Sue Robinson Spot On

Most of the formal work for Spot On this year was done by Rob and Lyndsey. Due to other work commitments, I only managed a short weekend at the Festival but I saw:

Angus, by Horse and Bamboo

Highlights have already reviewed this. Horse and Bamboo theatre are local to Spot On.  Its a lovely piece of work, which would work well in rural venues, if we can sell it to an audience south of the border and finds ways of universalising the story


The Boat Factory by Happenstance Theatre

Based in Northern Ireland, this company have a strong track record of touring to communities. The show, written and performed by Dan Gordon, is the story of his father's work life at the Belfast shipyard known for building the Titanic. Its perfect for rural touring. Easy set, great humour, a story of working men's lives which can be appreciated by many, and only 2 actors.  If we can find a way to make a tour across the Irish sea affordable, I would book this immediately

End to End by the Gramophones

This young company have been mentored by New Perspectives.  Its a tale of three young women who try to get from end to end  of the UK using as many difference forms of transport as possible. It details some of their adventures. But its more than that, and by the end reveals a beautifully thought out structure to the project which includes every audience member being given seeds and a challenge to fulfill on a postcard. Needs some shaping and a little development, but I would book it.

Lyndsey Wilson Spot on

My highlights:

• Dugout Theatre's Inheritance Blues - fabulous show combining a live band, theatre and comedy about three sons at their fathers wake. Think it's finished at Fringe now but check them out for future performances. ****
• 
  
• Mess - Never thought I'd laugh at anorexia but it was a really sensitively handled and beautifully crafted show.****
• 
  
• Mayday Mayday - not a dry eye in the house I literally turned around and everyone was crying. Great one man show about the day he broke his neck and the subsequent recovery. I'd love this in our menu.*****
• 
  
• Translunar Paradise - I finally saw it! Wow. Another audience in tears. Surely we can convince them to tour it? *****
• 
  
• The Boy With Tape On His Face - Just see it. I doubt it would ever work in a small space because the show needs audience participation within a big group. But if you want to laugh for an hour you should go. Plus you get a free balloon!****
• 
  
• Barbershopera - The Three Musketeers, great new show. Four part accapella vocal group, with a silly storyline and lots of energy. Shame it was on so late as it would benefit family audiences.****
• 
  
• End to End at Bannermans, a free fringe show that's well worth a view. Really great story about three girls who take a trip from Lands End to John O'Groats trying to travel on as many forms of transport as possible. The show is made up of conversations and experiences they had along the way. Great staging, lovely company. I'd like to get in touch to find out if they'll be touring. ****
• 
  
• Beta Males - The Space Race - saw them last year and this new show is even better. Four men improvising in a high energy show about how Britain made it to the moon first. The show has some fantastic video footage, projected on stage. If we can convince them to swear a little less I think we'd have a great show for our audiences. ****
• 
  
• Molly Naylor and the Middle Ones - My Robot Heart - Fantastic show. Brilliant story which resonated for me as someone about Molly's age (made me realise I'm further along in my wardrobe buying stages than I thought). Not always sure about the soundtrack but a good watch nonetheless. ***

collective reviews from Burnley Youth Theatre

The Drowsy Chaperone

Performed by the Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group

Review by Joe Heys (Aged 17)

The Drowsy Chaperone is a fictitious 1920s musical in the hands of a middle-aged agoraphobic theatre fan that plays it to ‘cure his blues’. As the audience enter, he gives an in-depth description of his love of theatre and apparent hatred of any ‘rustling crisp packets’ or mobile phones that take him ‘out of that magical world’. This theatre fan, described only as ‘The Man in Chair’, was cast brilliantly with his mannerisms mimicking the archetypal theatre obsessive perfectly. His presence for me was an absolute joy and his subtle sing-a-long actions as he observed the action from his arm chair were just like my own, as I watched the brilliant action and choreography unfold before my eyes.

The plot centres on the wedding day of oil tycoon Robert Martin and Broadway star Janet Van De Graaff, who plans to give up her career for married life. Naturally the ‘forces that be’ in the industry want her to remain in Broadway, and so a battle ensues between guests of the wedding that have much more sinister intentions, such as Feldzieg the director who is naturally missing the star of his show.

