Hitler Alone @ the Edinburgh Fringe

The ThreeWeeks review of Paul Webster's Hitler Alone, a show in an incredibly small room (fourteen in the audience) which would have been amazing if it had coincided with the guns/fireworks firing up at the castle:

Adolf Hitler was a foot away from me, banging on the floor and shouting about the people who'd betrayed him. He was angry about inept Generals, but I couldn't help being pleased with their failure. I didn't show that I was pleased; Hitler was screaming and spitting in front of me. The man's a megalomaniac, you don't argue with him - even when he says every generation should experience war. I disagree, but so powerful is Paul Webster's performance that counter-arguments fall away. With a liberal smattering of historical fact, Webster keeps a tiny venue in hushed awe as Germany's charismatic Führer - he shows the man within the monster. You'll not quickly forget this man ranting in a small room.

tw rating: 4/5

Jumping Mouse @ the Edinburgh Fringe

The ThreeWeeks review of Unpacked's Jumping Mouse, a children's show at the Pleasance Courtyard:

These performers are really very good at making objects into animals. They've got an inventive style that lends itself well to sparking the imagination of children; watch out for the walking sticks that are birds as well as a bison's horns. The warm-hearted trio lead us onto their bus and tell the tale of Mouse 267B, who goes off in search of whatever is causing the roaring noise in her ears. On the way she meets some blues frogs - who very nearly steal the show - and a competitive wolf, not forgetting that bison (whose song is a wonderfully witty ode to old age). This is a strong production, and should definitely be going places.

tw rating: 3/5

The Event @ the Edinburgh Fringe

The ThreeWeeks review of Tom Clancy's The Event, which amusingly starts in almost exactly the same way as Lyn Gardner's review for The Guardian:

A man stands in a pool of light. He says some rehearsed words, and is - apparently - very candid about it all. The whole hour is meta-theatrical to the point of absurdity - but in a good way. The man - claiming to be Dave, but I'm not sure I believe him - gives a confident performance. He has an appreciative audience of theatre folk in the palm of his hand so it's a shame that the stuff about the state of society plods so much. When on theatre-related subjects - ie when talking about the show itself - he never says anything surprising or new. 'The Event' refers to itself all the time; it's very self-consciously an event about an event.

tw rating: 3/5

Generation F @ the Edinburgh Fringe

The ThreeWeeks review of Actas Company's Generation F, in one of The Spaces venues:

There's a lot of concern about global warming these days, and the other day I saw a TV programme arguing that sixteen year-olds should have a vote. The nightmare situation of teen voters amid global flooding is the subject of 'Generation F', which imagines a post-Flood world where the aged will be sent to conservation camps. This is a script that really wants to sound informed, edgy and worthy, tackling so big an issue. It comes nowhere near; technically dubious, with a sedate pace and a disastrous mix of mime and props (how hard is it to buy some Tesco cakes in the morning?), F stands for 'fail' rather than 'flood'.

tw rating: 2/5

Miller @ the Edinburgh Fringe

The ThreeWeeks review of Miller, which is a play about football and stuff, at the Fringe:

Your dad's death isn't something you really want to think about, but it's where 'Miller' packs its biggest emotional punch. No one person plays Miller himself, but three of the talented cast of four throw themselves into playing him beautifully; their strength lies in their versatility. He's not an especially likeable man, but it's his sensitively-played son that makes us feel for him. This is a production that understands the basics, and keeps it simple; these guys know what they need and that they don't need anything extraneous. Solid, sensitive, versatile and touching. Seeing it with your dad would be uplifting but ultimately force you to confront the inevitable. Well worth a look.

tw rating: 4/5

Kursk @ the Edinburgh Fringe

Something meaningful packed into a small space. That's how Ian Ashpitel's Donnie Black describes a a haiku poem in Sound&Fury's piece of (almost literally) immersive theatre produced with the Young Vic. It works as a description of the British submarine which Kursk is set...except that the playing space – designed to be the inside of a Trafalgar class submarine – actually sprawls rather more than an actual submarine.

That submarine isn't the Kursk, crucially. It's British, the British submarine that was tracking the Russian nuclear submarine that suffered an explosion resulting in the loss of all hands. What with everything being so covert (a hangover from the Cold War, and a dramatic theme for the plot), the British must keep quiet and can't send a distress signal.

