Searching for Robert Hennessey, Greenside @ George Street.
As the title suggests, this show is about the lifelong quest of Michael-Sean Hennessey to find the father he never met. He was the product of a one-night stand, his parents never meeting again outside the sheets; at the age of 18 his mother told him his father was a truck driver named Michael Hennessey, and that’s pretty much all he has to go on. It’s an entertaining journey that we all go on together, and would it ruin the surprise to say it has a happy ending? Michael Sean is a charismatic, larger-than-life extrovert on stage, and he tells his story with excitement, enthusiasm, and a whole lotta emotion. To be honest, the Mint Studio is too small a venue to contain his big personality, and at times I felt that it could do with a little tightening up; the use of video and pictures on the screen, for example, sometimes made it look a little amateurish. But you’d have to be very hard-hearted not to be swayed by his journey.
No Hard Felix, Just the Tonic at The Caves.
A tour-de-force performance by Mark Ryder as he portrays the arrogantly alpha Felix, powering his way through the lives of his so-called friends and unfortunate colleagues. If he’s ruthless and cruel with them, spare a thought for how he treats the women in his life! But Felix has a little problem – rather, a big problem with little Felix; the question is, how to deal with it? Cue a hilarious but agonising one-man play where he blames everyone and everything for his erectile dysfunction, when what’s needed is to be a man and do something about it. A brilliant insight into toxic masculinity and the collateral damage it causes – not least to the toxic man himself. A truly inventive and honest piece about something that nearly everyone will come up against at some point (so to speak). Plus it’s outstandingly funny!
Big Stuff, Assembly Roxy.
Naomi and Matt are driving from Los Angeles to Toronto with a van full of stuff – small stuff individually, but when you put it all together, it becomes big stuff. An engaging light-hearted show about loss and grief, and how we hang onto little things because they remind us of someone special (that is, if you’re like Naomi) or how we chuck stuff away as soon as it doesn’t have an obvious purpose (like Matt). As you would expect from a real-life couple, Naomi Snieckus and Matt Baram have a great onstage relationship, full of jokey digs and knowing asides, and with immaculate comic timing. There’s some gentle but entertaining audience participation and it’s a surprisingly educational show – you’ll certainly realise you’re not the only person who still hoards their great aunt’s collection of castanets. Highly relatable and entertaining throughout.
Eva Peroni: Jungled, Gilded Balloon Teviot.
The main thrust of Eva Peroni’s Edinburgh debut hour is about how she moved to Costa Rica for her education – which is a pretty unique achievement for someone from a council estate in Livingston – how she tried to come out to her best friend whilst there, and the events that meant she ended up back at the University of Edinburgh. She has masses of attack and a strong, powerful delivery; she operates at two volume levels, loud and deafening, and the show would have benefited from a little less amplification. For me, her act lacks some finesse and light and shade – I also thought she occasionally went a little cruel with her material. She’s a big fan of some groanworthy puns, which is something you either like or don’t! It was a full house and there was no lack of laughter from the audience, but, I confess, it was all a little too shouty for me.
Tap Out! (Or I’ll Hit You Again), Gilded Balloon Patter House.
Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe is all about being challenged, and Tap Out! (Or I’ll Hit You Again) is a fascinating addition to the plays that you file under “difficult”. It’s about a man who starts random fights in the street just to gain some kind of identity, to find a purpose in his life. When expressed clinically like that, it sounds like some kind of academic exercise to theorise how far you can push violence before it becomes damaging. The answer to that is – not very far! What you can’t overlook is that these are not mere victimless errors of judgment. This is a play about a very bad man who turns violent at a moment’s notice and is a danger to society. End of. Written by Conor Dye, it’s got a strong structure and a fluid and very believable narrative. It describes itself as a comedy – which I think is stretching a point. It will certainly spark a debate between yourselves as to whether our hero (antihero?) has a remote chance of redemption. The writing suggests that he might, but does a leopard change his spots that easily? Furthermore, Matt Ackerman’s performance is so engaging, and his ability to make you feel he’s talking directly to you is so well done, that you find you’re being asked to like this appalling individual – and can you allow that of yourself? You can see why not only is this a difficult play but it’s also difficult to express exactly what you think of it! One thing’s for sure – Mr Ackerman gives a tremendous performance; but the play leaves you totally perplexed.