Category Archives: EdFestivals 2023

‘Madame Chandelier’s Opera Party for Kids’ (Venue 13, until AUG 15th)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“As extra-curricular activities go, this is the bee’s knees and spider’s ankles.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

Look, you’re busy. I’m busy. It’s halfway through EdFringe which was exhausting enough in our 20s before kids. So let’s just say what needs saying and try to get Tabbitha and Ossian through their next 8 shows without any more tears – clears throats, goes for fortissimo – ‘Madame Chandelier’s Opera Party for Kids’ is the one show you cannot, must not miss.

It is art. It is artistry. It is informative. It is bucketloads of fun. Where else are you going to watch a classically trained opera singer gag on one of the Harribos she’s given to the kids in the front row to throw into her mouth when she hits the high notes?

As Madam Chandelier, Canadian-British opera singer and comedian Delea Shand is the best discovery at the Fringe us parents and carers can make. It’s opera, so it’s classy. It’s opera done well, so it’s really good. It’s opera done clever, which makes it comprehensible. It’s opera done knowledgeably, which makes for a lot of in-jokes buffs can smugly chuckle at. As extra-curricular activities go, this is the bee’s knees and spider’s ankles.

Daughter 1.0 (8 years) wrote this in her notebook, the one with Elsa dressed as la fille du régiment on the cover: “I went to madam chandelier’s opera party for kids! When I walked in there was a big suitcase on a stool and a lady standing next to it. Madame chandelier talked about lots of opera singers and we Played a few games. I also liked when she was a mermaid and we had a pool party with fish and bubbles and pretend warter! She played the accordion. I realy liked the bit when we had to throw gummy bears at her (only on the high notes). and she got to be all of the charecters! I liked when we had a party at the end. I really enjoyed it”

There’s no filter on children. It’s what makes them unlike grown-ups. Grown-ups know how to pretend to like things. Grown-ups don’t tell you they’re bored or fidget when stillness is what’s needed. Grown-ups compromise themselves to conform with expectations. It’s what makes children impossible and impossibly fun to be around. So when you are in a room with dozens of happy, laughing children who are enjoying themselves too much to notice they are also learning, you know you’re on to a great and wonderful thing.

Come for the opera because opera is high art which good for you. Stay for a biggest, bestest, sometimes bizzarest show that reminds us why we have kids and will travel many miles to see great performers hitting all the high notes. Get your opera capes on and go see this!

 

‘Sh!t-faced Shakespeare®: Romeo and Juliet’ (Venue 150, until AUG 27th)

Posted in 4*, Comedy, EdFestivals, EdFestivals 2023, Pleasance, Pleasance, Potterrow & Teviot, Rated: Outstanding by

“A Fringe Institution”

Editorial Rating: 4 (Outstanding)

Gone are the days where you can have a glass of lunch and return to work. It is hard enough to get a way with a couple of snifters let alone get full-blown trollied. So as one of those who hanker for the good, old days it was pleasing to see the old ways continuing at Sh!t-faced Shakespeare.

The premise is simple. A cast of classically trained actors perform a whistle-stop Shakespearean play (this year: Romeo and Juliet). The twist being that one of the cast is, well, shit-faced.

And boy was she shit-faced.

The compere got the audience going outlining exactly how much the actor had put away. She explained how some audience members could get involved. There was a genuine buzz (NB: not easy in the EICC! A venue that is generally reserved for dreary conferences about tax).

How much had she drunk? A bottle of lager and half a bottle of voddie. That’s a decent knock. A cider was also mentioned.

The compere was involved throughout to intervene throughout as an ad hoc health and safety consultant: running on to ensure the drunk actor doesn’t actually play with a sword; ensuring the drunk cast member didn’t fall into the crowd; reminding the cast to do some Shakespeare etc.

The show started with a small dance scene. It was very obvious, very quickly which one of the cast was drunk. The evening I went along it was Benvolio (Maryam Grace) although I believe the night before it had been Juliet.

She, of course, absolutely steals the show whilst the rest of the cast desperately try to keep up as she does everything in her power to knock them off track. If there was any semblance of a fourth wall Grace rampages through it at every turn.

