{THEATRE} Reviews
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HOTEL MEDEA A killer night out ●●●●●
Spend a whole night in the company of a murderer. See her history retold, eat with her, dance with her, bathe and clothe her, listen to her problems, understand them if you possibly can, and, ultimately, be party to her gruesome crime. This is the package on offer at Zecora Ura’s Hotel Medea.
It’s not a sleepover, it’s a waking dream in which the audience can simultaneously be part of the Medea myth, and see its elements in panorama – at once judging, empathising with, and fearing the heroine. Through three acts of participatory, multimedia, multi-lingual theatre, one of the Fringe’s most ambitious shows ever unfolds in spectacular style, creating a unique experience of total immersion.
The action shifts between three of Summerhall’s sparse, clinical rooms (the building was previously a veterinary school), adapted through simple details into a child’s bedroom or a CCTV control room. These movements, and some clever live video feeds from different parts of the building, encourage regular changes of perspective. For example, after witnessing the inner workings of a New Labour-style spin campaign to elect Medea’s husband Jason (of Golden Fleece fame) to the presidency, the focus changes back to Medea, tormented in her bedroom as she discovers Jason’s infidelity through clues on his mobile phone.
Given the level of complexity the execution is immaculate. Until the cast drop their characters for the 6am breakfast the performances are perfect in every detail. For six hours, the play is real life. Even the tea breaks in between ecstatic dancing sessions, bedtime stories and half-hours spent hiding in cupboards feel linked in to an unstoppable train of tragic events. The result is a rare experience of total suspension of disbelief. As the sun rises Medea reflects on the night’s activities – ‘Do you think we went a bit too far?’ – amid peels of cathartic laughter. (Jonny Ensall) ■ Summerhall, 226 0000, 19 & 20, 25, 26 & 27 Aug, 11.45pm, £29.50 (£25).
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3D HAMLET: A LOST GENERATION Strong acting secures the Bard a place in the 21st century ●●●●●
Were this show set in a different venue, with decent sight lines, a proper projection screen and space bigger than a postage stamp for the actors to perform on, it would be a shoe-in for five stars. Abridged, but retaining all the salient points and key scenes from the original play, this witty, moving and hugely enjoyable production positions the Bard squarely in the 21st century. The language is still Shakespearean but now
Hamlet and Ophelia (or Hamphelia as they’re dubbed in the tabloid press) play out their relationship by text and Facebook. There are no weak links in the seven-strong cast, each managing to make the text sound utterly believable and relevant over 400 years since it was written. Special mention goes to Sam Underwood, an age appropriate Hamlet surely destined for great things.
As for the 3D, it’s just a marketing strategy, used briefly to capture the band of players’ recreation of the King’s poisoning (the ghost of whom is played on-screen by Alec Baldwin). Fun as it is, this production would still fly without it. (Kelly Apter) ■ theSpaces on the Mile, 0845 508 8316, until 27 Aug (not 21), 8.40pm, £10 (£7).
74 THE LIST 18–25 Aug 2011
THE GIRL WITH THE IRON CLAWS A fairytale for grown-ups ●●●●● LOUNGE ROOM CONFABULATORS Aussie troubadours paying home visits ●●●●●
Taking as their starting point a Nordic myth that clearly shares some of its roots with Beauty and the Beast, The Wrong Crowd weave a subtle, dark fairytale about an independent-minded princess who falls in love with a bear (of course, he’s really a king who was cursed by the Troll Queen). And there, the similarities to squeaky-clean
Disnified stories end. The company are unafraid to mine those seams of darkness and sexuality that are routinely scrubbed from our fairytales, using inventive puppetry, excellent live performance, song and a hefty dose of clever humour to engage a grown-up audience. There’s a folky, rough-hewn edge worked into the production to great effect, too, and a very moving moral about the power of love that gains impact from the sheer quality of the storytelling. It’s rare, on the Fringe, to find a production where
everything – writing, ensemble, production and performances – is of this consistently high standard; even rarer for this to be the work of a debut company. Look out for The Wrong Crowd in the future, but see them now too. (Kirstin Innes) ■ Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, until 28 Aug, 1.35pm, £8.50–£10 (£7.50–£9).
‘Hello! It’s the Lounge Room Confabulators,’ a voice chimes through the intercom. The Confabulators – a pair of bearded Australians in Del Monte suits who will be performing an hour-long storytelling show in my home – ascend the stairwell playing music from a battered radio. Once arrived in my living room they produce a guitar, a ukelele and a selection of budget puppets (mostly lego figures) before a crowd of a dozen friends who sit wide-eyed and expectant like kids in front of a Saturday morning TV show. There are songs, which are sad and beautiful; sexy
moments, including a disturbing sequence in a morgue; and a series of gory tales centring around a desperate woman taking occult measures to save her husband from ‘goat cancer’. It’s a packed programme that becomes a little hard to follow. But it’s very funny in parts, and touchingly melancholy in others. It’s the Confabulators’ use of context that makes this magical. Their show is dark, like an adult fairytale. And like all the best fairytales, it begins in the place you thought safest, showing that the familiar can also be scary and wonderful – full of hope, and also full of sorrow. (Jonny Ensall) ■ Your Lounge, 0844 545 8252, until 29 Aug, 6pm & 9pm, £12–£14 (minimum 10 person booking).