Category Archives: EdFestivals

‘Steve Richards Presents: Rock’n’Roll Politics’ (Venue 43, until AUG 26th)

Posted in 4*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Nae Bad by

“This show has put down roots in EdFringe over the past decade, establishing itself as a regular Fringe favourite.”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars (Outstanding)

Rather a lot has changed in our political landscape since I last reviewed ‘Steve Richards Presents: Rock’n’Roll Politics’ in 2013. For one thing, the Post-Post-War Consensus – the steady relay race that delivered (relative) policy continuity from Major to Blair to Brown, to Cameron – broke down under the weight of a binary in/out referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU. So the only big question in politics today is who will the architects of the Post-Post-Post-War Consensus be? Post-pandemic, post-net zero, who will be running Britain?

“Not you mate” as the voter said to the organist. Labour needs Scotland and London to win at Wastemonster. With the Independence question still unanswered, the former remains as much of a challenge as it did before the spectacular implosion of the seemingly solid Sturgeon administration. With Mayor Sadiq Kahn’s ULEZ expansion proving so terrifically unpopular, the former is less certain than it should be at this point in the election cycle. Post-Corbyn, the red team’s mounting internal divisions and catastrophic vulnerabilities will be a key determining factor in whether Labour can oust from office a blue team holding 157 more seats than them. It’s worth remembering that in 1997 New Labour gained ‘just’ 146 in the most dramatic landslide of recent memory.

So there’s a contradiction running through the heart of this year’s edition of ‘Rock’n’Roll Politics’. This is a show, or rather it’s a conversation, between Richards and his audience, about what is happening and what might happen rather than what he or they would want to happen. Richards has views, he has opinions, but his focus is on objectivity rather than the kind of subjective political debate that so quickly descends into a shouting match. And yet, objectively, Labour seems further from Number 10 than is allowed for in the unchallenged assumption that Keir Starmer is anywhere close to victory. By the end of the hour, I am no more enlightened as to how Labour intends to triumph than when I went in. Perhaps that’s the point.

Subjectively, I like Steve Richards and I am clearly not alone. It’s a full house. Objectively, this show has put down roots in EdFringe over the past decade, establishing itself as a regular Fringe favourite for many. And yet, as a vigorous sapling, it still has many of the same issues it had as an ambitious seedling. The pacing is still hopeless. Richards, who made his living padding out the Sunday politics shows back in the day, needs to say what he will do much less than he just needs to do it. Richards needs to upgrade his format without dislodging himself from that comforting midpoint he inhabits between Peter Henesey and James Carville. The content is all there but he should not be content with how it’s presented.

Without some big clear questions being asked, commentary breaks from insight and heads off down a rabbit warren. I’m ready to see this show branching out of the Wastemonster bubble and looking further afield for inspiration. The shadows dance across the back wall of Plato’s cave amid endless speculation and commentary. Meanwhile, reality gets on outside. Richards has an ultra-solid foundation. It’s time for him to build on it.

In the meantime, come for the quiet charm and unabashed wonkery. Stay for the rapport. Get your anoraks on and go see this!

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‘After Shakespeare’ (Venue 38, until AUG 26th)

Posted in 4*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“For a title character who spends so much of the play talking about himself, it is no small achievement that Wolfe has found so much new to say about the Danish Prince.”

Editorial Rating:4 Stars (Outstanding)

Shakespeare is rightly considered one of the greatest historical portrait artists of all time if not always the most accurate. In a memorable and powerful quartet of monologues, Lexi Wolfe adds background to four of the most familiar of the Bard’s heroes and villains.

We enter to find a medieval barfly, someone who is used to taverns and the telling of tall tales. Henry V is descanting on his own deformity, an arrow wound received at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. The subject of Henry V’s facial surgery (and his ugliness) is the subject of numerous scholarly articles, but few of these treatments come close to Wolfe’s searing portrait of a very human monster. This is not the shining exemplar of patriotic valour rendered by a quill of the Swan of Avon. This is a less forgiving autopsy of power.

Through Portia, Wolfe is able to flex a different set of dramatic muscles. She delivers a kinder, though not more gentle, insight into a young woman trapped by circumstances in a gilded cage. This would have been a good moment to really change the pace and delivery style into something lighter and perhaps more humorous, a scalpel rather than a broadsword. Portia played a great trick on her nearest and dearest, as well as society at large I would have liked to have seen more twinkle and less brooding.

