Summerhall Archives - Page 3 of 3

Mull Historical Society – Edinburgh Summerhall Dissection Room

5Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Mull Historical Society – Edinburgh Summerhall Dissection Room

In a record company promotions office, London town, late 2000 or early 2001, a track came on provoking one of those joyous ‘what’s this?’ moments. The song was ‘Barcode Bypass’. Mull Historical Society’s debut album ‘Loss’ appeared in October 2001 and eight albums later (two released under Colin MacIntyre’s own name) there’s ‘In My Mind There’s A Room’. It’s available via the usual modern channels but for those who care, also on double pink vinyl. A stellar literary cast too long to mention here assisted in its creation including locals Ian Rankin, Jackie Kay and Alan Warner. It’s an emotional listen. More so when one discovers it was recorded in a studio… apologies, a room… in Tobermory, once inhabited by his Grandfather Angus, none too shabby a poet himself. So it is that folks beat a...

<strong>Unbecoming – Summerhall</strong>

25Mar

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Unbecoming – Summerhall

This deeply personal solo piece, by Anna Porubcansky of Company of Wolves, unmasks the artist’s windswept inner world in all its dreamlike complexity, through poetry, song and performance. The show opens with a lament. A melodic dirge about loss, death and mortality. Porubcansky’s clear, plaintive singing voice is perfect here, and there are some lines of poetry which will stay with me for very a long time. Here, and elsewhere in the show, Porubcansky uses technology to layer her vocalisations, drawing on repetition to create a richly meditative atmosphere. Porubcansky’s openness and vulnerability, as a poet and performer, is exquisite. This is not a work of fiction: all the content comes from Porubcansky’s personal experience. She really shows up, emotionally...

14Aug

By Louise BalaguerNo Comments

Scotland

Mary, Chris, Mars – Summerhall

If you’re in search of a family friendly show this Fringe, or even if you just want to enjoy a heart-warming and playful performance by yourself, look no further – Mary, Chris, Mars has you covered. And if you happen to be a Korean learner, you can take in the delight of experiencing a performance in both Korean and English (with English captioning) – and if you’re not, the same statement still applies. I reckon it only adds to the enjoyment of the play. Part of the Korean Showcase – presented by the Korean Cultural Centre UK (KCCUK) – Trunk Theatre Project’s Mary, Chris, Mars (played respectively by Cho Yeeun, Ryu Wonjun, and Park Hyeon) takes us on a colourful journey through space, as Mary and Chris are brought together by chance and spend a rather unusual Christmas Day on Mars. Punc...

14Aug

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Work.txt – Summerhall Old Lab

Work.txt is a show about work in which the audience do all (well... most of) the work. Only they tread the boards as there are no actors; following instructions projected on the wall, communicated over headphones or printed out onto a script. They build the set, read lines and act out what needs acting out together (if they are okay with that), alone (if they volunteer) or just as witnesses (if they prefer) to the others, the interplay between audience and screen, and to the light show and music, aided by an atmospheric haze machine. Why? It's a show about the gig economy, financial instability and bad jobs, as seen through a day in a nameless city, and the impact and connections made by a single worker. The format illustrates all that, though I can't imagine anyone finding their part o...

11Aug

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

Boy – Summerhall, Main Hall

“Boy” tells the true story of David Reimer, a Canadian boy born in the 1960s and raised as a girl. Named Bruce at birth, David was an identical twin to Brian, his name later being changed to Brenda. When they were six months old, both boys were referred for circumcision at hospital. A comparatively new method was used on Bruce, the first twin to have the surgery, and resulted in catastrophic and irreversible mutilation to his penis. The procedure was not carried out on Brian. His parents sought advice from Johns Hopkins psychologist, John Money, on how best to help their son in the coming years learning to live with his situation. The advice from Money was that, since in his opinion gender identity stems from social learning, it would be better to have t...

Receptionists – Summerhall Old Lab, Edinburgh

5Aug

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Receptionists – Summerhall Old Lab, Edinburgh

Kallo Collective's physical comedy Receptionists appears in the Fringe as part of Start To Finnish, an annual showcase since 2011 to promote Finnish performing arts at the Edinburgh Fringe. Clowns and (show creators) Inga Bjorn and Kristiina Tammisalo star as two receptionists in a five-star hotel for whom every day actions, such as waiting for customers or answering the phone, quickly escalate into huge physical challenges and situations. Taking a simple situation and wringing every ounce of physically comedic potential over an extended period of time is an art, and a difficult one. For proof of that, one need not look any further than Rowan Atkinson, a lifelong fan of comedians such as Jacques Tati, whose past classics such as Mr Bean haven't stopped him more recently faltering with N...

Something In The Water – Summerhall, Edinburgh

5Aug

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Something In The Water – Summerhall, Edinburgh

The appropriately named Scantily Glad Theatre company presents Something In The Water, starring Grumms, a person who transforms from a normal girl into a squid monster. The show describes itself as Creature from the Black Lagoon meets The Muppets. Personally, I'd say it's like a child who hasn't seen The Shape of Water snorted a bunch of coke and then tried to explain the story using whatever they had in their bedroom. But in a very good way, unlike a child doing hardcore drugs. Both descriptions cover the important roles within the show played by plastic Barbie and Ken dolls, as representatives of what is “normal”, and the squid puppet, as the “monster”, with the sets being made from a hand-drawn picture book, a projector and a fish tank, the combination being simultaneously quite soph...