Edinburgh 2013 Theatre Review: Hanging Bruce-Howard (Gone Rogue Productions)

Living room farce with an alcoholic actor protagonist; cue neurotic gay playwrights, incompetent Polish plumbers, fist fights and hidden bodies. Jolly good fun for some maybe, but you can’t shift the sense that it’s a bit old hat for a young company, and perforated with cliché and stereotype that demonstrates a mind-boggling lack of self-awareness. It’s hampered by weak writing and a lead actor, who though trying his damnedest, just isn’t watchable enough to pull off the character of endearingly self-absorbed dandy, though admittedly being the first performance this could improve. Chuck in a couple of AIDS jokes and the end result is resoundingly off. Tired, unoriginal and poorly executed, it may sharpen slightly during the rest of their run, but only a miraculous rewrite could truly save this.

C nova, until 26 Aug, 12.05pm.
tw rating 2/5 |

- See more at: http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2013-theatre-review-hanging-bruce-howard-gone-rogue-productions/#sthash.vsZTVvU7.dpuf

Edinburgh 2013 Theatre Review: Tell me a Secret (Airborne Theatre)

An energetic and high-spirited combination of physical theatre, live music and a touch of karaoke, ‘Tell Me a Secret’ does exactly what it says in the title. From marriage fantasies and re-enacted sexual liaisons to having witnessed a fatal accident; the performance is a confessional series of secrets, all made more unsettling by knowing that much of the dialogue is taken from real life. Given the material’s strength, you find yourself wishing they’d occasionally give the props and fancy movement a rest and let the words speak for themselves. Similarly, culling a sub-plot between two siblings would be no loss. Though thought-provoking and effervescent, it’s a little too cluttered. If Airborne could keep their focus on substance over style, they’ll be one to watch in the future.

C nova, until 25 Aug (odd dates only), 1.10pm.
tw rating 3/5 |

- See more at: http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2013-theatre-review-tell-me-a-secret-airborne-theatre/#sthash.Vmy7UCIO.dpuf

Edinburgh 2013 Physical Review: Echolalia (Jen McArthur & Kallo Collective)

If hoover attacks, shortbread and invasion of personal space don’t ruffle your feathers, this might be your kind of thing. Jen McArthur plays a lonely woman with Asperger’s syndrome in a 1940s wasteland, accompanied by sparse possessions, rituals, rehearsals for job interviews and social engagements that never happen.  ‘Echolalia’ was conceived after McArthur was “tickled by the social ‘weirdness’ of autistic children”, a discovery that it’s difficult to feel entirely comfortable with. Although magnificently performed, you have the niggling sense that this isn’t the most balanced, responsible account of Asperger’s syndrome. There are one or two moments which address more serious implications, but these are quickly overshadowed by impeccably executed buffoonery. A whimsical, fantastic spectacle, dogged by dubious moral implications.

C aquila, until 26 Aug (not 12), 3.40pm.
tw rating 3/5 | 

- See more at: http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2013-physical-theatre-review-echolalia-jen-mcarthur-kallo-collective/#sthash.AMuhIJ0Z.dpuf

Edinburgh 2013 Physical Review: Confused in Syracuse (OPS Theatre)

If you think of Ancient Greece, you’re probably not picturing a centaur whose backside has emancipated itself. Add a raunchy love triangle and you’ve got ‘Confused in Syracuse’, a bawdy slapstick farce from St Petersburg based company OPS theatre. Energy is there in buckets; unfortunately, substance is not. Fake boobs and fart jokes abound, though both ends of the centaur do a cracking job of tottering around for an hour on wonky stilts. The production seems unable to decide if it’s a sketch show or a play, and a combination of no dialogue with only sporadic choreography neither clarifies the plot nor warms you to the characters. Not bad for an occasional giggle, but expect to be left feeling very confused (in Syracuse).

C, until 26 Aug (not 13), 3.30pm.
tw rating 2/5 | 

- See more at: http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2013-physical-theatre-review-confused-in-syracuse-ops-theatre/#sthash.bPy67XKT.dpuf

Edinburgh 2013 Physical Review: In Two Minds (Dancing Souls and Theatre SOMA)

A joint venture between Hong Kong’s Shan Chan and the UK’s Suzi Cunningham, ‘In Two Minds’ is billed as demonstrating the healing power of movement, though it’s actually more about the experience of mental illness. The results are patchy: the choreography is sharp and skilful with some interesting highlights (mental illness is likened to a noisy kid in the cinema), but overall it doesn’t go beyond ticking the usual boxes. A gratingly clichéd refrain of horror movie-style nursery rhymes just made my toes curl. An innovative but all too brief middle-section shuns the established tone, and is simple, powerful and moving. It’s a shame that the rest of the performance doesn’t quite follow suit.

C, until 10 Aug, 5.05pm.

tw rating 3/5 |

- See more at: http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2013-physical-theatre-review-in-two-minds-dancing-souls-and-theatre-soma/#sthash.ypjEtvKX.dpuf