There was one hilarious moment of audience dialogue where Grace drops the ‘C bomb’, the compere runs on to tell her off and Grace  gets the audience to agree that in Scotland the word really is a friendly greeting. At another point she whipped the audience into a frenzy by shouting ”Fuck the patriarchy”. Throughout she is gold-dust and the audience absolutely love her.

Admittedly, at points some actual high-quality Shakespeare breaks out but never for too long as Grace tramples in.  The other actors just about manage not to be put off entirely and adeptly manage the mayhem that is ensuing around them and improvising their own gags.

Somehow, despite all this, the show just about runs to time and the feels incredibly slick. I’d be keen to see it again to see Grace sober and one of the others drunk (Romeo leathered would, I think, be quite something).

It is easy to see why this is a Fringe institution. The venue was full and the crowd cackled away throughout. It was clear that many have seen the show, or at least the concept, before and return for more… but isn’t that quite something when there is so much competition here in August?

I was as sober as the rest of the cast and, I suspect, that had I sunk a few beforehand the show would have been an entirely different beast.

Come for the concept. Stay for the Shakespeare. Get some beers in and go and see this.

 

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‘Ancient Coins of Forgotten Kingdoms’ (Venue 605, until AUG 27th)

Posted in *Written Interviews, 3*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Nae Bad by

“A masterclass in infotainment done right.”

Editorial Rating: 3 Stars (Nae Bad)

Hands up. I picked this one. Hammered coins are beautiful and children should be supported to see their artistry and know something of their history. Few everyday objects have such capacity to give one chronological vertigo. Time bends around them. Lost voices. Lost stories. Lost lives. To hold one is to form one link in a chain of transactions that might have bought a horse in a steppe-side community long ago, been plundered from a burning city, lost on the Spanish Main or been used to illustrate a parable about what does (and does not) belong to Caesar.

Mark Saltveit is a stand-up comedian (of which there are many) and prominent palindromist (of which there are fewer). He’s also a collector of ancient coins. In this cute little show, performed in the Fringiest of Fringe venues, his enthusiasm is enthralling and (I’m so glad to say) contagious. His description of how the design of the tetradrachm of Philip of Macedon – with which Alexander the Great’s father paid his Celtic mercenaries – morphed and adapted down the centuries is a masterclass in infotainment done right.

Less successful is his reference to Celtic FC as an “English” club, which he almost compounded into a spontaneous lynching, “but surely when they get good enough they can get promoted to the premier league?” Also, don’t forget your laptop charger.

Daughter 1.0 (8 years) wrote this in her notebook, the one with a tetradrachm on which the obverse horse has morphed into a unicorn on the cover: “I went to The Roman coins show. When I whent in I saw lots of chairs and a man talking. He talked about Roman coins and what they had on the front. Then he made a place for children to make play-doue coins. And a place to look and hold the coins. I like the bit where we got to hold the coins.”

Saltveit did exactly what he promised on the tin and I could not be more grateful. He has planted a seed which an over-produced public museum event would never have germinated. Like a bag of recently minted silver Gloucester half pennies carefully buried in the fens to appropriately age, this production needs a little TLC to be shown off to best effect. But this is the real deal. Authenticity guaranteed. In what other show can children handle authentic pirate’s treasure?

Come for the open window into eons passed. Stay for passion as performance art. Get your coats on and go see this!

 

‘The Madwoman’ (Venue 29, until AUG 27th)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“One of the most visually exciting shows this EdFringe.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

We enter to be pleasantly surprised by the drapes. Oscar Wilde famously (and accurately quipped) that violence was endemic in America because the curtains were so ugly. These hand-painted, floor-to-ceiling, mini-mega masterpieces are a delight, exactly the kind of thing you would imagine a company funded by a mural painting day job would have on tap. I especially like how the statues shown seem to be stepping off their pedestals and at least one has (appropriately) been decapitated.

Centre stage, imprisoned in a world of her own is Théroigne de Méricourt. She has been held captive for twenty years, stepping out of the French Revolution and into an asylum. Thousands of other wide-eyed revolutionaries have lost their heads, she’s lost her mind. She ekes out an existence, meditating on the wheel of fortune which has taken her from the life of a provincial orphan to grand places in the company of grand people.

