list.co.uk/festival Reviews | FESTIVAL THEATRE
P H O T O :
R O S K A V A N A G H
EXTINGUISHED THINGS Intimate and charming storytelling ●●●●● CLASS Likeable comedy drama is old-school ●●●●●
TO HAVE DONE WITH THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD Classic work given physical heft ●●●●●
Fear No Colour’s reinterpretation of Antonin Artuad’s final work is infused with brutal soundscapes and aggressive dance. Artaud has been cited as a significant influence on the output of Beckett and Ginsberg and fans of those better- known writers will quickly recognise the rhythms and tones.
This physical interpretation is defined by intense noise and percussive dance. The piece deals in part with the brutality of industry and the cast’s movements are filled with violence. Even the opening segment, in which four men emerge from an egg-like structure and are quickly coached into adulthood by the cast’s two women, is filled with menace and threat.
Molly Taylor is a gifted storyteller with a canny ability to present events that are recognisably real and lived, but that become tinged with an almost otherworldly romance and poignancy in their telling. With direction by Jade Lewis, this piece may be simple in both premise and execution, but nonetheless creates a vivid world for audience members to fall into. One day, Molly’s childhood neighbours leave
their flat for a holiday and never return. She enters with a spare key and examines the life of a couple married for 40 years without children. Mixing her own experiences with those of Al and Evie, Taylor creates an emotional narrative that darts forward and backwards in time, each moment revealing more about the couple, their relationship and the world they lived in.
Sadly the performers’ power and energy in In the unconventional space of Summerhall’s
movement is not matched by the spoken word. The purposefully fractured speech is passed between the performers and beats are too often missed. When in sync, this pattern provides a mechanical beat that matches the brutalist tone of the piece, but also serves to highlight the too-frequent points when the rhythm is lost. (Liam Hainey) ■ C too, until 26 Aug, 8.15pm, £10.50–£11.50 (£8.50–£9.50). anatomy lecture theatre, with the audience peering down upon Taylor, she draws everyone into the home that Al and Evie inhabited for so long. What at first feels like intrusion soon becomes a comfort, as we get to know – and care for – the couple more and more. An absorbing hour that brings to light the lives being lived behind closed doors. (Sean Greenhorn) ■ Summerhall, until 26 Aug (not 20), 7.25pm, £11.50 (£9).
Writers and directors David Horan and Iseult Gordon's comedy drama follows quick-tempered mechanic Brian (Stephen Jones), his emotionally articulate wife, hairdresser Donna (Sarah Morris) and the standoff that develops when their son's teacher Ray (Will O'Connell) tells them their child is struggling at school and would benefit from seeing an educational psychologist. Class takes on different meanings as education and social status begin to clash. Kind of a Breakfast Club in reverse with an Irish
twist, the parents seem to regress back to their childhood selves when in the company of the more educated man, and disparate parenting styles, marital difficulties and toxic masculinity all bubble to the surface in a slightly soapy format. The performances are superb, and the physicality of Jones and Morris in other roles as children make for some appealing physical comedy scenes. But the concept of a troubled childhood template for our future depressed selves is a well-mined trope and hampered by prosaic dialogue.
Still, there is an indisputably infectious energy
and charm to the piece. (Lorna Irvine) ■ Traverse, until 26 Aug, (not 20), times vary, £20.50 (£15.50).
WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF A kick up the 90s music scene and beyond ●●●●●
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S D S C O T T
Cora Bissett's autobiographical production, lovingly directed by Orla O'Loughlin, is like a superior cover of a song that never really registered before – it may follow a conventional route, but it dazzles with its energy and heart. And her version of Blur's 'This Is A Low' is actually better.
The tale is familiar: young, idealistic girl with talent from small town is promised recording contract; tours a bit with her band Darlingheart (massive slots supporting Blur and Radiohead) and won't play ball when asked to go solo and exploit herself; add to the mix a dodgy manager who vanishes.
If this sounds unremittingly grim, Bissett's script,
showing Britpop from a Scottish perspective, is riotous, joyful and life-affirming. She's an engaging and warm performer, the kind of big sister we all wished for – articulate and impish, rocking PJ Harvey's ‘Dress’ in a vintage dress. The show will resonate with the John Peel generation, those who spent hours in record shops and book stores. Her 'band' and co-stars – Susan Bear, Grant O' Rourke and Simon Donaldson – also impress, swapping roles as various sleazy industry types and deadpan friends.
Based on her teenage diaries, all of which she rediscovered and read as her father was ill, this is never an overshare. It's as red and raw as a teenage love bite, but with the insight of an adult who is as passionate about her art now, decades later, as when she first gazed upon Patti Smith's uncompromising stare on the cover of Horses. (Lorna Irvine) ■ Traverse, until 26 Aug (not 20) times vary, £20.50 (£15.50).
15–27 Aug 2018 THE LIST FESTIVAL 87