Sell Me: I Am from North Korea, Pleasance Courtyard.
A dramatic and moving monologue from Sora Baek, herself a second generation North Korean refugee, who tells the fascinating story of a girl so poor that she offers herself up for sale to raise money for her mother’s medications. It’s a terrifying story of exploitation, and hiding from danger, combined with a substantial element of old-fashioned thrill and quest for survival, as the girl manages to find her way to freedom. Beautifully written and performed; personally, I occasionally found the narrative a little difficult to follow, and there’s also considerable use of the Korean language which (I presume) the vast majority of the audience will not understand. But if ever a production had its heart in the right place, it’s this; and Sora’s character’s story will live in one’s heart and imagination long after the show finishes.
Ascension, Bedlam Theatre.
The story of Leendert Hasenbosch brought to life in Dan Hazelwood’s eloquently written and wonderfully rule breaking version of Hasenbosch’s own diary. Simply staged but with superb use of the stage, Dan Hazelwood completely convinces as the man punished for sodomy by being abandoned on Ascension Island, together with Conor Mainwaring as his one-time lover Andrew, who floats in and out of his reminiscences. Mr Hazelwood has superb clarity of diction which really helps the text stand out. A very moving portrayal, with a few clever nods to today’s culture, underlining how the prejudice that eventually would destroy his life continues three hundred years later. It’s also extraordinary how the original diary was found and rewritten to deter others from living their real lives; literally a case of rewriting the books to suit the contemporary rulebook. Riveting content, terrific theatre!
Love’s a Beach, Pleasance Courtyard.
A fascinating insight into how the lives of ordinary people become distorted once they become victims of their own social media success. Ben and Cyrus are in the final round of a TV reality show and boost their social numbers by scheduling a bizarre range of public appearances, from selling adult nappies to guest appearances at an A Level results party. The prospect of an all-expenses month’s stay at a luxury resort in Dubai is temptation beyond endurance for Cyrus – despite the UAE’s lack of LGBT rights. An enforced split between the couple is announced – but is it for real, or just for convenience, a free holiday, and the clicks? After all, they’re both totally devoted to each other, right? James Akka and Iain Ferrier shine as the couple whose relationship strains under the glare of publicity. A clever story, well written and completely believable, performed with fun and panache.
Stuffed, Pleasance Courtyard.
Ugly Bucket Theatre have created a show about food banks – the increasing necessity for them, the ignorant complaints about their users, and the generosity of those who give their time to staff them or their resources to buy the food that goes into them – which is without question a vital topic for our times. They are essentially a clowning company, and their vibrant movement fills the stage to great effect; there is one scene, set as a TV game show where a contestant has to make choices about where their limited finances will go, which works powerfully well. Using verbatim recordings alongside a modern techno throb, sometimes the vital message of the speech gets lost in the noise; and many of the individual scenes went on far too long for me, accidentally weakening the importance of the content in the process. This is a show conceived and performed with the very best of intentions, but the end product is sadly not for me.
Our Little Secret, Gilded Balloon Patter House.
The hit of last year’s Toronto Fringe, Our Little Secret makes its way to Edinburgh in a blaze of glory. The true story of how 31 year old “only child” Noam Tomaschoff discovered that his parents had not been entirely truthful about the circumstances of his birth; his father was infertile and Noam was born through IVF with donor sperm. Not only that, but there’s a WhatsApp group for all the people he had “artificially-fathered”; 39 at last count. That’s some surprise! Obviously, as a natural song-and-dance man, Noam had no alternative but to create a musical about his story; and with the help of composer Ryan Peters and producer Russell Citron, they have made the extraordinarily beautiful and deeply emotional Our Little Secret. The songs are first rate – the one about how the world is made for brothers had me (not very successfully) holding back the sobs. Noam Tomaschoff is a star in the making, filling each number with the emotions that only the person with the true lived experience could completely convey. At our performance we had the additional delight of being in the presence of not only the composer and producer, but also Noam’s parents! I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. It was also sold out – so you need to get your skates on to book a ticket!
The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return, Summerhall.
Chalk Line Theatre’s new play, Sam Edmunds’ The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return, explores the lives of young people in Luton; partying, the challenge of buying alcohol underage, staying over at their mums’ houses, daring to take that first kiss with the most fanciable girl in town. It celebrates the essential decency of working class upbringings, whilst also facing up to the horrors of knife crime and trying to find the links that join the one to the other. It’s a superbly written play, bringing out the best in people, and given three terrific performances by its sensational cast – Olatunji Ayofe, Amaia Naima Aguinaga and Elan Butler – who bring all the fun, friendship and danger of modern urban living to the Summerhall stage. A fully deserved instant standing ovation showed just what a positive and uplifting play this is. If you’re looking for top-quality work by young actors at this Fringe, look no further.
Daliso Chaponda: Feed This Black Man Again, Underbelly Bristo Square.
The ever-reliable Daliso Chaponda returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with Feed This Black Man Again – a nod to the title of his first Fringe show 22 years ago – half his lifetime, amazingly enough! He goes back to his early family life before going to university in Canada; explores the world of AI Dating Apps, and tells us of his father’s unfortunate reputation for trying to ban farting in Malawi. Mr C constantly spins off the audience’s reaction and much of the show is based on interaction between us and him with a range of questions and suggestions that always end in a good laugh. It’s not the most challenging humour, nor does it make you see life from a different perspective, but it’s always extremely good natured and very funny.