Balbir Singh 'Decreasing Infinity' review Jo Thorne Rural Arts ON Tour

Decreasing Infinity- A duet for two male dancers

This piece explored the musical relationship between draws on the relationship between classical Indian Dance and Contemporary Dance.

The piece is accompanied by a tabla player and a beat boxer.

The duet was interesting to watch, I loved the intricacy of the movement and the moments where the dancers were perfectly in unison.  A beautiful section of the piece involved one dancer performing a head stand, while the other dancer mirrored his leg movements with his arms.

Visually a stunning piece to watch overall, however the transitions between sections were not as fluid as they could have been.

This piece would be suitable for Rural Touring if a dance floor was toured, there was little floor work so this would make the work suitable for Rural Touring.

The companies other touring work ‘Play of Percentages’ features 6 female dancers and lots of floor work so may not be suitable for small venues. 

Falling Man review by Small Petit Klein Dance, Jo Thorne ON Tour Rural Arts

18/08/11

SmallPetitKlein in ‘Falling Man’ at Dance Base

I have seen SPK’s work before and ‘Falling Man’ a solo for dancer Tom Pritchard was exceptional.

A beautiful solo depicting a falling man who had been photographed jumping from the World Trade Centre on September 11th. 

The piece was beautifully choreographed and debated the public’s reactions to the approximate 200 people who jumped from the towers and the controversy that surrounded it. Did they ‘fall’ or were they ‘jumping’?

Tom’s solo was engaging and sensitively performed. The manipulation of the spine throughout gave a real sense of flight and falling.

The lighting throughout the piece was also very effective as well as the use of spoken text from the dancer.

A highly moving piece of dance that would be worth programming.

I spoke to the director Thomas Small who informed me the piece could be adapted for Rural Touring and the company would be happy to tour on the Rural Touring Circuit.

Frisky and Mannish review by Jo Thorne Rural Arts ON Tour

17/08

Frisky and Mannish

Pop Centre Plus at the Udderbelly with a large excitable audience!

Easily the best thing I saw at the Fringe and so much fun.

The performance engaged the audience from the moment Frisky and Mannish entered the auditorium.  

The evening involved training the audience to become a pop star.

There were 5 pop tests to distinguish which category you as an audience member should be in.

For example the first category was for ‘Razorlights’, and to qualify as a Razorlight you needed to have good hair! Frisky asked the audience to put your hand on the head of the person nearest you with the best hair. If you had no hands on your head you had to then sit down, if you had one hand on your head you also sat down but if you had more than two hands on your head then you became an official Razorlight.

Other tests included dancing, if you could dance but not sing then you were a Britney! If you had no talent at all then you were a Justin Beaber.

I was a Beaber!

For the rest of the show Frisky and Mannish performed pop songs in comedy ways but with huge amounts of talent! There was a great take on Madonna through her years with the emphasis being on training us as the audience to be ‘versatile’ throughout our pop careers! Other take offs included Girls Aloud, Take That and Adele.

To finish the evening a pop group was created from the audience, Frisky and Mannish created a band with one audience member from each category. 5 men were picked from the audience in the ranging categories to make up ‘Wet Life’ our new pop group (The name was chosen from an audience member who had been writing down ideas throughout the performance). ‘Wet Life’ were fantastic and were instructed to look ‘emotional’ through Take That’s ‘Never Forget Where You’ve Come From’ as well as touch each other inappropriately. We absolutely loved the evening and would recommend the show to everyone. I’m not sure if they would be up for rural touring but if they would we should grab them with both hands. Unfortunately they had to run off for an interview with Radio 1 afterwards so I couldn’t catch them.  Fantastic stuff, I left the auditorium on a high!

Shirley and Shirley- review by Jo Thorne, Rural Arts ON Tour Manager

ON Tour Rural Arts reviews of Edinburgh Fringe 17-19^th August 2011

What an amazing opportunity to be given the chance to attend the Edinburgh Fringe as a Rural Touring Scheme.  We managed to stay with some lovely friends in Edinburgh so could use our subsidy to good use, on shows!! I tried to see a real mix of work and also saw shows that were not designed with Rural Touring in mind but that could be easily be adapted.