The characters were, in essence, what made the piece for me. All musical theatrical stereotypes were there, the over-zealous foreigner (Aldolpho, introduced through a comical musical routine) the titular drunken Chaperone (giving the fact the 1920s were in Prohibition, it made it more comical she waltzed around with a glass of vodka at all times oblivious to the legality of it) and the married couple, the theatrical Janet and the clean-living Robert, who made the show with their hilarious quips and fall-outs.
A single moment summed up the brilliance of the piece for me - when the record player jammed and the cast all repeated jerking motions to signal this whilst repeating the line of the song they had sung. It was a clever mechanism and showed off the true hilarity of the Man in Chair as he frantically rushed to stop the interruption.

The singing was brilliant and the inclusion of a small orchestra behind the curtain to provide the music instead of a speaker was welcomed. However it is notable that after speaking to several friends who sat on the left-front section of the seating next to the orchestra, sections of dialogue were overshadowed and blocked out by the loud musicality. I am sure this is something the EUSOG will hope to address for future performances, but it did not ruin what was a fantastic and memorable musical experience.

Breathing Corpses by Laura Wade Performed by Exeter University Theatre Company

Review by Kailey McGowan (Ages 19)

As you walked into the space a dark mood had already been created by the actors, everything was quiet and the body of a man lay on stage. Everyone sat down eagerly awaiting the drama that was to unfold. The play tells the story of three separate lives that later become linked in an unimaginable way.

The story was fantastic, it was not a linear structure but instead worked backwards, it had you "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing when the story began to slot into place.

The scene changes were quick and the use of set was clever, the bed at the start became a work bench and later a kitchen table top. The props would need to be placed into a large minibus or a van if it was to be toured.

The acting was incredible, you felt as though you were peering into their lives, it made you forget that you were sat in a church at the fringe festival and for the whole hour you were transported to the lives of three strangers, who at the end you felt you knew quite well.

I would recommend this show to anyone wanting to see a fantastic naturalistic play. I would happily watch it again and it would be fantastic if they toured the production around the country.

The Last Fairytale

Review by Adam Zaman (Aged 17)

Out of all the plays I saw at the Fringe, the one that stood out to me was The Last Fairytale which was performed by Atlas Theatre. The main reason this play stood out to me was the fact that is was almost flawless in performance as was performed in a very small room for about 30 audience members.

There were only 3 cast members and a voiceover. The two main characters were covered head to toe in blue body paint with patterns. They were a boy and a girl and were acting as puppets. I could see this by their physicality which was very slick apart from some moments in which the female puppet named ‘Leela’ tended to forget her character and take naturalistic human positions. The same cannot be said for the male character named ‘Thatcher’ whose physicality remained throughout.

The character that stole the show however was the unnamed cockney Ringmaster who was dressed in a circus style suit complete with white face make-up and white gloves. The reason for this character was to come out of after each scene to give his philosophical thoughts on the puppets situation and events that had taken place yet he did this by playing the stereotypical Ringmaster / Clown. He shouted at the top of his voice, making eye contact with audience members and even blowing in an audience members face. He broke the fourth wall by always addressing the audience yet he did it with such confidence and dedication that I was actually intimidated back in the 4th row!

The set was made to look like a puppet show with curtains closing at the end of each scene. The lights and tech were simple except for the voiceover of the storyteller.

Story wise the puppets were telling stories through movement but yearned to be free from their strings which ended up resulting in a tragedy.

Overall it was a very good play, the likes of which I have never seen before and for me the main reason to watch was the character of the Ringmaster.

The Madness of King Lear

Performed by CW Productions

Review by Rachael Perkin (Aged 19)

It was on a sunny Tuesday that I set out with two of my friends to see CW Productions’ show of “The Madness of King Lear” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We booked the show because we had seen various reviews praising the show. The Guardian and Barefoot Review were among those saying the show was: “A must see”, “deeply moving” and “a master of their craft”. These were only some of the many accolades awarded to this production. The two performers were unknown to us but seemingly seasoned and successful. Leof Kingsford-Smith (‘Clownies’) and Ira Seidenstein (‘Cirque du Soleil’) had toured with this show to Edinburgh, Tokyo and Adelaide. Needless to say we had no doubts that this show would be an engaging and captivating adaptation of one of the Bard’s greatest tragedies. How wrong we were.