As Hamlet, Wolfe is more successful in unravelling the character’s motivations and internal processes. Each of the quartet is a scholarly essay on themes relating both to the drama on stage as well as to the play in historical context. Here this is most pronounced. Wolfe’s formidable scholarship is spotlit to best advantage. For a title character who spends so much of the play talking about himself, it is no small achievement that Wolfe has found so much new to say about the Danish Prince, or perhaps she simply says it more concisely.

It is as Lady Macbeth that Wolfe really brings her dramatic stage presence to bear. It’s like having meditatively watched a tank rolling up the garden path only to be surprised when it opens fire, demolishing the potting shed with a sudden, unleashed violence. It helps that physically, this is the character Wolfe seems most at home in. This finale could have been the alpha as well as the omega of the performance not simply for the power of the delivery, but for the length and breadth of the underpinning contextual analysis.

In their infinite wisdom and capacity to pick winners, EdFringe punters have not been slow to identify ‘After Shakespeare’ as one of this year’s standout shows, one not to be missed. Here is unapologetic Shakespeare nerdism. Here is an unforgettable performance. Here is an essay, or rather here are four essays, that deliver on the promise of adding colours to the chameleons. It is an exceptional piece of theatre which may age like a butt of malmsey wine and become a reliable favourite for those of us with a passion for new and clever ways to explore the Shakespearian universe.

Come for the story-retelling. Stay for the scholarship. Get your doublets on and go see this!

 

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EdFringe Talk: Mother Mama Mommy

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“If you have a mother, you get it.”

WHO: Victoria Cook & Jane Bruce

WHAT: “A heartfelt, humorous investigation into the things mothers pass onto their daughters – for better or worse. The play is tender, raw, and cry-till-you-laugh funny. Starring Broadway’s Jane Bruce (Jagged Little Pill) and Victoria Cook (Into the Woods), ‘one of the most unique sounding voices ever!’ (BroadwayWorld.com). With a striking original score by Bruce, whose ‘lyrical leaning and folk guitar style call to mind Joni Mitchell and Shawn Colvin’ (Holler.Country). If you have a mother, you get it.”

WHERE: Greenside @ Infirmary Street – Mint Studio (Venue 236) 

WHEN: 11:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Victoria: This is my 4th Fringe! I came the first time when I was 16, and Edinburgh and the festival immediately cast their spell on me. This is my first Fringe producing my own work, so it sort of feels like my first.

Jane: I’ve come before to experience the festival, but this is my first time taking part! It’s wild!

Victoria: We’re both really loving how the Festival and Greenside have embraced us.

Jane: Especially as first-time producers!

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

Victoria: I would say – trusting your gut. Just really listening to yourself.

Jane: Good one! Yes. Learning to trust my own instincts.

Tell us about your show.

Our show is a heartfelt, humorous investigation into the things mothers pass onto their daughters – for better or worse. Tender, raw, funny, and driven by a striking original alternative-folk score.

If you have a mother, you get it.

With a striking original score by Broadway’s Jane Bruce (Jagged Little Pill), whose ‘lyrical leaning and folk guitar style call to mind Joni Mitchell and Shawn Colvin’ (Holler), the show stars Bruce and Victoria Cook (Into the Woods), with ‘one of the most unique sounding voices ever’ (BroadwayWorld).

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

“Nan, Me and Barbara Pravi” was a fantastic one-woman show – honest and fun, and unexpected!

“A Mountain for Elodie” by Benjamin Scheuer is one of our top picks! We can’t wait to hear his new music after seeing “The Lion” in New York.

“Dark Noon” looks really special!

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EdFringe Talk: The Jive Aces

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“There is nothing like walking up the Royal Mile being given flyers by everything from Shakespearian characters to vikings or animals and seeing every possible room or building turned into a venue for artistic creation.”

WHO: Ian Clarkson: Singer, trumpet player, ukulele player and band leader

WHAT: “Get ready to swing with the UK’s No1 jive and swing band, The Jive Aces! Semi-finalists on Britain’s Got Talent, a Royal Albert Hall sell out and a viral YouTube video, the band has performed for the Queen and celebrities like John Travolta, Priscilla Presley and Van Morrison. They take you on a musical journey from the roots of Elvis to sizzling swing classics, hot jazz to rockin’ R&B. An energetic and entertaining show that will lift your spirits! With their infectious music, dazzling musicianship and yellow vintage-style suits, they have won fans all over the world!”

WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot – Debating Hall (Venue 14) 

WHEN: 14:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I have lost count how many times we have actually performed in Edinburgh, or at the Fringe but it definitely isn’t the first.

I have personally always loved the EdFringe since our first visit because I love art and performance in general and the performers of all kinds which adorn every street and corner of Edinburgh at this time. I always tell people wherever we are in the world to visit Edinburgh and particularly in August to catch the acts and atmosphere of the Fringe. There is nothing like walking up the Royal Mile being given flyers by everything from Shakespearian characters to vikings or animals and seeing every possible room or building turned into a venue for artistic creation and as a performer you end up talking to and/or performing to, more people when you are promoting than usually at your actual show, but it is all part of the spirit of the festival. Just as it is a sort of leveller in that whether unknown or famous you have to get out and promote your show.

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

What have I learned since 2022? Hmm well when we came to the Fringe last year we had pretty much just recently “escaped” fully after the “pando” and I had really finally understood what it means to do what we do and had sort of had to analyse it in order to “get back on the bicycle and ride” again after doing mainly just a live stream for a year or two. I realised why I love it and why I love really people and a real audience and that it was like flying but as natural as breathing and that this IS what I love to do!

Unfortunately, also due to this, we had less budget and could only stay a very short time at the Fringe in 2022. Plus actually we had never done a very long run here. So after 2022 I decided we should take the plunge, take the “risk” and stay for at least two weeks. Which we are doing this year for the first time! And I know the EdFringe won’t let us, we’re having a ball!

Tell us about your show.

Our show is a culmination of the best songs and musical numbers from our forthcoming album, “Keeping The Show On The Road”, (inspired by continuing to perform despite all the obstacles due to the pandemic – I am sure all artists went through this) with added high energy showmanship of course. It features swing music, jive, some rhythm and blues and some brilliant classic vintage hit songs.

There is humour, fun, nostalgia and exhilarating competence. Inspirations include everyone from Dean Martin to Elvis Presley, Duke Ellington to Little Richard and Marilyn Monroe to Ella Fitzgerald.

There is much to watch but some space to dance should you feel the need. Some of the band met at school or just after they left school and have been playing together for years and years, adding Grazia on the accordion in the last 7 years and Noelle Vaughn more recently, since last year.

Basically the perfect recipe for an energy filled 60 minute show and I can say without a doubt it may be hard for people to just sit still in their seats!

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

What should you go and see after you have seen our show?

Well we haven’t been here long and haven’t had much time between performing or promoting since we have but I would recommend John Culshaw at the Gilded Balloon because he is simply a great impressionist /impersonator and is so incredibly talented vocally it is a joy to experience, especially in his easy going natural style.

Otherwise, I would recommend diversity and searching out and finding different and interestingly creative shows. Sometimes a great show is someone well known in a big venue and other times it is some students in a small venue doing Much Ado About Nothing Rat Pack style… It is a big art packed festival waiting to be discovered.

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EdFringe Talk: Mr & Mrs Love

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“We made our show bigger and better and brought more people on the journey.”

WHO: James Doughty

WHAT: “If music be the food of love… lets cook it! This show-stopping, heart-mending, brand new musical rom com features some of the BIGGEST songs of the West End. Join the musical duo Mr & Mrs Love as they guide you through their authentically relatable workshop discovering all things L-O-V-E. With a decade of wedded bliss behind them, the undisputed experts on love reveal the magic behind their partnership using the power of song. But, when the spotlight shines a little too brightly, will The Loves remember to take their own lessons on board…”

WHERE: Pleasance Dome – KingDome (Venue 23) 

WHEN: 21:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No – we first came to the Fringe last year, booked our venue and created our idea for the show in five minutes based on a discussion we had. My co-creator is from New Zealand and wanted to tick the Fringe off, and it has been 11 years since i last did the Fringe. The things I love about the festival are community and the sheer diversity on offer – and of course the overarching tiredness! Working the festival as a producer vs punter – last year we produced ourselves – you don’t sleep, you don’t eat properly but you definitely drink….

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

We decided to come back for more so I don’t think we learned the big lessons… but we made our show bigger and better and brought more people on the journey so it wasn’t just us looking at our show. We now have a director, choreographer and producer on top!