The standard overall was of a very high quality, the only disappointment being the BBC 3 Comedy ‘Best of the Fringe’ on the 19^th August.  I have reviewed a mix of the shows below and my promoter will do the same.

17/08/11

Shirley and Shirley

A comedy duo in New College Assembly Hall

A tiny venue with a total of about 25 people in the audience. The atmosphere felt intense but friendly and the audience were comfortable and at ease with each other.

The opening sequence involved Shirley getting an audience member to fill in for the other Shirley as she was ‘late’ for the evening’s performance. This was an entertaining opening as the audience member was dragged out from her seat, taught a dance, had a go at some press ups and then performed it with Shirley for the introduction to the show. This broke any ice there was to break and left the whole audience smiling.

The show involved a series of sketches ranging from 2 minutes- 5 minutes long including: Britains got Talent, A Canadian psychologist, An incestuous brother and sister, a night out drinking sequence with ‘posh’ ladies, Mr Kipling and a take on time.

The Canadian psychologist sketch was particularly funny and used interaction with the audience to sell the psychologist’s ‘skills’. Audience members provided anecdotes for Shirley to improvise around.

Certain sketches were funnier than others inevitably, but overall the standard of the comedy was high. 

The show would be suitable for Rural Touring as there was no large set and the props were very effective and would be easy to transport.  I laughed almost throughout and would recommend the show for Rural Touring. The two female artists had an abundance of energy throughout and deserve great success.  

Greyscale - Tonight Sandy Grierson will Lecture, Dance and Box. Assembly, George Square 22/8/11

Reading the copy for this one-man show, I had no idea what to expect and I’m none the wiser having seen it.  Through a rapid series of slides, Grierson starts out telling the rather fantastic story of his great grandfather Arthur Cravan – who appears in a myriad of identities, timelines,  jobs and countries – its  fairly baffling, intense but intriguing stuff. Grierson’s performance was commanding,  physical and full-on with  lots of sweat and attitude, but from the moment he stripped down to his pants, clambered over the seats and appeared at the rear of the auditorium looking like Christ on the cross, I was lost. The show’s references, concepts and mind stuff left me feeling like he was on a journey and I wasn’t along for the ride. Did the show change track or fall off the rails? - or was I just too thick to stay with it?  the audience certainly seemed to enjoy it.  Running time 1hr

Teasel Theatre - Grisly Tales from Tumblewater. Pleasance Courtyard 23/8/11

Grisly Tales is based on Bruno Vincent’s novel of the same title and is directed by Caroline Horton who performed ‘You’re Not Like the Other Girls Chrissy’ which toured to rural villages in the north earlier this year.

This is a good storytelling piece. In a nutshell, the story is about Orphan, Daniel Dory who sets out to rainy and strangely sinister Tumblewater in search of his long lost sister. We follow his adventures as he comes up against Tumblewater’s evil landowner and a witch.

If you’re performing a one-man show, you’ve got to be good and actor Edward Jaspers is. On stage with just a step ladder, a bag and top hat, he convincingly inhabits all the strange characters of Tumblewater and gives a very physical performance – complete with flying sweat. (more a feature of the attic venue than the show itself)

Although this is a dark tale, its not gruesome or grisly though I did wince at the bit about the fate of a baby who was mistaken for a loaf of bread. The show features some quirky songs sung live to the accompaniment of mandolin and the shows humour, its audience interactions and Edward’s likeability stop it feeling too dark.

With little to focus on other than the story itself, younger audience members may struggle a bit but I saw this show with a mixed audience that included many teenagers and they were all gripped from start to finish. I could definitely see this show working in village venues though running time only 1hour.

Idle Motion - The Vanishing Horizon. Zoo 23/8/11

A really great show. Strangely it was listed in the dance section of the fringe brochure. Its devised/ physical/visual theatre – but it aint dance.  

The Vanishing Horizon is about ‘female aviators and the spirit they embody’. Its also about one woman’s (Anna) personal journey as she flies to Africa to collect the ashes of her grandmother who took flight herself years ago and exited the lives of Anna and her mother.  The two story strands interlink to give a strong narrative, but it’s the sheer inventiveness of staging that makes this such a good show .