Born in Belgium, Théroigne de Méricourt became an opera star and orator. She was among the women who marched on Versailles in October 1789. Dressed in a man’s riding habit she attended key National Assembly meetings in the run up to the passing of the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen’. She organised. She agitated. She was too pro-Girondin to survive the emptying of Marat’s bathwater. She became a problem. She became an inmate.

This is a production of supple strength and subtly. A family affair in which two Texan mural-painting sisters (with costumes by their mom, who also sewed the drapes) have brought together one of the most visually exciting shows this EdFringe. As Théroigne de Méricourt, Cara Johnston is intense like being stuck in an elevator with an angry swan is intense. A reference to the Hot Crazy Matrix would not go down well these days, so I won’t make it. But if I did, Johnston’s performance would be off the charts. The details of her performance are exquisite, from her browned-up teeth to her pitch-perfect vocal work. Nothing is out of place. Every stitch of canvas is set to keep this hell for leather script on course. Johnson turns our favourite bijou space in Edinburgh into a tardis – infinitely, impossibly bigger on the inside than on the out.

Come for the history lesson about a woman who must not be forgotten. Stay for one of the most interstellar, and yet movingly down-to-Earth, performances you’ll see. Get your tailcoats on and go see this!

Read the company’s #EdFringeTalk with us here!

 

‘The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria’ (Venue 23, until AUG 28th)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“Quite simply the best historical writing to appear at the Fringe in years.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

Vox Populi vox dei. The best thing about EdFringe is how each year one or two shows mysteriously break away from the hurly-burly and have a super successful run ft. packed houses and glowing reviews. The wisdom of crowds is rarely celebrated by the curators of our culture and politics. But democracy works. People power rights more wrongs, fights more injustices, and slays more dragons than the whole banal host of 2D cartoon superheroes. So it’s pleasing to me (and the high horse I ride around town) that the breakout success of EdFringe ‘23 is a play about how individuals working together can make good things happen, or rather make bad things slow to a stop.

Out of the Forest Theatre is the company that wide-eyed creative children should dream of running away to join. They blend live production elements like master champagne makers blend vintages. The results are sparkling.

Joseph Cullen & Sasha Wilson’s script is quite simply the best historical writing to appear at the Fringe in years. Eastern and Central Europe – past, present, and future – have been visited often by us Brits, but the full discovery is still someway off. Vikings yes. Columbus no. Ostentatiously reading the Daily Mail in Brooke’s Bar before the show, because I love the sound of tutting, I read that Albania is finally being recognised as the destination tourist hotspot such wonderful people and such a spectacular place deserve. The British horizon is widening beyond the channel and the Rhein, waltzing towards the Blue Danube. Similarly, Cullen & Wilson’s chronicle of Bulgarian 20th-century history plants a flag for many of us (oh how British) marking territory deserving of being less incognito. It’s witty. It’s intricate. It’s monumental. In the year Georgi Gospodinov became the first Bulgarian to win the Booker Prize, this drama is a landmark achievement.

And it’s upstaged by Hannah Hauer-King’s direction which is brisk without being busy, fun but never fussy. The staging is in turn upstaged by the performances which are as sharp and to the point as the original penmanship of the Pernik sword. As Boris, Cullen seduces the audience, portraying the monarch in a grayscale rainbow of loveable contradictions. There’s more than a little of Terry Jones’ in Cullen as he Chapmanesequly plays the one main character while the rest of the company twist and turn like a twisty turny thing, morphing into a host of supporting roles bold and subtle.

There’s much that is bold, little that is subtle, and nothing that is not tremendous about Lawrence Boothman’s performance as the king’s first minister. Neither is there anything banal about his evil, he is the iron-hearted fist in a bloodsoaked velvet glove on Ernst Röhm’s bedside table the morning after the night before. David Leopold is solid and unsparing kicking at the fourth wall like Luca Brasi told him to do some damage but not go too far. Leopold keeps the production pacy, like how a waterfall makes a river move faster. Sasha Wilson didn’t write herself a part as fun as Boris, but she delivers much of the piece’s range, nuance, and no-nonsense edge-of-your-seat delivery, the hallmark stamps that confirm the solid gold content. As the curtain falls it is Clare Fraenkel who wears the crown. She is the lynchpin, the beating moral compass which makes this production tick so, so many boxes.

