When It Rains, Greenside @ Nicolson Square.
You have to admire the ambition behind this production; an attempt to combine a Lord of the Flies type scenario illustrating toxic masculinity with a terrifying fantasy of what life could be like if rain has become so acid and poisonous that it can kill you if its drops land on your skin. It’s a compelling story and situation and I was very keen to see how the story would be resolved. That said, many aspects of the play simply didn’t hold together or make sense, and I’m afraid many of the performances were not up to scratch – too many lines spoken so softly that they were hard to follow. The actor playing Zander, the leader of the group, has a very good menacing stance – he’d be too young to remember him, but I was very much reminded of Gripper Stebson in Grange Hill about 45 years ago! The choreographed movements of the cast worked well, but, on the whole, this sadly didn’t really work.
Ben Target: LORENZO, Summerhall.
I can’t think of a greater honour to bestow on a much-missed family member than to commemmorate them in a stage production – which is what Ben Target has done for his late Uncle Lorenzo. Frequently very moving and emotional, Lorenzo’s mischievous personality lives on after his death with this innovative and creative way of telling his story. Ben Target has an elegant ability to pick just the right turn of phrase in his narrative, which is full of witty asides and knowing observations – but there’s a gentle humility in his approach too which is extremely endearing. He uses a Carpenter’s Table for his all-encompassing set; it conceals a myriad of secrets to help tell the story. It’s both tender and hilarious, and you don’t want it to stop. You may be asked to tell everyone about your “fantasy death” – mine was too dull to mention, but it does get you thinking about the nature of death, although never in a gloomy way. I’ve also never experienced comedy callbacks that weren’t merely verbal before; now that’s extremely clever! A must-see.
17 Minutes, Gilded Balloon Teviot.
New York’s Barrow Group bring their Off-Broadway production to the Edinburgh Fringe; a riveting, intense and intelligent play about an unexpected knock-on effect of a terrible school shooting. The 17 Minutes in question is the unaccounted-for period between Deputy Andy Rubens informing his superiors that at least one shooter was on the loose, and the arrival of the SWAT team. What did he do in the interim? Of course, the prime responsibility for the tragedy was young Jeremiah Watson, a 15-year-old student at the school. But is Andy equally to blame? He spends all his days cleaning his gun but it’s never been used – perhaps this was the occasion on which it should have been. Scott Organ’s play is deliberately written with sparse and minimalist conversations, telling its tough tale with clarity and a sense of inevitability. Larry Mitchell heads a six-strong cast with a telling and sorrowful portrayal of the law officer who let everyone down. There’s strong support from the rest of the cast, including Brian Rojas as the splendidly suspicious Detective Morris and Deanna Lenhart as Andy’s ultra-practical and forward-looking wife Samantha. A straightforward tale of cowardice? You decide.
Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, Pleasance Dome.
Sometimes you see a show that doesn’t necessarily promise much on paper, but then over-delivers in spades – and Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story is the epitome of that show. Very inventive, incredibly funny – I think I had more belly laughs in this show than in anything else so far this Fringe – and with superbly orchestrated (and therefore very successful) audience participation, Linus Karp does a brilliant job of recreating the late Queen of Hearts. There’s plentiful use of multimedia and puppetry which might put off some people but don’t be alarmed, it works extremely well. This probably isn’t a show for everyone – if you’re a traditional Royalist purist whose only loyalty is to Charles and Camilla, you might want to look the other way. But if you think Princess Diana had a rough ride of it all, this show is for you! Plus – a few delightful Eurovision references, much appreciated! A very, very funny show.
Horizon Showcase: Birthmarked, Assembly Rooms.
Just when you think you’ve seen everything that live performance can surprise you with, up comes a tap-dancing zebra and you have to think twice. Brook Tate’s moving account of breaking free from a Jehovah’s Witness upbringing to find his own true identity through the medium of a live music gig is a show quite unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. Mr Tate doesn’t want us to think badly of individual Jehovah’s Witnesses, but honestly, you have to think he had a lucky escape. He is a superbly charismatic entertainer, with the purest of voices and an enviable songwriting ability, and his five-piece band support him playing some truly beautiful and melodious songs which are a joy to hear. A star is born!