It's a misleading title, because although this is ostensibly about the Kursk, all the action happens on the Trafalgar submarine. The Russians are viewed – well, heard – from afar through the sonar, their story reported rather than shown. Instead, the focus of the pathos is on one of the British crew, and the Russian tragedy is forgotten. It's a criticism that's been levelled at Kursk before, but there's a definite lack of actual Kursk. Even the list of the dead read out in tribute at the end is drowned out by the helicopter that arrives to take said British crewman home.

Homing in on the British crew gives a chance to show the British Navy at its blokish, Boy Scout best. To an extent, the beginnings of the mission feel like one big adventure, with shared sleeping areas and arguments over mix tapes. Oh, and they have hot chocolate and biscuits at bed-time. They may as well be on Scout camp. Of course, the sub is devoid of women, except for the messages sent to the boys every four weeks, so it's a very male environment. But some people like that; it's not a problem for some people, including the boys onstage here who clearly revel in the testosterone like many real sailors. I mean it in a good way when I say that this setting reminded me why I dropped my application to join the Navy.

Sound&Fury create a convincing submarine but the story feels misplaced, focusing as it does on the lesser tragedy (in terms of scale, though not poignancy) and not the one that inspired it. More meaning could be packed into this particular small space.

Fringe Review 2009

Ward No. 6, 3 stars on Fringe Review:

http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/3064.html

Hamlet, 3 stars on Fringe Review:

http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/2986.html

Stacey Meyer: The Funeralogues, 3 stars on Fringe Review:

http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/3074.html

Escape, 4 stars on Fringe Review:

http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/2985.html

King of the Gypsies, 4 stars on Fringe Review:

http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/3027.html

The Lamplighter's Lament, 4 stars on Fringe Review:

http://www.fringereview.co.uk/fringeReview/3028.html

Kataklo's Love Machines @ the Edinburgh Fringe

The ThreeWeeks review of Kataklo's Love Machine, which was a dance/physical theatre piece:

They look as though they could be miners up in the air, but they're hanging off a saddle suspended from the roof, so maybe not. The soundtrack beats and thumps along, as B-movie-style action fills the stage: we've got dancers who look like cyborg soldiers from the future, who seem to be making attempts at first contact with the alien life they find once they reach the stage from that floating saddle, before setting off an interplanetary battle of the sexes. On this planet, the locals live inside huge wooden triangles that roll around, being walls and houses and intimidating scenery. But Kataklo let you put your own story to their eclectic, passionate movement.

tw rating: 3/5

Go To Gaza, Drink The Sea @ the Edinburgh Fringe

The ThreeWeeks review of Guy Masterson's Go to Gaza, Drink the Sea, which is at the Edinburgh Fringe and has anti-Israeli protests outside the theatre:

Go to Hell and drink salt water. Not you, obviously; that's just Yasser Arafat's common message to those denying his people their own state. It's also the real meaning of the title of this play presenting the story of the Palestinians' plight: Israeli air strikes and bulldozings, houses reduced to rubble above families. But telling stories is all it does until we see a son who wants to play outside. It's halfway in, and the first time there's a real feeling of drama. Many of the characters blur together and, while a very worthy subject, the script feels one-sided, unbalanced, the Israeli voice conspicuous by its absence. And why do we need Hamas to dance at the end?

tw rating: 3/5

Absolutely Legless @ the Edinburgh Fringe (it's a show, honest)

The ThreeWeeks review of Absolutely Legless (this blog title isn't a description of the local nightlife), a night of Irish dancing and music:

During this show, the man behind me kept rocking my chair with his tapping foot, so I could tell he was enjoying himself. It wasn't so easy to tell with the dancers - why must they look so miserable? With the upbeat, vibrant and energetic tunes being played with such verve by the musicians of Absolutely Legless, you'd think the dancers could smile more, but they seemed content to let the joy come from their feet, not from their faces. Don't get me wrong; their footwork is electric. I just wanted their faces to be lit up too. If variations of Riverdance interspersed with songs are your thing, then go see this. Foot-tappingly good.

tw rating: 3/5