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My final show at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe was TalkSmall from UK with “Katherine and Pierre” a heightened drag performance with a unique spin on the classic tale of boy meets girl. TalkSmall is an emerging physical theatre company duo. Performers Ellena Begley and Bobbie Twaddle, combine elements of drag and queerness with inventive choreography. They tell stories through powerful pop icons that are relatable, comedic, and DRAMATIC darling! “Katherine and Pierre” is fun, fun, fun. Both performers are highly skilled, and I recommend without reservation their unique brand of laughs – it was the PERFECT show to end my Edinburgh Odyssey! So, we are in an office followed by a post work office boozy night and the love story begins. The content is occasionally edgy but always tempered with hilarity. Being sucked off in an elevator or giving birth has never looked (or felt) this good. A full range of human emotions are expressed across the story of love found, lost, and found again. The set is simple, a bare stage and two office chairs, but the performers ingeniously transform these into various pieces of furniture, seamlessly integrating them into their dances and using them for set pieces. The bright and colourful costumes (and costume changes) reflect the camp, positive and vital energy of the show. The two performers lip synch for their lives to an intricately curated audio mashup for the entire show. As implied by their characters’ names, it’s mostly Katy Perry, whose party, love, and heartbreak songs create the perfect soundtrack to this love story. There are clips from TV, movies, and viral videos. The precision of the lip synching along with the vibrant physicality has audiences open-mouthed in astonishment for the entire 60 minutes! I can say, I probably didn’t “get” all the pop references, but I didn’t need to to have a thoroughly enjoyable experience. There is more going on here. Enough light and shade about genuine relationships, enough variety in the physical language to engage us whether we see the work as a coming-of-age story, a tale of the roller-coaster of human relationships, seeking empowerment or just everyday life. Ellie Begley is responsible for most of the choreography and as an acrobat and dancer they are breath-taking. Bobbie Twaddle is the stronger drag component and is amazingly deft. Both create memorable characters through acrobatics, mime, dance and acting. It all feels very original, very inclusive and made on the smell of an oily rag. The genius of this couple shines like a rare gem! Don’t leave Edinburgh without seeing this show! Kate Gaul

Spitfire Theatre from Czech Republic appear at Edinburgh Fringe for the fourth time with a new work “The Last of the Soviets” based on the work of Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian, Svetlana Alexijevičová. The material deals with the most dramatic eras in the history of her country, such as the Second World War or the fall of the communist empire. Alexijevičová was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time". She is the first writer from Belarus to receive the award. Through dozens of interviews with witnesses, it offers an alternative form of the modern history of the former Soviet Union as seen by ordinary people. Spirfire artistic director Petr Boháč. says "We have taken the theme of food and cooking and in a specific way we are cooking a cocktail of history and statements.” The unsettling cooking show is brought to the audience by a pair of presenters in a grotesque TV session. "They then become witnesses to the statement and destroy themselves more and more. And the 'fashion' beginning becomes a certain destruction of the personality," revealed Boháč. Behind a table with various food and beverage items the actors make their speeches into microphones and use a small camera to create scenarios. The scenarios are made using closeups of the props in increasingly nightmarish ways. The company notes that the live cinematic elements are inspired by the works of employing puppet Jan Švankmajer – that’s a name you don’t hear too often! Given the current situation in Ukraine the production takes on a unique relevance and interest. "We were scared when we played for the first time after the war started. We couldn't believe how much it was the same case as all the previous ones," noted dancer and performer Roman Zotov-Mikšin. In her books, Alexijevicová focuses on the war in Afghanistan, where Soviet soldiers were deployed, or the great patriotic war against Germany. The chilling testimony of the text is relayed with little emotion. It covers the recall from witnesses of war, the Chernobyl disaster, the collapse of the USSR. The artists reveal the cruelty of Soviet life with occasional dark humour. During the performance we are offered caviar on bread and some lucky guests get vodka and cucumber – it is a cooking show after all. Glasses are smashed, violence is seemingly perpetrated, life and death are presented as trivial events. Some audience members found it hard going. The coolness of the delivery could never match the degree of atrocity that has been perpetrated. In the small hot and stuffy Zoo Playground venue it felt as if we were a cabal witnessing a secret message from a world we could never know. The fascination factor drives audiences to the production and mostly we leave with a history lesson we cannot forget. Kate Gaul

