I’ve been spoilt by late starts, which is not a good thing when you are heading for a morning at the Traverse Theatre. The Trav has a policy of rotating shows timings on a daily basis, which is great because it means that you can switch in to see things in the 10am slot, and still keep the precious evening timings open for the more fixed shows. It does mean getting to the Trav for 9.30 though, which required Leela and I to grab a taxi this morning.
The Dark Philosophers is a piece from the National Theatre of Wales, in association with Told by an Idiot, knitting Gwynn Thomas storytelling into a look at the lives of the people of the Rhonda Valley. The show uses sketches from Thomas’ life to tie the storylines together, including an appearance on Parkinson, but this works surprisingly well, if a little jarring in the first transition. Perhaps a little too aware of itself, one line delivered by the Thomas narrator when characters portraying farm animals move some set props ‘goats moving furniture, surely a fringe first’ goes a little beyond the breaking of the fourth wall’, but the performances are solid, and the set, labyrinthine and well lit, is amazing. Grouse’s writing is good, making him one to watch. (****, interesting and entertaining performance, limited tickets remain)
Not to be outdone by it’s southern cousin, the National Theatre of Scotland is also performing at the Trav, their show a piece of new writing by Zinnie Harris, The Wheel. Opening on a wedding scene in Spain, and tracing through an ensuing invasion by the French, it’s a powerful look at the consequences of war, and what it drives people to do. A smashing central performance from Catherine Walsh holds the piece together, and the pace in the second half is breathtaking. Again this is staged excellently, and shows at the Trav are worth back to backing to see how adept the stage crew, set and lighting designers and directors are at completely changing a space. (****, an excellent piece of theatre)
Next up was a look at Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame, a one man show by Eric Silva at Udderbelly. The pick was a fringe classic, a combination of a massive poster, interesting reviews and some free time cross over. It’s a 80 minute one man show, going through one man’s relationship with his family and his background. Maybe a little flabby in places, and sometimes a touch difficult to follow which character is which, it’s on balance an interesting and often funny show, worth a look is you have some free time around the Pasture. (***, sometimes tough to follow)
After a quick break, it’s time for fringe favourites Frisky and Mannish. I haven’t seen their much talked about shows before, and thought it was about time. Making the move into the Udderbelly cow in a prime time slot, but more than capable of selling it out, the performance is big, energetic and fun. Dividing the audience by skill set at the start (Razorlight, Beiber, Britney, Elvis and mononym), the songs are excellently realised and performed, Frisky in particular has a spectacular voice. Along the way we learn about trend application through the phases of Madonna, the Grime movement, vapid pop song lyrics and the horror afflicting the pop world. Closing an overrunning show with an old hit, and with the audience singing along, dancing and cheering, these guys deserved their second standing ovation. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it, but found after the initial set up that the material was variations on a theme, not a bad thing mind, particularly when this theme is so good. (****, entertainment guaranteed)
Post Frisky, to round out the night, The Horne Section, Alex Horne’s late night show in the Speigeltent. Alex Horne has assembled a five piece band to accompany this late night showcase, and has a ton of warmth and charisma as compere, interesting in comparison to the adversarial mood of Late ‘n Live, but to be fair, it does start two hours earlier. One of the aids in the show is a giant wheel, to select games, music styles etc. Audience connect four was fun, with the players having to find boring jobs, people who had been to France, boring names in a line to win. Marcel LuCont was the first guest, a ‘French’ stand up, understated, arrogant and hilarious. A performance of his song 15 Love, an ode to a summer as an employee at a tennis club ended with him crowd surfing to the back of the room. (****, brilliant character comedy, sublimely funny). A quick tour through the world of Jazz followed, with Horne instructing the band using a cheat sheet of jazz terms. Next guest performer was La Gateau Chocolate, bedecked in purple lycra and sequins, who led a diva performance of Nothing Compares To You to full audience accompaniment (****, definatley go to see this man at the Dublin Fringe). The wheel then selected Barbershop, so the band members strutted their stuff in a brilliant number about their lives as side men. The last performer was Neil Hamburger, and I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed it. His act, an old American comedian, had funny lines, but wasn’t up to the standard of the rest of the show (*, just not funny enough). That said, one guest act not delivering at a late show is a good hit rate. One last spin of the wheel led to a medley of Scottish songs, and more laughs from the opening of 500 Miles then I thought was possible. An hour and a half later Kilko, Stephen and I wandered out of the tent thoroughly entertained (*****, excellent late night entertainment).
We headed over to Gilded Balloon to meet some people for drinks, including the lovely and fragrant Niamh, but I retired Fringe early (i.e. 2am) to get some rest for today.
Today I’m seeing Futureproof, Minute after Midday, The Noise Next Door, Sammy J and Randy, The Pajama Men and Belt Up’s The Boy James. I’ll let you know tomorrow how they all went.
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