On a cluttered stage the 6 young performers packed in so much action it could’ve felt messy but the staging was so swift and seamless it worked. The set was strewn with some 30+ suitcases (the stars of the show) and what they didn’t do with a suitcase probably couldn’t be done - Bathroom cabinets, telephone booths, runways, mini bars, plane wings. So many clever touches. Such inventive use of props and objects.

This show was impressive, exciting and inventive. It had sub thems of hopes and ambitions and contained history, human interest and lots of paper planes. The audience loved it and so did I. I'd love to see this piece tour to Northumberland villages but suspect this award-winning company are much in demand. Show duration 55 mins

Backhand Theatre/ C Theatre - The Velveteen Rabbit 23/8/11

The Velveteen Rabbit is a children’s classic. I’d never heard of it so went with no expectations. The show tells the simple and touching story of how a toy rabbit was loved so much he became real. It had the feel of an old ‘once upon a time’ story – nanny, nursery and all.  It was performed by a young company on a storybook set depicting the nursery with different sized toy boxes a few scattered toys and a large fireplace that neatly doubled as a bed.

It was visually appealing with colourful costumes and many puppet characters made simply but not soft and cuddly (for small children the horse was perhaps frighteningly large). The show also benefited from some production on a large stage which for a children’s show, made a nice change.

I enjoyed the show, it was good, but ‘truly dazzling’ it was not. The main thing was that is was quite  wordy – even for story-theatre and though it was nicely staged and paced I thought it lacked a bit of charm and magic. Sitting at the back of the auditorium, I couldn’t see the faces of the children in the audience but the show seemed to grab their attention and  I’d say on the whole the audience really enjoyed this show. Duration 50mins

RT Productions/ Citizens Theatre - One Million Tiny Plays About Britain. Hill Street Theatre 22/8/11

One Million Tiny Plays.. is based on Craig Taylor’s serialised Guardian column.  As the title suggests, this play is a montage of contemporary British life  – a kind of ‘around the UK in 80 plays’. – well 20 maybe. The first few were performed on the stairs of the Hill Street venue before we were herded with speed around the corner to a clothes shop on George Street where the remainder of playlets were performed in the round –  almost - by 3 terrific performers.

For the next hour, we journeyed to UK towns and cities - a hen night in Newcastle, a hospital in Manchester, a kebab shop in Portsmouth – and met a range of different characters; litter pickers, cloakroom attendants, late night revellers, house hunters, a lonely old lady.  Snapshots of life were captured in a scene, some funny, some poignant, others familiar and a few stereotypical.

I think I was initially miffed that this show didn’t meet my expectations of a more visual show of ingenuity and clever use of set and props and that the unexpected switch of location put a spoke in the wheel of well timed plans to get to the next show on time (cab came and went without us).

I also felt my attention waning towards the end. These quick insights into the lives of others felt quite intimate to start with but there was no expectation of ‘what next’ as you knew it would be another short dialogue in another UK city.  That said, this show did stay with me.  Running time 1hr 15mins

United Artists - Al Bowlly's Croon Manifesto. The Bongo Club 22/8/11

I liked the idea of this one – a show with live music and post show dance. For the promoters who go the extra mile, this could make for a really good night out with cabaret style set-up and the involvement of local social dance groups as part of the show  - and audience development.

The show was about singer Al Bowlly’s career and hedonistic life in the 1930’s and featured many of his songs performed live with on-stage band. There were good performances from the actors and on-stage musicians and with a colourful life story to tell and period projections there was visually enough going on to keep it interesting. The show lost its pace when it involved a table of audience members in the staging of a ‘scene’ which was filmed at their table and projected back onto the onstage screen. A risky element which needed a swifter response from an ‘up for it’ audience.

The post show dance featured more foot-tapping lively music such as ‘It Don’t Mean a Thing if it aint got That Swing’ and in itself would make for a good night.

