I love Edinburgh and I loved being at the Fringe!
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| 14 shows in 6 days at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2014 |
The last half of the 14 shows we saw is as rich in
diversity and experience as the first half. We saw immersive/story-theatre,
Theatre-for-Young-Audiences, site-specific theatre, more drama and more dark comedy.
It’s been an exciting, boundary-pushing, thought-provoking, laugh-inducing,
informative and impressive theatre experience.
While some shows were enjoyed
more than others, the experience as a whole was enjoyed by all.
The
Seussification of A Midsummer’s Night Dream
(Comedy/Theatre-for-Young- Audiences)
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| Red Bonnet Productions: The Seussificationof a Midsummer's Night Dream |
This was a special show for me since I directed The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet during
my first year of teaching junior high and I wanted the experience of seeing its
sister show’s Seuss-y take on the Bard’s wild comedy. The script is a joy for
young performers and I salute the actors of Red Bonnet Productions for tackling
it with great energy and gusto. Combining classic Dr. Seuss elements, like
Narrator (Thing) 1 and Narrator (Thing) 2 and ridiculously inventive language
with the basic plot of Midsummer, the audience goes on a wacky ride through the
hijinks of the fairies, the mixed-up lovers and the foolish players. Although the tongue-twisting
dialogue did trip up the young actors from time to time, they rebounded quickly and forged ahead with
great commitment and determination. Plus, it was clear they were having a blast
and let’s face it, so did we in the audience. Great fun!
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| Cirque Tsuki: Feast |
Cirque
Tsuki: Feast (Immersive/Story Theatre/Installation/Puppetry)
The innovative and talented company of ImmerCity is
responsible for this beautiful, interactive piece of immersive/story theatre.
They put on a trilogy at the Fringe, with each show a feat of storytelling, as
well as a moment in the life of the Circus troupe itself. Although we didn’t see the
first show, Birthday, we didn’t feel at all lost when we saw Feast on its own. It
picked up on the 10th anniversary of The Great Izanagi and Madame
Mist, key players in the circus, and along with their living doll Tiffen, they retold
the stories of 1001 Arabian Nights. Using music, shadow puppets, simple costume
pieces, they effortlessly and magically wove story after story together, and
created character after character, both vocally and physically. They even had some audience help - my husband
got pulled up onstage to be the King in a few scenes and he was great! This
show was a true celebration of the magic of storytelling and one of my
favorites at the festival.
The
Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour (Site-specific Theatre/Historical Drama)
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| The Edinburgh Literary Pub Tour |
This show was a special treat – a walking tour through
some of the oldest and most celebrated pubs in Edinburgh, as well as the
courtyards and streets of the old and new town. Lucky for us that the weather
held out and we could stash our raincoats away for a crisp but otherwise
beautiful night outdoors. The neat thing about this show is that it runs all throughout
the year, not just duirng the Fringe and it starts every night at the Beehive
Inn in Grassmarket, where the dueling hosts, Mr. Clart and Mr. McBrain
(actors), banter and each share his ‘preferred’ version of history. They shared
the origin stories for many famous Scottish writers and poets -Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and of course, the great Robert Burns. We
learned the poets would congregate in the pubs to drink, debate and pontificate
and it was at these gatherings – in what some would consider seedy and raucous
establishments – that the poets were inspired to create some of the world’s most
treasured literature. Not to be overly nostalgic for the distant past, our
hosts also pointed out the bar that Ian Rankin frequents and the coffee
shops where J.K. Rowling wrote parts of the Harry Potter series. We met people
from all over the world on this tour – Italy, USA, Denmark, and Scotland
(naturally) and I even made a list of the Scottish authors so I can brush up on
classic lit. It was a great way to spend an evening, “drinking and thinking”, plus
nothing beats the view of Edinburgh Castle lit up at night.
