Some days present work so memorable that they make all the running around and sifting through endless programmes and adverts worth it. And sometimes, hype and expectation can work against a production, making mediocrity seem worse than it is.
White Rabbit Red Rabbit (****) is a simple production. Each performance finds a new actor to read from a script that they hadn’t seen before. This script was written by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour, a man who is forbidden to leave his country because he refused to serve in the military.
What the play becomes then is a production of many voices. For one, it is the only way Soleimanpour can speak with us, and a chair is left empty in the front row in his honour. It is also a work that juxtaposes numerous themes such as theatre vs. real life, performance vs. truth and free will vs. control.
And yet, for a play that deals with such heavy themes, it is surprisingly funny and warm. Its success may partially depend on who is chosen to perform the play on the day, but the play itself is a beautiful statement on identity, freedom and the power of performance and words. Do not miss it.
If it’s possible, try to also catch I Hope My Heart Goes First (****). I’d heard of Junction 25 before but, until now, hadn’t seen their work. I will go out of my way to see their future productions because their performance ranks as one of the best I’ve seen this year. They may be a youth group, but there is absolutely nothing ‘amateur’ about their performance, dedication and commitment. In fact, they have put many so-called professional shows on the Fringe to shame.
The play itself looks at love in all its forms. Maybe there are no new insights given, but every moment comes across as honest and heartfelt. It’s a shame the run is limited because it should be seen by as many people as possible.
Sometimes the perfect ingredients do not guarantee a palpable meal. Case in point: Ten Plagues (***), which includes such great talents as writer Mark Ravenhill, director Stewart Laing and singer Marc Almond. What an excellent team.
What a mediocre production. There’s nothing wrong with the play, it just doesn’t fully come together or match its potential. There are fleeting moments of greatness, and the design concept is stellar, but for the most part it stalls out.
However, I must confess that I was absolutely thrilled by its final five minutes. All of a sudden, it all comes together into a crescendo of emotional impact. It’s a brilliant finale that combines excellent writing, performance and direction, it’s just a shame it takes fifty minutes to get there.
David Leddy’s Untitled Love Story (***) just might be the biggest disappointment so far this Fringe. That isn’t to say that it’s bad—far from it. Leddy’s work is usually a happy mixture of innovative staging and beautiful writing. Here, the staging is functional and the script good.
The big concept of the play is that it asks people to meditate throughout the piece. Meditation might be key to its four characters, all of whom are in Venice in different years, but it does little to enhance the audience’s experience. It isn’t a failed experiment, but it isn’t a successful one either, although I did leave the performance much more relaxed than I’d gone into it.
One certainly won’t come out of King Lear (****) relaxed. The production, by Wu Hsing-kuo and presented as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, is actually a deconstructed version. Hsing-kuo gives a rousing interpretation of Lear’s inner struggle. It is a thrilling performance that he tops in the second half by playing all of the other major characters.
People unfamiliar with Lear may not carry much away from it. As it is a psychological look at some of theatre’s greatest characters and not a linear telling, it might confuse. But for those who know the play, Hsing-kuo’s production is a wholly original experience, and his performance is simply one of the greatest I’ve ever encountered in the theatre. It ended with a five-minute standing ovation, an accolade he entirely earned.
White Rabbit Red Rabbit performs at 1215 and David Leddy’s Untitled Love Story at 1800 at St George’s West until Aug 29. I Hope My Heart Goes First has ended its run but has an encore performance Aug 24 at 2030 at St George’s West. Ten Plagues plays at the Traverse until Aug 28. King Lear has completed its run.
RSS