Patriots - Review (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015)

Patriots is a refreshing piece of up-to –the minute writing which takes well-known stories from recent headlines and  gives them a sense of humanity in a series of short ‘techno-fables’.

The play opens with a carefully edited montage of different clips from news programmes over the last year or so, broadcast on four retro television sets positioned on stage. The TVs give a wonderfully retro edge to the modern writing and give a sense of the timelessness of the stories unfolding onstage.

It is clear that the play is broken down into distinct sections, but at times this made the overall effect feel a little disjointed. There were clearly connections to be made between the different storylines, otherwise the title ‘Patriots’ would not have been applicable to all of them, and yet these connections were largely ignored. It worked very well to have a story about real human connection as a linking piece in between scenes of heartlessness and professional desperation, but more could have been done to draw parallels between each scene. 

But that is my only criticism. The individual performances were incredibly strong from all four cast members, but Oliver Lennard particularly stood out in terms of delivering levels of raw emotion in an otherwise cold theatrical context.

The stand-out scene has to be an interaction between a member of the SNP and an automated phone line. This was definitely my ‘scene of the fringe’ this year, and I struggle to think of a wittier scenario that I have seen before in any medium of political satire. The phone engages the character of Ian, played by Stephen Quinn, in a game of Deal Or No Deal, where the boxes contain pros and cons of Scottish independence and the banker offers independence deals based on the arguments raised in each round. It is a beautifully staged, wonderfully acted and completely refreshing up-to-the-moment piece of theatre which is incredibly relevant to many an audience at this year’s fringe.

So all-in-all, this is an excellent play which is brought to life in style by a fantastic cast. You should definitely go and see this play before the end of their run, they deserve to have a full house every night. 5 stars.

Patriots is on a Paradise in the Vault at 20:35. Their last performance is on 22^nd August so make sure to catch them before then. 

The Year of the Hare - Review (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015)

The Year of the Hare is an eccentric and fiendishly mad piece of theatre. It is brought to you by Ryhmateatteri theatre company and a cast of four talented and energetic actors who clearly enjoy every minute of their time spent performing this tale.

The play itself has the feel of a 21^st century fable, warning your average corporate businessperson of the dangers of losing your imagination and your connection with nature.

The play starts extremely strongly, with clever staging and use of props telling the story of a man fed up with his job and his marriage, who ends up punching a trainer at a conference and crashing his car off the road. He subsequently injures a hare which is befriends and takes with him to travel through Finland. It is an amusing concept which works within the context of the play, as daft as it sounds.

I found myself thoroughly enjoying the first half an hour or so. I was ready to give it a rave review and to tell everyone I know about its mad but fun ideas, use of the projector and multimedia elements, dozens of wig changes and the interesting and heartwarming overarching themes and messages. However, something changed after the first half of the show, after a karaoke scene which lasted for four songs. The idea was great but it lasted far too long, and I could feel the audience around me slipping into boredom and slowly distancing themselves from the action on stage. The story took a strange turn, with Vatanen running off to the wilderness and a scene involving a thieving raven. This joke was funny to begin with, but the scene was far too long and the joke became tired quite quickly.

The ending clawed it back again, going out on an excellent and clever video montage before the metaphorical curtain came down. If the script had been cut to a make a play of between 45 minutes and an hour, I would have had barely a bad word to say about this show. But sadly, the concept was strung out for far too long and despite excellent individual performances from the whole cast, the performers couldn’t make up for some fundamental scripting issues. 

The Year of the Hare is on at the Pleasance Dome at 18:45. 

Mad Women In My Attic! - Review

This is going to be a very tricky review to write, not because I didn’t enjoy the show, but because I went in not knowing what to expect, and came out feeling that wonderful sense of artistic confusion which everyone who visits the fringe should experience at some point. As essential as this feeling is, it is not an easy one to explain or describe, but I shall do my very best.

The concept is fairly simple: a cabaret billed as ‘a trawl through the troubled minds of musical theatre’s most famous female characters’. Salvi plays the part of a woman in some sort of an asylum, performing a wonderful collection of show tunes sung by the most unstable of musical theatre’s female characters. Complete with witty props, speedy on-stage costume changes and audience participation, it is an interactive and exciting show which deserves to do well at the fringe.

The interactive audience participation elements of the performance were highly entertaining for both those chosen to participate and those watching from the relative safety of one of the pews. Salvi had to work hard to warm the audience to the mad sense of chaos and to bring us to relish the unexpected, but she stuck at it and by the end of the show everyone was eating out of her palm.

I think the venue very much changes the tone of the performance. It shouldn’t make a difference, but some part of my brain was distracted by the imposing church architecture reminiscent of strict rules and regulations, and I found it difficult to let go of any inhibitions holding me back. To make the most of this show you will have to thoroughly immerse yourself in the mad world which Salvi has constructed, and pretend that you are in a cosy underground bar at 10 o’clock at night, with a bottle of wine on the table.

Once you have let your hair down, you will be thoroughly rewarded with a highly energetic and engaging performance from a truly exceptional singer. This is not a show for the shy and retiring, but if you are looking for belting tunes and an uplifting message to brighten up your afternoon, this is a show for you.

Aug 7-8,10,12,14-15,17,19,21-22,24,26,28-29,31 at 18:00

Aug 11,18,25 at 18:30; Aug 16,23 at 20:30 

St John's Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4BJ (Church at St John's)

Ticket prices £10.00 (£8.00)

http://just-festival.org/events-at-just-festival-2015/2015/4/7/mad-women-in-my-attic-i-monica-salvi-i-musical-theatre