Tell us about your show.

Our show is a Musical Comedy Cabaret hosted by Mr and Mrs Love – the renowned experts in love. They attempt to bring their patented love workshop to the audience but it’s not as simple as that… there’s tension brewing behind the sequins and instruments. Over ten instruments, musical mashups and some original songs as well. Written by both Stephanie Marion and James Doughty, and produced by Emma Lord for Lord productions, the production premiered in London as “Live, Laugh, Love” in 2022, before coming to the Fringe for a limited run. The show also had an engagement in New York! The company came together as Mr and Mrs Love were a real life couple… James and Stephanie wrote the show about each other’s lives and experiences. Alas, their break-up one day before the start of rehearsals proved to add material and fuel to the fire… who knows where Mr and Mrs Love may end up after the Fringe? (Probably Rehab.)

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

GO and see the musical comedies and comedians. Brilliant shows like Flat and the Curves, Ada Campe, and our spacemate Myra Dubois. Wonderful shows! Chris Fung’s brilliant show and Sam Lupton’s “HOW TO BE DUMPED”.

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‘Appraisal’ (Venue 45, until AUG 28th)

Posted in 4*, EdFestivals 2023, Rated: Outstanding by

“There is so much sympathy, a wealth of similar lived experiences, that Bull’s unpulled punches often land not so much with a collective cry of pain as a collective groan of mutual support.”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars (Outstanding)

You are cordially invited to a bear baiting. The bear, Jo the line manager, is to be found practising golf shots in his office when his opponent, Nicky, enters for her annual workplace appraisal. What follows is an hour’s worth of savage entertainment as the two battle with wits and words. Jo is not just a bear, he is a dinosaur. There’s no phone or laptop on his desk. Just a bottle of Scotch in the top drawer. He’s into power for power’s sake. He lacks vision. He lacks empathy. He lacks everything but a red in tooth and claw survival instinct. He’s every over-promoted snotrag festering in every uncollapsed hierarchy, devoid of any real values or value.

Nicky, by contrast, is good at what she does and she’s been doing it for eleven years. She simply wants to be left alone to get on with her job. She doesn’t want any more responsibility. She does wish that Jo’s sole passion, office politics and rivalries, would stop upsetting her work/life balance. Jo has an agenda for today’s appraisal and, together, Nicky and the audience must try to figure out what he’s up to.

Angela Bull, as Nicky, plays to the crowd. There is so much sympathy, a wealth of similar lived experiences, that Bull’s unpulled punches often land not so much with a collective cry of pain as a collective groan of mutual support. Bull is the everyperson who has had to deal with Jo’s universal brand of narcissistic manipulation. As the play builds to it’s snappy crescendo, Bull piles on the pressure, nimbly sidestepping the bombardment from on high to give as good as she gets.

Fringe treasure Tim Marriot, as Jo, studiously avoids playing the pantomime villain. As the writer also, Marriot knows what makes Jo tick and how to reveal each flaw and defect to best advantage. This is not Marriot’s homage to Gordon Britas, this is an infinitely deeper, more tragic individual all too human, vulnerable, and painfully self-aware. There are moments when one might wish that Marriot’s preference for understatement was either sharper or bolder to make his meaning clearer. A thinking and cerebral player, sometimes we could wish for more Vinney Jones from Marriot and less Colin Veitch.

The office worker as a species is under threat of extinction. The halcyon landscape to which Nicky harks back, of jobs for life and quiet efficiency, was shaken in the decades prior to lockdown working. Soon they will be gone, replaced by portfolio careers and the gig economy. One can imagine future generations mining this rich, but exotic seam in the human experiance, struggling to comprehend how so much human potential was wasted in pursuit of so little. Long, drawn-out workdays adding ever more to the deadweight of meetings and processes. How did people stand it?

I recently had a meeting in a plum orchard, which is about as corporate as I get. It was harvest time so we picked while we talked, sustained by the occasional overripe fruit. It was bliss. Can you imagine that people would rather hold their meetings in ugly offices, surrounded by pointless paper, spouting pompous gibberish? A better, more spiritually sustaining existence is possible than the dower, dowdy world of commutes and offices, EdFringe is proof of that. Jo is a dinosaur so perhaps Nicky is the wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie, the early mammal who will survive the COVID meteor’s impact and freely evolve into something better than a roaring, slavering, bully with a walnut-sized brain. Here’s hoping.