Alie Cohen Puppet Maker - Cloud Man. Hill Street Theatre 22/8/11

I loved this show. It felt a tad slow at times – particularly at the start but from the moment the utterly cute cloud man puppet appeared the smile never left my face.  The show was a visual delight. The set had lovely muted colours, fluffy clouds and a clever shed which stood infront of cloud mountain and opened out to reveal her collection of sample pots in windows which nicely framed some of the cloud man action. Children sat at the front on cloud cushions with Cloud Man clues hidden underneath. The fluffy clouds had pockets which opened to reveal cute ‘scenes’ such as cloud man chilling in a bubble bath. The music was as gorgeous as the puppets and the whole thing  was beautiful and delightful.

Cloud Man told the story of Cloudia, a cloud expert who dreamt of seeing the elusive Cloud Man. She collected clues to his existence and when she eventually finds him, she captures him in a glass jar before doing the right thing and releasing him. The show is aimed at 4 – 8yrs, is performed by Jen Edgar with designs by Allie Cohen who designed the fabulous and award-winning ‘The Man Who Planted Trees’ from Puppet State Theatre.

CKP with Red Comedy - Andrew Bird's Village Fete. Gilded Balloon Teviot 21/8/11

Andrew Bird’s stand-up show was about ‘country life where the local news isn’t all about the big stories, just the ridiculous little ones’ and I couldn’t work out if Northumberland villagers would’ve felt a little ridiculed.

Andrew Bird was a warm and likeable comedian who never ventured too far over the line. His ‘country life’ observations were taken mainly from the local Parish newsletter though less than a third of the shows material related to village life and the rest was his own personal stories and anecdotes. A likeable comedian with a good audience rapport (no threat of humiliation) with an ok show but not near the top of the list. Duration 55 mins

Inside Intelligence - Teddy and Topsy - Isadora's Love Letters to Gorden Craig. Hill St Theatre 21/8/11

This was an adaptation of iconic dancer Isadora Duncan’s love letters to theatre director Gordon Craig and though Anne-Marie Paraskeva’s performance as Isadora was fresh, sparkly and believable, the show felt one dimensional. The story was told through the letters -  Craigs words appeared only briefly towards the end -  but felt less like a story being told than

Duncan

’s a character being revealed. I didn’t feel like I cared one way or another about the two characters and their relationship.  

Dance performances can be more difficult to accommodate in village venues. Although this is essentially a theatre piece that uses dance, I’d figured it could be a way of increasing the presence of dance on our menu. 

Whilst this one woman show could physically work in village halls - set was a simple back drop - for me, it was not enough.  Show duration. 1hr 15

Frisky& Mannish Review – Rosie Cross

Name of company	Phil McIntyre Entertainment
Name of show	Frisky & Mannish:  Pop Centre Plus
Genre	Cabaret, music
Venue	Udderbelly
Date	Friday  19 Aug  2011

Review An evening treat for me – and such a treat.   Amazingly talented performers.  Loved the show, even tho’ my limited knowledge of pop music meant that I didn’t get all the references.  The show is a  pop culture parody that consists of  musical and dramatic rearrangement of well-known pop songs. The very funny Bee Gees take off was the icing on a luscious cake.   They obviously have a huge cult following – this was good and bad, as I don’t really like [to me inane] superficial screaming before the artists have even started their performance.   For me, the duo was far more talented than many of their audience gave them the credit for.    If artists “mess around” with a musical genres (especially one which has such an enormous popular appeal) they have to be exceptionally good and what they’re doing.   And they are!

Suitable / ready for rural touring?	No – too many technical requirements and much too large a show.   Tho’ I have since looked them up on You Tube and have seen footage of them performing in a small theatre, with a baby grant and no screen projection or big lighting effects -  which the Udderbelly venue provided
Would you book them ?	no
Would it be worth pursuing this company to consider work in the future?	no

Any other comments Extraneous noises from the evening crowd outside the Udderbelly was distracting.