Come for the faintly Marina Lewycka obscurity of the subject matter. Stay for the best writing, staging, and performances you will see at this (and many other) EdFringe vintages. Get your Bulgarian sheepskin coats on and go see this!

Read the company’s #EdFringeTalk with us here!

 

EdFringe Talk: Paul Connell: Ace in the Whole

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“Festivals are such a rollercoaster! One day you are performing for a full room of people, the next you are performing to an old man and his dog, who is only there because it was the only way he could sit down uninterrupted for an hour!”

WHO: Paul Connell

WHAT: “Ace in the Whole is a hilarious show by comedian Paul Connell. The show is filled with weird and wonderful stories with a heartfelt message. Audience reviews: ‘Must see, what a laugh’; ‘Hilarious and heartwarming’; ‘Fantastic, with an ending you’ll never see coming’; ‘Lovingly crafted show. Fully realised and hilarious observations are interspersed with loving memories that are funny as they are heartfelt. Highly recommended!’; ‘In Ace in the Whole, Paul Connell walks the line between sadness and joy splendidly, crafting a moment of real sentiment in amongst some truly hilarious stories and gags’.”

WHERE: Boteco do Brasil – Boteco do Brasil (Seated) (Venue 516) 

WHEN: 19:00 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is indeed my first time at the Edinburgh fringe and I am loving it! I have toured this show around other fringes including Brighton, Glasgow and Reykjavik and it has been a journey! The reason I have loved Edinburgh so far is all my friends are here which is awesome! I meet comedians all around the country and then get to see them all together here! Festivals are such a rollercoaster! One day you are performing for a full room of people, the next you are performing to an old man and his dog, who is only there because it was the only way he could sit down uninterrupted for an hour!

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I’ve learned a lot this year! I’ve learned to relax and enjoy it! And not to put too much pressure on yourself! I have learned that it is about watching as much as performing and hanging out with your mates! I also learned that Edinburgh can get away with charging a ridiculous price for beer and call it ‘craft’ beer. There is no such thing as craft beer, all beer is crafted, get over yourselves!

Tell us about your show.

My show is something I am incredibly proud of and one that I am so emotionally connected to. It is stand up comedy with a heartfelt message. It is about grief and moving on from tragedy by telling funny stories as a way of healing and remembering people who are no longer in your lives, the way they were! I recently received a 5 star review (just saying) and I think this is because my show connects with people both in a funny way and on a deeper emotional level. A guy came out of my gig the other day and said “that is the first show I have laughed, cried and sang at the same time”. And to me that is life! We don’t feel one emotion at a time, we are feeling many all at once and that’s ok!

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

My favourite comedians performing at the fringe are as follows:

Liam Withnail – this guys is an me of the best people I have ever seen work a crowd! His show is fun/rude and has a nice message to it!

Amy Matthews – Amy is one of the comedians that I think everyone should see! She is so likeable on stage and her recent show is getting phenomenal reviews.

Christopher MacArthur-Boyd – CMB is a Scottish legend! He is the person I tell EVERYONE to go and see. He is hilarious and makes me insanely jealous at his ability to make anything funny!

Chris Thorburn – the show cinema is nerdy and beautiful and I love it. I saw a 30 minute preview of this show in Glasgow and it was one of the best 30minute a of comedy I’ve seen! I cannot wait to see the rest of the show!

Krystal Evans – her show ‘hottest girl in burn camp’ is an inspiration! It toes the line between tragedy and comedy beautifully!

Sully O’ Sullivan – an idiots guide to New Zealand is a brilliant show! So so funny and it is something a bit different as it is in the form of a presentation rather than just straight stand up.

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EdFringe Talk: Dirty Words

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“I’m here with my husband and toddler, makes for a unique fringe run.”

WHO: Grace Murdoch

WHAT: “Cheap Date bring a crash landing of music, dance, theatre, film and comedy without holding back, in this visual duologue. A debate of self-expression, communication, humour, action and reaction through open and honest storytelling. Exploring the filth, fun and aftertaste of our everyday interactions. There’s plenty of #!@*&% thrown in with a side of politics and social commentary. Cheap Date remind us it’s not always the words we choose but sometimes the way in which we talk.”