The flyer for the show said the production was about Lear and Fool reliving “events of their lives…Shakespeare’s words given a fresh and dynamic treatment.” It began with Smith wearing a smoking robe and Seidenstein a Chinese-style tunic. After a very long speech which included crude gesticulating and lots of prancing around from Smith, the first scene ended with a song that I can only guess was titled “Silence is Sexy” (as these were the only lyrics). Smith left the stage and Seidenstein did a sort of karate-style movement piece which was average at best and didn’t seem to have any relevance to the previous scene. The music played throughout did not add to the atmosphere of the piece or even the story.

As the play continued, Smith lost more and more clothing until at the end he entered in a vest and some small boxer shorts. At one point he proceeded to put his hand inside his shorts where it moved around rapidly for about a minute. Imagine our surprise as we had read that this show was suitable for ages “eight to eighty”. All in all the show consisted of many monologues from Smith. None were particularly engaging and while Smith is not a bad actor he failed to captivate and enthral the audience with this “fresh and dynamic” take on Shakespeare’s works. The best thing about the show was Seidenstein. His physical theatre was sub-standard considering his circus background but his Clowning was at times, quite good.

Whilst the flyer we received has been very misleading, covered in flattering reviews and recommendations it was correct about one thing. It promised that “whether you love or hate Shakespeare, this production will profoundly affect you”.

This, I must admit, is true.

I strongly advise against going to see this production or booking it for your venue. If you appreciate Shakespeare and value entertaining and thought-provoking theatre, then this show is not the show for you.

However, if you wish to be “profoundly affected” then please, see for yourself.

www.madnessofkinglear.com

Facehunters

Performed by The Hungry Bitches

Review by Tom Lund (aged 16)

Wow! The Hungry Bitches left me hungry for more. The beautiful lyrics, the skilful music, the brilliant costume matched impeccable acting in possibly the best thing I’ve ever seen at the Fringe! If the guy that wrote this doesn’t make it, none of us will! I was singing the songs for days! My personal favourites – ‘Take my Picture’ and ‘Juliet’ had me on the edge of my seat, the audience were in their hands. The closely knit cast and incredible ensemble worked together make me laugh, then cry, then laugh again. My only criticism would be the confusing ending, however that was only because I am not familiar with the story of ‘Dorian Grey’. The focus, the energy, the precision, the synth – every single cast member and musician were brilliant. Well done!

Fabled

Performed by Lois Tucker

Review by Joe Davis (aged 16)

After my experience in performing Three Words with Byteback Theatre, I learned how hard and physically demanding s physical, professional piece of theatre may potentially be and after watching the show Fabled, I was amazed.

With a practised cast of one (one actor on stage – various voice actors are used) and a running SFX track to pick cues from, the piece was, from my point of view, a very hard one to perform. To add things to the difficulty scale, the one actor involved never speaks a word. On stage she lip synched her voice on the running track. It was a nearly flawless experience certainly recommendable and for just an hour of your time it would be stupid not to watch.

Review by Bethan Roberts Burnley Youth Theatre

 ‘A Strange Wild Song’

Performed by Rhum and Clay Theatre

Review by Bethan Roberts

Rhum and Clay Theatre Company bring alive this story of children playing at being soldiers amidst the real devastation of World War Two using a small ensemble and some excellent physical theatre. They master the difficult task of convincingly playing children, and the audience believes in them completely.

The piece was always engaging, but my main criticism is that it felt somewhat lacking in terms of the plot. The main story, of three brothers in a ruined French village who meet an American soldier, is interesting but some ideas felt overstretched. The story did not need adding to as its simplicity is part of its appeal, but I think it may have benefitted from being shorter. The modern day subplot initially seemed interesting, but didn’t really seem to go anywhere or serve any real need in the piece other than clunky exposition, but this is an aspect which could be improved by further development of this aspect of the piece.