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| Cirque Tsuki: Parade |
Cirque
Tsuki: Parade (Immersive/Story Theatre/Installation/Puppetry)
We enjoyed Feast
so much, we had to go back for the third and final chapter of the Cirque Tsuki
story. Definitely the darkest of the three productions, it takes its
inspiration from Japanese folklore, where “100 candles are lit and 100 ghost
stories are told”. The belief is that blowing out the last candle summons the
spirits of the stories back to the world of the living. The stories in this
production dealt with the themes of betrayal, vengeance and faith. It was
interesting to see where the characters were emotionally since we last saw them
and to fill in the gaps as to what had happened to them since. It used many of the
same elements as Feast but instead of
the stories they told taking on lives of their own, the main plot was the saga
of Izanagi and his conflicts with his wife and the living doll. Macabre and
sinister motivations were revealed and it was an intriguing and satisfying conclusion
to the Cirque Tsuki.
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| Breathe Out Theatre: An Extraordinary Light |
An
Extraordinary Light (Drama)
This one-woman show tells the little-known story of the
involvement of scientist Rosalind Franklin on the discovery of the structure of DNA.
Through a passionate and informative monologue, Rosalind herself shared the
details of her deep love for science and her devotion to her work, virtues
which were both her greatest strengths and her greatest flaws. Her anecdotes of
her many years working in the “Boys Club” of her scientific field told, rather
than showed, her contribution to understanding the structure of DNA and at
times it did feel a bit lecture-like. The performance of Katherine Godfrey as
Rosalind, however, was exceptionally strong and gave the audience an
informative and tragic look at a brilliant and underappreciated mind.
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| Quest Theaterworks: Gidion's Knot |
Gidion’s
Knot (Drama)
Darkly funny, disconcerting and tragic, Quest
Theaterworks’ production of Gidion’s Knot
is a masterful work of drama and social commentary. Taking place during “the
parent/teacher conference beyond your worst imagination”, a mother and a
fifth-grade teacher square-off regarding a student’s suspension. The multi-layered script
approaches the conflict from a place of right
vs. right – as more and more information emerges around the circumstances
of the suspension and the relationships of the student in question, the more
the audience was forced to consider both sides to the conflict between free-speech
and what is considered appropriate social behavior. In this age of growing
violence in schools, is it justified to sacrifice the right to free expression
of one to protect the many? Both women are defined by their beliefs and make
decisions based on what they feel is right but face judgement from the other
for doing so. The imagery in this script is at times extremely disturbing and
yet very poignant and as a teacher myself, it forced me to consider what I
might have done had I been in that situation. There are no easy answers and no
one person alone can take all the responsibility and that’s what made this show
so riveting and so terrifying.
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| Darkle Theatre Company: Darkle |
Darkle
(Dark Comedy)
Darkle Theatre Company presented the odd-ball dark comedy
about a group of adult-children slackers who take revenge on their overbearing,
busybody landlord by kidnapping his dog. There was a distinct streak of laissez-faire/don’t-give-a-shit from the slacker trio which got turned on its head once the plot got out of
their control. There were some moments of squirm-in-your-seat-awkward physical
comedy and the twist that came later on definitely caught me off guard, but I
felt like there was so much superfluous banter between the characters that it
hit the audience over the head; we get it – they’re selfish and their lives
are meaningless! It took 45 minutes of a 65 minute show to get to the main
action (the dog-napping), so either the pace needed some picking-up or the
script some firm editing. It just didn't quite do it for me, but I’m not sorry I saw it because it was different and unexpected and I can appreciate that.
So there you have it - my recap of my Edinburgh Fringe
adventure! 14 shows in six days,
new favorite places to visit, and incredible memories to treasure and share.
If you happen to be in Edinburgh between now and August
25, get yourself down to The Fringe! It’s so worth the time just to be near the
action with all the energy, excitement and the air of possibility all around. Or if you’re around Edmonton between Aug. 14 – 24, make
sure you check out Fringed and Confused: the 33rd Edmonton International Fringe Festival. There is so much to witness, discover and discuss.
Wander around the grounds, grab a leaflet from an actor, or ask around for a good show to see.
And get #unbored.
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