WHERE: Pleasance Dome – 10Dome (Venue 23) 

WHEN: 12:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It isn’t our first time at Fringe. We came in 2016 with our first full length show – How We Lost it, for a partial run at Paradise Augustines. We had a blast, the show looked at losing your virginity and intimate relationships. One of my favourite quotes from a review is actually from our first time at fringe, its from a blog called memegirls, ““Hilarious and energetic and didn’t require you to lie afterwards pretending you understood the concept.” This review stayed with me and is still one of my fav’s. The company was a different cast in 2016, I am the only member of the team to be lucky enough to come both times. This time is also a wholly different experience, for instance this time I’m here with my husband and toddler, makes for a unique fringe run. Dirty Words our show in 2023, always felt like a show that was meant to be at Fringe, it’s a mix genre show, it’s cheeky but its more than just surface.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

The old cliche of work/life balance. I for sure haven’t absorbed it yet but I think I’m striving for it more deliberately and purposefully. I think professionally I keep asking myself what’s the next challenge, and the answers to that have become more nuanced. Revisiting work, collaborating with a wider range of artists, who are more experienced in their fields is always so exciting. I worked on Opera for the second time in 2022 which was a surprise and a delight, maybe I need to work on more Opera, we shall see. The biggest professional takeaway from 2022 for me was movement is always key in any genre, and it always has importance and a place.

Tell us about your show.

Dirty Words was initially devised in 2018/19 with collaborators Seamas Carey and Kyla Goodey, but in 2023 has been re devised in collaboration with Josh Penrose, a wonderful Actor and performer. It’s a look at our relationship to ‘Dirty Words’ what makes one, what doesn’t. Our work always centres around people and their stories, so in this instance we interviewed people all over Cornwall what is your favourite Dirty Word? What is the dirtiest word you can think of? Their answers are in the show in film form and implicated the road the show took. The two performers each have a monologue where they look at a dirty word in their own lives and tell stories of that word cropping up for them. We also look at Politics, Lies, Cliches. It’s an exploration of who we are and how we communicate, physically, verbally, facially, tonally – It’s more than just what we say.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

I would for sure recommend Chloe Radcliffe, Pleasance Courtyard Bunker 3 19.15. It was personable, honest, warm, endearing and funny. She took stories with a theme from her life and held us through the narrative in a stand up set with ease. I saw Monet X Change at Underbelly, Bristol Square 9.15pm and it was all the sass, all the drama but also clever, fun, great storytelling and skilful. Lastly as I’m here with my little one we’ve been doing some kids shows and we had a ball at Monski Mouses baby disco dance hall , if you happen to have tiny people needing some fringe fun too.

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EdFringe Talk: Perrin Pang – Here Lies

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“I love writing comedy and I suck at writing.”

WHO: Perrin Pang

WHAT: “2023 sees the debut of wannabe comedian Perrin Pang, as he performs his first written stand-up comedy musical bullshit that is nowhere as good as the top comedians in the field. Still, if you would like to see his struggle in this stand-up performance about the importance of lying down please come, it’s your funeral. Reviews: ‘What is stand-up’ (Mom). ‘This is a show where you simply have to sit through’ (My best friend Daniel). ‘Woof’ (Greg the dog while rolling on the floor).”

WHERE: theSpaceTriplex – Studio (Venue 38) 

WHEN: 20:35 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes it is my first time at the fringe.

As a wannabe comedian, my first experience at the fringe taught me a lot about how to make myself into an organised bitch. Organisation is key to making your show stand out. Finding the correct venue and time is hard because we have no experience in the fringe . After like 2 weeks here, we finally are able to pick up what we should have done but it’s too late. Oh well, it’s an experience. Marketing is also an element We are trying to learn, like what kind of flyers are you putting out, what kind of people are putting out (there’s literally a naked guy handing out flyers) etc.

Edinburgh is a fantastic architectural city, with amazing sunset and shitty rain. I do prefer this weather more than slimy hot humid Hong Kong however, as the cool breeze doesn’t make me sweat. The food is better than I thought, the shops are amazing, you can find icecream and cheese at the reasonable prize everywhere, that’s the dream.