These criticisms, are not, however, as serious as they may seem. I never lost my interest in the piece and some of the sections where the boys play at being soldiers are charming and innovative. Ultimately, this is a story that is thought-provokingly and skilfully told and, despite some minor plot weaknesses, still delivers a heartbreakingly sad conclusion.

Three Stars

Katy Flowers Spot On

From Katy Flowers

New to Edinburgh Fringe

I relished the opportunity to go to Edinburgh, I had the ambitious idea that I would have time to actually blog about shows from Edinburgh.. This was not the case Edinburgh is so vibrant and busy during the festival that from leaving the hotel at 10 am to returning in the small hours I had no time to stop and write. It is truly amazing how much is on free and otherwise, even the street performers were at times mesmerising. All in all we saw 12 shows over two and a half days which I think isn't too bad going! From the list suggested by China Plate we saw; Nola, Bullet Catch, Thin Ice and Once in a House on Fire. We also saw two ticketed shows we brought on a whim that were excellent comedy shows, and a fair few free shows or discounted shows mainly comedy that were excellent. Thankfully nothing we saw really disappointed and the experience overall was throughly enjoyable.

Suitability for Spot On.

Nola.

'Nola' is  a documentary play by Look Left Look Right investigating the true cost of the BP oil spill and its impact on our daily lives. The dialogue is taken from interviews with those directly affected by the spill, from families of victims to local fishermen and Peak Oil scientists. It is a compelling and interesting play that explores the disaster of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and its consequences today. The cast of four work hard to portray the varying persons effected by the spill and to great effect, this variation in persons and in the dialogue itself works well as it does not draw to any hard and fast conclusions, the audience are left to make their own judgements rather than being told what to think. In terms of 'Spot On' this play could work well in any space and production costs would not be overly high. There was use of a projector but other than that no real extravagant technology that would be too hard to come by. Indeed the piece works through the moving transcripts that make the script rather than anything else so would work well in a rural setting.

Once in a house on fire.

This play for me echoed back to plays such as 'A taste of honey' and other 'kitchen sink' dramas for me it took the essence of such plays drew them all together and came out with this play, as such I found it not entirely innovative or original but enjoyable and easy to watch none the less. It followed a childhood of poverty and abuse, showing how two sisters coped through drama, dance, song and imagination it was uplifting yet somehow melancholy with an ambiguous ending. The soundtrack of 'The Smiths' was brilliant and added to the smooth set changes and leaps through time, helping hold the piece together. It had amazing credentials and has obviously impressed critics indeed show casing young acting and writing talent it was easy to watch and engaging. It would work well in a small space and thus would be a good choice for a village hall, especially in the North of England as it was credited to be a 'distinctly Mancunian play'. However personally I did not find it different or innovative enough to truly enjoy it for me it seemed like  a remake of so many other 'kitchen sink' dramas that weren't really in need of a remake or remodel.

Thin Ice.

This was throughly enjoyable although the air-conditioning was on full blast and therefore freezing we debated afterwards as to weather the air con was for atmospheric effect, the play being set in Greenland! The play chops and changes through time, starting with a frozen professor in a hut in Greenland as the two other protagonists arrive to rescue him and the body thaws secrets surface, shown through the plays chopping and changing through time and memories. It is a very powerful play about courage in the face of adversity, it questions beliefs, science and love. At times it is darkly comic at others sad, it is a roller-coaster and truly gripping throughout. The use of two projectors and a traverse stage maybe hard to put into place in village halls, however is this were possible this is an excellent play to be enjoyed by all ages.

Bullet Catch.