Come for two Fringe favourites doing big things in a small world. Stay for the tragi-comic reminder of how bloody awful office life is. Get your sensible work coats on and go see this!

 

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EdFringe Talk: Sense

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“DanceSyndrome’s ethos is that disability should never be a barrier to following your dreams.”

WHO: Sophie Tickle

WHAT: “Following the success of Orbit in 2017 and Lit aDrift in 2018, DanceSyndrome’s inclusive dance company returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to once again showcase the beauty and power of inclusive dance practice. In a Big Brother world where it’s easy to feel as though we are constantly being watched, are we ever truly seen? Sense explores humanity’s need to be seen, felt and heard.”

WHERE: theSpace @ Niddry St – Lower Theatre (Venue 9) 

WHEN: 11:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is DanceSyndrome’s third trip to the Fringe. We’re a small Lancashire based inclusive dance company made up of performers with and without learning disabilities. In 2017, we crowd-funded to bring our show “Orbit” to the Fringe as a “once in a lifetime experience.” Of course, our dancers absolutely loved performing at the biggest Arts festival in the world! The DanceSyndrome team had an amazing experience, learning lots about the performance industry, including successfully promoting their show, eventually achieving a sold-out audience! The success of the 2017 trip gave the dancers a significant confidence boost and, as a result, they fundraised again and returned in August 2018 with a bigger team and a new show “Lit aDrift” made especially for the Fringe.

During the Covid lockdowns, the one opportunity that dancers continued to say that they felt that they had really missed out on was performing in Edinburgh. Determined to make the dream of returning to the Fringe into a reality, DanceSyndrome ran a fundraising campaign in December 2022 to raise £10,000 towards the trip. It will be incredible for DanceSyndrome’s team to return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023 and present our work after the difficulties of the last few years. People with learning disabilities were hit hardest by the impact of pandemic. Performing at the festival gives our dancers; a platform to create work about issues and themes that matter to them and present them to a wide and eclectic audience; a chance to communicate key messages about inclusion, teamwork, and achievement; and to ensure people with learning disabilities have their voices heard. They can’t wait to return with “SENse” a brand new piece which is being developed for a 2024 tour.

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

2022 was a huge year for DanceSyndrome as we finally regained a sense of normality after a prolonged closure as a result of Covid. We were fortunate to receive funding from National Lottery Community Fund which helped us to get our community dance offer back up to pre-pandemic levels. We then learned that we had been successful in our application to be an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) for 2023-26. This is enabling us to really develop our performance work and create a professional development programme for our company of dancers, whilst also encouraging us to think in greater detail about quality, sustainability and, of course, inclusion.

Tell us about your show.

DanceSyndrome is a multi-award-winning dance charity that was founded by Jen Blackwell, who has Down’s syndrome. The charity was formed because Jen found it difficult to find opportunities in dance that were accessible to people with learning disabilities. DanceSyndrome’s ethos is that disability should never be a barrier to following your dreams. All DanceSyndrome activities are disability led, with people with learning disabilities taking visible leadership roles to inspire people to see what can be achieved when we all become more inclusive.

DanceSyndrome’s performance company is made up of a collective of people with and without learning disabilities. “SENse” is co-produced in line with the ethos that having a learning disability doesn’t need to be a barrier to being a performer, choreographer and producer. During a period of research and development, the company of dancers decided on the initial concept for the show considering how people with learning disabilities often feel that they are not seen and heard by society in the same way that people without disabilities might be. The show is being produced by Sophie Tickle, DanceSyndrome’s Artistic Director, supported by DanceSyndrome’s other Dance Artists. The concept was brought to life in the rehearsal space where the rest of the team of dancers were supported to join in the creative process and development of the story in an inclusive way. The performances in Edinburgh will be the preview shows ahead of a tour of the North West of England in early 2024, which forms part of the Arts Council NPO project.

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

Of course, our team can’t wait to see some other dance shows while we’re in Edinburgh! We’re especially looking forward to Beats On Pointe which combines Street and Ballet dance – two of our favourite styles! We’ll probably catch Showstoppers: The Improvised Musical too as that was amazing last time we saw them – improv is such an incredible talent!