I met a lot of people these past weeks maybe will turn into life long friends depending on how long I live. They are all nice people and not only they help with my production by directing people to my show, they also asked me to collaborate and make videos with them. I am blessed with meeting so many people from around the world and I hope the coming days I will continue to stalk them through my social media.

The fringe has gave me a chance to throw my life savings in the dumpster for a shot for fame within the theatre community. Or if no one comes, me and my backstage team.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I’ve learnt mainly two things: I love writing comedy and I suck at writing.

Watching comedy had been my passion for a while now, but I just realised that I want to do this for life. I love writing it, I love sharing it, the only problem with it, is I believe my comedy need to be performed in a theatrical space with lighting and music, so it’s difficult to just bring a short set to a bar. ( also there are zero to none bars in Hong Kong that does English stand up comedy)

So, I began writing. And I suck. Which is fine. You gotta start somewhere. And I wrote and wrote draft after draft keep editing and editing and finally came up with a product I’m happy with. The performance I wish to perform is not only comedic, but also filled with stories and themes. I personally don’t prefer observational stand up comedy and prefer and storytelling approach. ( I do still have bits that seem like observational comedy in my performance but they are highly exaggerated situations that is surreal)

I’ve been a failure all my life according to my parents, but who’s to say I can’t be a good comedian. (They did say that)

Tell us about your show.

I, Perrin Pang, wrote, perform, and directed the performance, whilst I left the theatrical side to my expert friends: Timothy Tsang on Lighting design, Heyson Tsang on arranging music and Carrot Chan on Marketing designs. I also have a co director Sam Mak and a DSM Jasmine Tom. ( and my wife Phoebe Wong occasionally helps(yes I’m 25 and I’m married, sue me))

Every word on the script, every lyric and every note of the song is written by me in 2 years. After finishing it I asked them if they want to come along and assist me in this performance with minimum pay because I’m broke, and they said yes.

So what is the show about? Plot wise, it’s about an Asian stand up comedian who doesn’t want to tell jokes anymore. Theme wised it’s about the importance of lying down your emotional baggage. There are 7 original songs (Holy shit 7?!) all written and performed by me. My favourite song is called “I wanna be white” , the dream.

This performance premiered at Ed Fringe and I wish to be able to take it around UK afterwards if I have the chance, the only thing stopping me is my schedule and my wallet. Holy shit putting a show and travelling is expensive with a crew of 6. Even with some funding from the Hong Kong Government it’s hella expensive.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

There’s a lot of Hong Kong and Asian shows this year which I recommend: 4/4/4 about 4 Asians pretending to be white people, pretending to be fake Asians. I also recommend fall and flow, a movement piece from Hong Kong. Please check them out!

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‘Olaf Falafel’s Super Stupid Show (20% More Stupider)’ (Venue 33, until AUG 27th)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“This show has pace like you’d feel on the inside of a barrel at the edge of a waterfall.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

Olaf Falafel is an EdFringe favourite on course to become an EdFringe legend. Hugely admired for his adult stand-up, it’s the material tailored to kids which will win him immortality. We enter to find him on stage and filling the room with energy levels that put Krakatoa to shame. Many a true word is spoken in jest and his opening remark that “fun needs structure” hits the nail on the proverbial. “How does a laser cut?” I’m forever asking my girls. “With focus!” they (are supposed) to reply. Olaf’s genius is his structure and, like William Henry Barlow did with the roof of St Pancras station, he leaves his engineering in plain sight to the wonder and amazement of all. Without structure, there would be no pace and this show has pace like you’d feel on the inside of a barrel racing towards the top of a waterfall.

Daughter 1.0 (8yrs) wrote in her notebook (the one with a picture of William Henry Barlow bungee jumping off the Clifton Suspension bridge on the cover): “I went to Olaf fluffel’s Supa Stupid Show! when I walked in I saw lots of chairs and a big screen. In the Show We Sang Songs went fishing for insults, Played don’t look at the horse and we played can you get your sausage in my funny bag. He also told lots of jokes. I liked the bit were we drew bum-faced snails and when at the end I got a new book I had lots of fun.”