This was by far the best piece of theatre I saw and would recommend it again and again. It was spectacular, not quite a magic show not quite theatre, it sits between truth and fiction, playing with the connection between magic and the human mind. It is multilayered and gripping based on the infamous bullet catch trick which the play culminates in. Inspired by the real-life case of William Henderson, apparently killed while undertaking the trick in 1912 in front of 2,000 people. Was it an accident or did something more sinister take place when a labourer with no history of violence was grabbed from the audience and invited to pull the trigger? The piece called on audience participation with one audience member acting as a secondary character and presence throughout the play. It was extremely clever, moving and innovative, the audience participation again thinning the line between truth and fiction magic and reality.Drummond created a convincing atmosphere and the audience is palpably uneasy when the ultimate trick, which is bewildering and impressive, is finally executed. It is also remarkable because it is painfully honest about the choices we make and the way we stare despair in the face while pretending we are OK. This play is a must see, however much it sets your heart beating, I would indeed recommend it for villages halls as the magic is all in Drummond performance rather than any specific specific special effects. If Spot On could get this as a touring act it would be truly amazing.

Stu and Garry's Lunchtime Show.

As improvised comedy goes this was very good, it had the whole audience laughing, and the audience was a pretty mixed bag from about 14 to 80! They were universally entertaining with a lot of audience participation. They would fit into a village hall setting with no problems and would appeal to most audiences .‘Anarchic, quick-witted improv at its fast-paced best’ (ThreeWeeks) perhaps describes it best.

Steve Shanyaski’s Life-Survival Bible.

This was a great surprise of the festival for me we got tickets to a late night show on the final day of the festival at a cheaper price, we were a bit worried and thought it could go either way, as it happened it was truly hilarious the funniest thing we saw second only to 'The boy with tape on his face-more tape'. It was great relatable northern humour, a show based on surviving modern life chapter by chapter with physical humour and great comedy songs thrown into the mix.

The Boy with Tape on his Face- More Tape.

Without a doubt this was the funniest most original act I saw, it was hilarious from start to finish! It is magical, bringing out the child within you it is simple, clever, charming, inoffensive humour.   A really accessible and enjoyable comedy show suitable for all the family. I would say this is my must see from the festival. Definitely suitable for rural touring if you could find the funds!!

Blog:http://edinburghvillagehallfirsttimer.blogspot.co.uk/

Mike Moran Productions, Italia n Caledonia, Valvona & Crolla, 21st August

Another unusual venue for my choice of shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.  The setting of the show, which is a storytelling, not a play, is the Valvona and Crolla delicatessen - an Edinburgh Institution. One of the co-writers is a direct descendent of the original founder, and this is a personal story of family successes and tragedies.

Italia n'Caledonia is story about the immigration of Italians - craftsmen, musicians, small businessmen - with dreams of a new life in Scotland just before the turn of the twentieth century.  Many started successful small businesses which reflected their Italian culture - ice-cream parlours, cafes, delicatessens and the like.  These migrant families thrived in many Scottish towns and villages.

But, in the 1940s the clouds of war brought tragedy.  Many Italians were labelled 'enemy aliens' and were interned or deported.  Tragedy struck when large numbers of those deported, including Alfonso Crolla, lost their lives on the Arandora Star which was torpedoed on the way back to Canada by a German U Boat.  It is said that almost every Italian family in Scotland lost a father or a brother.

A well told story - moving and funny, warm and sentimental, atmospheric.  The backdrop of the old 1930s holiday films and the accompanying songs and accordion music set the scene perfectly.  At just over an hour long it is suitable for family viewing and well suited to Village Hall production. 

Elaine Williams
Inverie Village Hall
Knoydart Arts Promotions

The Arches/Rob Drummond, Bullet Catch, Traverse 21st August

Brilliant show.  Bullet Catch begins with a story which sets the scene for the drama.  In 1912, the magician William Henderson was killed in front of an audience of two thousand people in London, by an innocent volunteer member of the audience, who fired a gun which the illusionist failed to catch between his teeth.

Drummond chooses his volunteer carefully.  

Rob Drummond’s impressive one-man performance combines magic, illusion, psychology and story-telling, with audience participation and improvisation. As the show goes on the audience is kept in suspense, in anticipation of the nail biting conclusion, whilst Drummond cleverly explores the human nature of trust, free-will, and fate.   It was a Fringe sell out, and hugely entertaining, and definitely suitable for intimate venues.

Elaine Williams
Knoydart Village Hall
Knoydart Arts Promotions