list.co.uk/festival Previews | FESTIVAL MUSIC
MICHAEL GRIFFITHS: COLE The spirit of Cole Porter reimagined
ETHERWAVE: ADVENTURES WITH THE THEREMIN An appreciation of the cult electronic instrument THE AFRICAN DREAM MUSICAL Musical view of post-apartheid South Africa
After his critically acclaimed tilts at the legacies of Annie Lennox and Madonna, Australian cabaret artist Michael Griffiths is attempting a new challenge: the original pop star himself, Cole Porter.
An icon of songwriting, Porter pretty much invented the pop song as we know it. Griffiths’ show Cole will bring the story of Porter to Edinburgh, alongside his timeless songs, in a production that’s part biography, part cabaret performance.
Griffiths says audiences can expect nothing less
than ‘some of the most romantic and amusing songs ever written by a man whose talent was matched only by his privilege. Cole brushed shoulders with kings and queens and travelled the world in style but he was always getting up to some kind of mischief – whether it involved champagne, cocaine or handsome young men, it’s no coincidence his first big hit was “Let’s Misbehave!”.’ Inhabiting him, says Griffiths, wasn’t as daunting a prospect as it initially seemed. ‘I don’t really worry about comparing, it’s more about finding out where Cole and I meet in the middle.’ (Sam Bradley) ■ Assembly George Square Gardens, 623 3030, 6–29 Aug (not 16), 6pm, £10–£12. Previews 4 & 5 Aug, £6.
Combining multimedia performance, storytelling and a varied selection of styles, electronic musician and performer Hypnotique returns to the Fringe in her first solo show to take audiences on a journey through the history of the world’s earliest commercial electronic instrument. ‘Etherwave: Adventures with the Theremin is all about the adventures of the amazing people who created and kept alive the legacy of the theremin,’ Hypnotique says. ‘But it’s also about my world travels and adventures which have taken me from a hammock infested with poisonous spiders in the Amazon to a close encounter with another toxic life form, Simon Cowell.’
An instrument that has significantly influenced popular music, from Kraftwerk to Brian Eno, the theremin is much more than initially meets the eye, which Hypnotique hopes to demonstrate.
‘Not only does it look and sound cool and strange,’ she says, ‘but it’s also capable of performing a whole lot more than just woo-woo horror soundtracks and old Russian classical music.’ (Arusa Qureshi) ■ Sweet Grassmarket, 243 3596, 4–14 Aug, 2.30pm, £9 (£7.50).
The African Dream Musical is a powerful story that follows the coming of age of the country’s first generation of young South Africans, who were ‘born free’ at the end of apartheid in 1994. It investigates their hopes and struggles by posing a vital question: has life in the post-apartheid nation really lived up to everyone’s expectations? With a 12-strong cast, along with a five-piece
band, the music captures the mood of many present-day young black South Africans who are demanding change. As cast member Hloni Taolana explains: ‘In 1994, when we obtained our democracy under Mr Nelson Mandela, we became a rainbow nation, “united in diversity”. However, we forgot to look at the socio-economic development and economic emancipation of the previously disadvantaged. ‘We believe the world can still learn from us and
how we are currently dealing with our issues,’ Hloni says. ‘We hope the audience take with them the idea that solutions faced by any generation can be solved through dialogue, but also by using the arts as a medium to tell stories and to make a better world.’ (Arusa Qureshi) ■ C south, 0845 260 1234, 4–29 Aug, 3pm, £13.50–£15.50 (£9.50–11.50).
BWANI JUNCTION: GRACELAND Celebrating the 30th anniversary of Paul Simon’s Graceland
‘Hearing Paul Simon on my voicemail absolutely blew me away.’ Diane Garisto is one of the voices on the original recording of Simon’s Graceland. A message from the man himself summoned her to a recording studio where she found herself collaborating with him and a handful of other singers on what would become Simon’s seventh solo album.
‘Paul was friendly, although very serious about getting the vocals right. You’ve got to remember that this was quite a musical leap for him at the time. No one had yet melded world music and pop music in the way he did with Graceland.’
Now, 30 years since its release, she’s one of the singers helping
Bwani Junction revisit the album. Their Graceland show was performed at Celtic Connections in January this year, and the reception it received was enough for them to decide to bring it out one more time for the Fringe.
‘Bwani Junction did such a brilliant job of honouring the music,’ says Garisto. ‘You could feel the energy coming off the audience. And because the lads in Bwani are relatively young, they brought in a nice crowd of younger people who I imagine weren’t as familiar with the album as the older audience.’ The concept of the show is simple: the band perform the album
in full, honouring the original pretty much to the letter, save navigating the songs’ fade-outs and other album-specific quirks. It’s a one-night-only affair, but Garisto is excited to be visiting Edinburgh, particularly during the Fringe.
‘I can’t wait to explore it. To be surrounded by people creating art all around me is one of the things I love the most. And of course, I’m looking forward to playing Graceland again with the lads in Bwani Junction. It was a blast the first time around and I know it will be again.’ (Kirstyn Smith) ■ The Liquid Room, 226 0000, 5 Aug, 7.30pm, £14.
4–11 Aug 2016 THE LIST FESTIVAL 77