I’m not a super huge fan of the Sponge Bob Square Pants section, but maybe I’m more of a prude when my girls are in the room than when I’m flying solo at a late-night Adults Only Magic Show. The show was such a joy because the laughs were directly shared with Daughter 1.0. Oftentimes, producers put in two levels of comedy with some jokes and references saved for the grownups. By contrast, Olaf’s is a sprawling bungalow of blissful belly laughs delivered fast and furious. Come for the legend, stay for the perfection, get your bum-faced snail coats on and go see this.

 

EdFringe Talk: Machine Man Spectacle

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“I’m (frantically) travelling between excitement and terror!”

WHO: Shahar Marom

WHAT: “Join us in a sensational visual performance from an object-theatre master. Courageous spectators will be asked to participate in seven of the universe’s most spectacular machines, invented specifically to observe the human spiritual spectrum! Shahar Marom specialises in interdisciplinary art, searching for a new stage language combining design and performative act. The Machine Man Spectacle is a personal journey of a lonely machine inventor trying to understand the world through his machines. You will be asked to join him on his quest, participate in his machines and become, for a moment, his entire world.”

WHERE: Hill Street Theatre – Alba Theatre (Venue 41) 

WHEN: VARIES (70 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yup, and I’m (frantically) travelling between excitement and terror!

As a creator bringing my show to the Fringe is a really big deal, it’s a dream come true. I’ve been in this business for as long as I can remember – as a performer, artistic director, creator, theater owner… and yet I’ve never been as nervous as I am now.

My show is all about connecting with the audience – I look for answers to seven questions and it’s the audience who help me find them. During the show I invite seven volunteers to share a moment of truth with me on stage, and the crowd back home has a great time participating. It’ll be interesting to see how an international crowd will react.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

That there is a huge gap between what you imagine and the outcome, and it’s all about trying to remove this gap. I chose to deal with seven questions through seven machines – each with a secret of its own and each created for and with unique purpose.

We have a hard time expressing ourselves in regular conversations, and conveying ideas in the theater is even harder – especially if you use machines and not only words to express ideas. A lot can get lost here.

I knew my amateur engineering skills wouldn’t be enough so I used the help of a friend who actually knew what he was doing (thanks again Sharon Gabay!), and we worked very hard to bring as much of what I had in mind to life.

Though there’s still a gap, the machines came out great – even if I have about four chances of dying or getting seriously injured during the show while operating them.

Tell us about your show.

My show focuses on seven questions: Why do we look for fame? Can we live with our mistakes? Why can’t we laugh about death? What gives us pleasure? Are we substance or spirit? Can we confront our biggest fear? Will we ever return after dying or transforming?

These issues probably bugged me for a while, because I dreamt the whole script one night. I woke up the next morning with the whole thing in my mind: concept, character – everything. I started sketching the machines immediately.

It’s been running for a while now – enough times for me to be able to enjoy the show more than be concerned with technicalities, and it’s a great feeling.

The show doesn’t require too many hands, so we’re a small team. luckily enough my (amazing) sister is in the theater business as well and she’s producing our Fringe adventure. my son is helping out too so we’re literally going to be one big happy family here.

I don’t know what our next stop will be. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a very long and interesting world tour. I’d really love to know how different audiences from around the world affect the show, since they’re such a huge part of it. No scene is ever the same as it was thanks to the volunteers who bring their beautiful selves into them. They create the show with me, so no one ever gets to see the same show twice – even those who saw it more than once.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

There are two shows I’d like to recommend: ‘Bill’s 44th’ and ‘The Court’.

‘The Court’ was created by Derek Douglas who is also hosting us in his venue – Hill Street Theater. Meeting him felt like finding a fellow theater-entrepreneur. He also gets the audience involved in the show, giving them a chance to see things in a different perspective. I think that for an audience this is one of the most interesting ways of experiencing theater.

‘Bill’s 44th’ is a show I want to bring to the annual festival my theater back home hosts. It makes unexpected use of objects and creates a perfect harmony between them on stage to the point of extracting the purest emotions from the audience.

In general, I recommend seeing theater that you haven’t seen before. Explore theater frontiers, look for a theater experience that will change your life through reflecting at art or just go to the most hilarious show there is running next to you, because laughing is the best thing you can wish for.

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