Assembly Checkpoint Archives - North West End UK

An Evening Without Kate Bush – Assembly Checkpoint

23Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

An Evening Without Kate Bush – Assembly Checkpoint

Set within an L-Shaped church hall, with a cloistered balcony high above, this is a quirky performance space for an equally eccentric performer. My second Bush forage of the Fringe, looking for the authentic, here I find Sarah-Louise Young, someone who is getting closer. Youngs voice is good, the mimicry is close. But it is not the voice that takes you places no other voice ever did, climbing really high then sweeping down really low. The show starts well. Young enters unseen in a blackout, dressed in black with big black hair and draped in a black muslin shroud like a funeral attendee. When she turns on a mini red torch on her shoulder, it creates a nice ghostly lighting effect, which is also emphasised with some clever back lighting. She mimes trying to escape from below the bl...

Kokoon – Assembly Checkpoint

Even if you have not listened to K-Pop before, you have no idea who Black Pink or BTS are, or the only K-Pop you know is Gangnam Style, I would still urge you to go and see Kokoon. This show was an absolute riot from start to finish. Before the show even starts, you’re sitting listening to this fast-paced thumping track on loop while a video introducing the five K-Pop stars plays. By this point you know what you're in for. The Group has 5 members, each one a very energetic and extremely entertaining performer to watch. They are Jaemin, Joowon, Sae-Am, Shuya, and Wonki, every one of them a great personality and having a distinct place within the group. Wonki for example is an absolutely incredible beatboxer. Despite being one of a group of five he can still hold the entire stage by ...

Jeremy Sassoon’s Mojo: Musicians of Jewish Origin – Assembly Checkpoint, Edinburgh

Following a one week run in the 2021 Fringe, Jeremy Sassoon's Mojo returns this year for a full run. The show tells the story of a 100 years of Jewish songwriting in 75 minutes, from Irving Berlin to Amy Winehouse and beyond, through covers (and anecdotes) of the most iconic of these songs, with vocals and piano by Sassoon; double bass, electric bass, and vocals Nicola Farnon; and drums by Phil Johnson. To a gentile such as myself, it's an eye-opening experience. Even for the artists whose religion one already knows, this isn't necessarily the lens one is used to view them through, and when grouped together their collective impact is impressive, as Sassoon's medley of classic Christmas songs alone plainly demonstrates. The show also fits into a larger narrative, charting the evoluti...