Last time we were in Edinburgh our whole team took part in a Silent Disco and we had so much fun doing it! We’re definitely going to do it again, and we are going to try Boogie Shoes’ Silent Disco Walking Tours as they are based out of theSpaceUK @ Niddry Street which is our venue this year too.

We’re hoping to go and see Anton Du Beke’s show too. Anton is great mates with our ambassador Giovanni Pernice and they sent us a fabulous message of support. Anton said he’d come and see us so we’ll definitely return the favour!

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‘Lost in the Woods’ (Venue 14, until AUG 28th)

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

“They start low and slow, ratcheting up the excitement and enthrallment with each plot twist and unexpected turn.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

I wonder how many times the weight and majesty of history has turned on a sneeze. On how many occasions has the course of human events been stuffed or shuffled owing to a semi-autonomous, convulsive expulsion of air from the lungs through the nose and mouth also known as sternutation? It’s a sneeze that sets the scene for Hawk and Hill Theatre’s Arran Hawkins and Hila Meckier’s ‘Lost in the Woods’ when, as the narrator, Hawkins sends the pages of his antiquarian book of fairy tales scattering to the four winds. There’s a mixup, there’s a twist (actually there are lots of twists) and it’s Hansel and Grettle who must bring order to chaos over the course of an hour of totally engrossing children’s theatre.

We’ve come in force. Two grandparents. Three daughters. Two parents. Outside, afterwards, the adults all agree. Most live performance for kids starts loud and gets louder. Hawk and Hill Theatre are doing something far more subtle and infinitely more captivating. They start low and slow, ratcheting up the excitement and enthrallment with each plot twist and unexpected turn. The staging is simple without being simplistic. For young minds still new to theatre, the prop concepts are easy to grasp, proving that there’s laughter aplenty to be found in everyday magic.

What’s really, really clever is that for the aulder young ones the mixing up, mashing up of the stories gives them a chance to remind themselves what little cleverclogs they are. They know the story of Rapunzel! They can recognise Cinderella even out of context and with scuba goggles for a glass slipper. For the medium young ones, like Daughter 2.0 (5yrs), there’s plenty of laugh-out-loud horseplay and wordplay, easily grasped and held onto. I’ve never heard her laugh that loud and I tell brilliant jokes. This is an eyes-up, attention-grabbing show, but there are lots of those at EdFringe. What makes ‘Lost in the Woods’ so special is that it fascinates in the true, Johnsonian sense, “To bewitch; to enchant; to influence in some wicked and secret manner.” Daughter 3.0 (18 months) who we did not manage to get napping on the bus ride in, is also caught up in the magic. For a person for whom everything is new and wondrous, it’s all about pairing concepts in new and exciting ways. A banana allergy that turns Meckier into a chicken cannot help but get a toddler’s synapses busing.

In her notebook, the one with a gingerbread house by Frank Lloyd Wright on the cover, Daughter 1.0 (8yrs) wrote, “I went to lost in the woods! when I walked In I saw a stage a big sheet over some polles and an old book. They told a story of the old book whiteh had got all muddled. And they told a story of Hansel and gretel witch were trying to get back to their own story. My favorite bit was when gretel ate a banana and turned into a chicken. I realy enjoyed it.”

Here’s a production unafraid to be different even when working with ultra-familiar family favourites. Here are two performers in perfect balance and synchronicity delivering up a smorgasbord of cleverly devised theatrical tricks and super-engaging effects. Both bright children and dull adults will here discover together a true gem to be kept and treasured forever.

Come for the stories. Stay for the storytelling. Get your coats on and go see this!

>> Read the company’s #EdFringeTalk with us here! <<

 

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‘The Ghost of a Smile’ (Venue 53, until AUG 26th)

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

“In both tellings, the range of characters are showcased with the intimate care and consideration Josiah Wedgewood gave to the arrangement of his vases in his London showroom.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

Performance by Nicholas Collett plus Lines by Charles Dickens plus direction by Gavin Robertson is a winning curative formula. A cure for your tired, for your poor huddled Fringe-going masses yearning to see tip-top quality. Two tales, told on alternate days, written by the greatest storyteller of his day, delivered by one of the most accomplished thespians of ours.