Private Peaceful Review - Rosie Cross

Name of company	Scamp Theatre
Name of show	Private Peaceful
Genre	Theatre
Venue	Udderbelly
Date	Saturday  20 Aug  2011

Review Well written, well performed and well received.  Powerful one-man show from the novel, written by  Michael Mulpurgo.  Just a simple bed as the set; and only a top coat with back pack as additional costume – ideal for small scale touring.   With the 1st World Ward on the school curriculum and many anniversaries imminent in the coming years, it would be nice if Scamp would consider Rural Touring.   Will ask them again, but I feel that they consider themselves in a different league from Rural Touring [ho hum].   When I asked them about touring a show 2 years ago, they weren’t interested.

Suitable / ready for rural touring?	yes
Would you book them?	yes
Would it be worth pursuing this company to consider work in the future?	Probably  not, ‘cos it seems they’re sticking to arts centres and small theatres

Any other comments I  know of another company (Coope, Boyes & Simpson – a music trio) who have their own  version of ‘Private Peaceful’,   They  tour it with Michael Mulpurgo.   Will find out more.    Incidentally the Scamp production used Coope ,  Boyes & Simpson’s CD  for pre-show music.   Will find out whether the Udderbelly was declaring it for PRS …

Rom Com Con Review - Rosie Cross

Name of company	Mace & Burton
Name of show	Rom Com Con
Genre	Stand-up comedy, with Projection
Venue	Medina
Date	Saturday  20 Aug  2011

Review Went on a whim, having been leafleted, whilst in the Udderbelly queue, getting my ticket for Private Peaceful.  That discourse (it was one of the performers ) persuaded me to go along  - that and the fact that it was a free show .   It  was a gentle feel good show about two 20-30 year old girls who don’t want to remain single and go through techniques used in Romantic comedy movies to see if they work to get a man!   Just the 2 of them and  projected images and interviews on a screen behind them.  One of the performers operated the lap  top.  The demographic in the small but packed venue was probably around 80% being under 35 and the rest over 35.    But I’m well over 35 and I really  enjoyed it.

Suitable / ready for rural touring?	yes
Would you book them?	yes
Would it be worth pursuing this company to consider work in the future?	I fear not, ‘cos it seems they’re on the look out for comedy clubs and TV……

Any other comments I mentioned the National Rural Touring Forum‘s Rural Touring seminar on Tuesday.   I wonder if either of them will go?     I sort of feel they won’t

Tales from the Shed Review - Rosie Cross

Name of company	Chickenshed
Name of show	Tales from the Shed
Genre	Children’s puppets and songs
Venue	Zoo Roxy (the Warren)
Date	Saturday  20 Aug  2011

Review So so.   A company of 7 (plus techie?) .  One of the 7 stayed on the keyboard all the time.  Two of the remaining 6 very much carried the other 4 in terms of being front people and also regarding interaction with the children in the audience.  The other 4 were rather like ‘also rans’, although I guess they operated the puppets from the behind the screen/the shed.  The puppets were rather tired looking – poor copies of brightly coloured  Sesame Street type characters ; and the puppetry was nothing special – often quite poor.  It would possibly  be OK for  pre-school activity, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable asking village hall audiences to pay to come and see it.

Suitable / ready for rural touring?	Not really
Would you book them ?	no
Would it be worth pursuing this company to consider work in the future?	no

Any other comments

Bane 1, 2 & 3 Review - Rosie Cross

Name of company	Whitebone Productions
Name of show	Bane 1, 2 & 3 ( I saw Bane 1)
Genre	Comedy, storytelling
Venue	Pleasance Dome  (Ace Dome)
Date	Friday  19 Aug  2011

Review I feel very privileged to have seen and enjoyed this show.   One guy sits on the side, playing moody acoustic guitar.  The other – Joe Bone – with only his body and his voice (note – no microphone) brings the story of gun slinging super sleuth Bruce Bane alive.   He depicted all the larger than life characters superbly, painted wonderful word paintings of all the action in all its gory detail and !  A great understated relationship with the audience was established.   Joe draws you in to the story.   Quite luminous.   Great writing and equally fabulous storytelling.

Suitable / ready for rural touring?	yes
Would you book them ?	yes
Would it be worth pursuing this company to consider work in the future?	If they are up for it.

Any other comments