Michael Cox reviews It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later and The Six-Sided Man and has a word about Sub Rosa.
Today was a bit of a quiet day for me, but more on that in a minute.
First up was the latest by Daniel Kitson, It’s Always Right Now, Until It’s Later (****). Kitson is a master at the performance monologue and is rivalled by few (I think the only person I’d put in front of him is the late and much missed Spalding Gray), and he knows exactly how to tell a story and use a stage.
The set up of this production is simple: he tells you about key moments in the lives of two unrelated people, with each moment represented by a lone light bulb which comes to life when its memory is discussed. The play sounds very simplistic, even kitschy, but the result is a 90-minute play that is riveting, beautiful and almost always very funny.
Kitson is a star, both as a performer and as a writer. Most monologue performers tend to be much stronger in one field, but Kitson is equally talented; his writing is literate, even poetic at times, and his performance skills are sharp. It is not only one of the best showings at the Traverse but throughout the entire fringe, and it proves once again that Kitson is a master.
Also compelling is Gavin Robertson’s The Six-Sided Man (****). Based on the cult novel The Dice Man, the play is about a psychiatrist who creates a political movement where everyone leaves life’s decisions to the role of the dice. The action follows his treatment with a patient who slowly becomes a major dice player.
The best thing about the play is that it is not an adaptation. It is instead its own beast, taking the source material as inspiration but coming up with its own characters and plot. And it all works marvellously. Told through monologues, duologues and choreographed movement, the play is both humorous and frightening, yet it never ceases to be thought-provoking.
Robertson wrote and directed the piece and plays the patient, while Nicholas Collett plays the psychiatrist, and both are mesmerising to watch. Not only do they play compelling characters but share the space in such a way that it’s almost like a choreographed dance. It is a play that will perform equally well to fans of the book and those who haven’t heard of it.
Due to the fact that I had family visiting from the States, I called it a day after that. However, as it is the festival and most of them had never been to the UK before, I couldn’t let them leave without experiencing something on the fringe. After careful thought and consideration, I chose to take them to David Leddy’s Sub Rosa.
There are clear rules in this game of critiquing, rules that many seem to flaunt and ignore (I’m not naming names) but I shall honour. One of those rules it to not review plays that you paid for, and so I shall refrain from a full review. However, I had seen the original in Glasgow last year (a production that remains one of my favourite nights at the theatre in well over a decade) and so the choice seemed obvious. Though I believe that the production at the Citz was superior, it is still a damn fine piece of theatre, and if there is only one production this festival that I personally pay for, I’m perfectly fine with it being this great experience.
That’s it for today, and tomorrow as well. I’m back with a weekend update, where I not only see a few more fringe shows but three from the Edinburgh International Festival as well.
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