.

However, Foxtrot’s lack of pretense and startling sincerity in her work also forms a needed cover to the inevitable inertia when solo, unbacked vocal work pauses to become spoken word – but her energetic yet laid back style still suffered slightly in the sometimes jarring empty space. However, this hardly detracted, thanks in turn for the sheer power of her lyrics and honesty of her imagery.

This is definitely a free fringe find. Foxtrot’s presence onstage utterly transforms the familiar atmosphere of the Clerks Bar basement – no mean feat. As the 2015 Fringe starts to roll to a close, make sure you make your way to Jemima Foxtrot – “Melody” definitely impresses.