‘The Queer Chair’ (from ‘The Pickwick Papers’) tells the story of Tom Smart who, sheltering from a storm in a cosy inn for the night, gets more than he bargained for – from a wizened and debauched piece of furniture. Tom likes the establishment, the food, the punch, the serving girls and especially the widowed landlady. But she is being pursued by a tall suitor, whom Tom takes an immediate dislike to. The haunted chair in his room has insights, an agenda, and a plan. Collett’s genius is to play this, let us admit, rather fanciful tale totally straight. He works with the material and never once against it. If you were ever looking for proof positive that Dickens, contrary to popular misconception, is a light, breezy, airy writer, as well as a perfect practitioner of pace, look no further than Collett’s expert polishing of ‘The Queer Chair’ which is brought up to a beautiful and lively shine.

‘The Ghosts of The Mail’ is set in Edinburgh. After a well-lubricated party in the old town, Jack Martin stumbles back to his lodgings via South Bridge and several other still familiar locations until he comes to rest at a yard compound containing the derelict skeletons of old mail coaches. There he falls asleep, or does he?, finding himself drawn into an episode of high adventure from the preceding eighteenth century, in the company of three creepy and mysterious fellow passengers. This story is less conversation and more action movie, giving Collett the opportunity to flex his muscles in a rapid succession of poses which reveal the sinews, form, and grace of his craft.

In both tellings, the range of characters are showcased with the intimate care and consideration Josiah Wedgewood gave to the arrangement of his vases in his London showroom. Hand up, I find Nick Collett more convincing as a lecherous antique and boozer than as a comely young barmaid or tall person. But each of his character sketches is so delightful, so well observed and proportioned that it’s impossible not to come away with a deeper understanding of, and admiration for, the great actor as master storyteller. The ghost of a smile? More like an ear-to-ear grin.

Come for the writing. Stay for the performance. Get your frock coats on and go see this!

 

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EdFringe Talk: Femme Natale Theatre

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“Jet lag does very strange things to your memory and as such there may be a little bit of new material tomorrow night!”

WHO: Fingal Pollock

WHAT: “Hilariously truthful – an unapologetically comic peek into the world of parenting: what comes before, during and after in this rambunctious mix of original songs and sketches from NZ actors ensemble Femme Natale. Breeders and non breeders have loved this show all over – first time at Edinburgh Festival Fringe… don’t miss the best date night or group night out this season and the best contraceptive in town!”

WHERE: Just the Tonic at The Mash House – Just the Cask Room (Venue 288) 

WHEN: 21:05 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It’s my fourth time visiting Edinburgh but my first time performing at the festival. I was going to bring another NZ show here back in 2011 – but I followed my biological clock and had babies instead. Now, the babies have grown up enough for me and my fellow actors to bring you this smash comedy hit! Edinburgh fringe holds a special place in the heart of every New Zealand artist and this city has always had a special place in my heart, too. Maybe it’s my name, maybe it’s my ancestry – I just feel really at home here.

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

We have learnt how to pack up and pack down very very quickly! We have also learnt that jet lag does very strange things to your memory and as such there may be a little bit of new material tomorrow night!

Tell us about your show.

My kids had just been sick for three days straight and I hadn’t had one single second to myself. Finally they were well enough to be taken out for a walk by someone else and the relief of being by myself was so great I sat down and wrote ‘Mother Erotica’ – an erotic poem for parents all about the joy of being on your own…

When I had toddlers it struck me how fabulously funny moments were – but if you didn’t write them down straight away you forgot about them because of the intensity of daily life! At the time I was also a clown doctor at the Wellington Hospital (which is where I met my co-actor Jeremy) and because of that job I really began to understand comedy and how it works. I met April and Tracey at another sketch comedy show – the first time I ever saw them they were dressed up as giant boobs. We started chatting backstage about writing a sketch about breastfeeding and they were on board! The first show was a huge hit and we have spent the last five years touring it around New Zealand. People love it so much we were able to crowd fund to come here just by asking our fans – we are so touched that so many people believe in us!

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

Our fabulous UK actress – Sonja Doubleday. She wholeheartedly agreed to play a giant sanitary pad from the other side of the world and we LOVE her for it! (we get a local actress for this part everywhere we go). Go and see ‘An Octopus, the Universe and Stuff” – she is a multi-award winning actress! Also our wonderfully talented colleague from NZ, Sarah Harpur performing ‘The Shit Kid’ – she was going to be in our first ever show but had to pull out because of a baby (!) and now here we are in Edinburgh together! She is great!!!

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