0471 Acro Physical Theatre from Taiwan present 50 minutes of sheer bliss and one of my top ten experiences at Edinburgh Fringe this year. Founded in 2020 by Sun, Cheng-Hsueh and Hsia Ling, the troupe is one of the few circus troupes in Taiwan that specializes in stacking acrobatics and is dedicated to using the unique body aesthetics of acrobatics to create visual images that defy gravity and turn the theatre into a world of imagination. Stacking is what it says – humans piling higher and higher into the air via each other. 0471 Acro Physical Theatre started with small-scale experimental performances. In 2022, the troupe embarked on the “Research Project on the Training System of Stacking Techniques”, which aims at bringing more diverse circus arts to Taiwan by developing stacking acrobatics through training and innovation and creating artistic and commercial performances. Dance Base in Edinburgh is the perfect venue for this work – a venue with an outstanding program of dance and theatre for the Fringe this year. It also has that immaculate elegance of a professional dance studio which is the perfect canvas for “Duo” “Duo” is dance-infused, acrobatic creation for two performers, Sun Cheng-Hsueh and Hsia Ling. This is both virtuosic in its inception and heart-breaking in its execution. The space is set up with a large table and 2 chairs. A light bulb swings above the table. The simplicity in the design is deceptive. The acrobat-dancers dance on and under the table and the chairs, they fight over clothes hangers; they use a jacket and dress as puppets to represent themselves, or to represent memories of each other, or to show inner emotional states. There are scenes of domestic life: washing, sorting clothes, playing cards, dancing. They recall their first moments of love. Beyond the love and companionship there is everyday conflict too. The ever-changing shifts, twists and turns of a fluctuating relationship are expressed with a seamless physical grace and strength, loaded at times with a tender emotional vulnerability. Whether lifting each other up or bringing each other down, ultimately everything this onstage couple have to 'say' is in their bodies. When it comes to the acrobatics this is a riveting experience and a must-see for audiences who enjoy the thrills and spills of physical artistry and performers working to their physical limits. The added emotional layer achieved by two bodies in a domestic context creates a tender, elegant and subtly layered experience. Kate Gaul

Inspired by the true story of 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke, who miraculously survived a plane crash and a fall from 10,000 ft, “Her Green Hell” is a reimagination of her physical and emotional journey through the Peruvian rainforest. Presented by TheatreGoose this is new solo writing from UK. After surviving a fall from an exploding plane, Juliane, the daughter of two Amazon zoologists, must endure 11 days alone in the Peruvian rainforest as she fights for her life. Sophie Kean performs in and around three flight seats as the set with a moat of boxes from which she draws various props to help with the story telling – usually miniature figures. Director Emma Howlett keeps it moving in a way that suggest the two do not trust the text to carry the story. I yearned for more stillness and appeal to the imagination. I am not sure how useful the three chairs are – having fallen from the plane they are redundant in a literal sense to the story and have little poetic value. Because the outcome of story is known - Juliane survives and even assists a rescue party to locate other survivors of the crash - it is a tricky thing to keep the stakes high. The production uses video projection, but it is so poorly delivered that the text cannot be read. It all feels clumsy. Adrenaline-fuelled days are recounted and there is some interest in the facts. Julianne knows the forest and its strange animals and has some survival sense. As the plane fell away from the seats at the start of the crash, for example, is a fascinating description explaining exactly why and how she survived the fall. Although her mother and the snoring man in the same row were ripped from their seats, Julianne’s seat belt held, and she fell to earth very much like a Sycamore seed pod. It is winged seed acts like a helicopter rotor. No matter the orientation of the seed as it detaches from the tree, it quickly self-orients and begins autorotating. This slows the seed’s descent to the ground, giving the seed more chance to be carried away by a passing breeze. And so, Julianne in the seat gently arrived atop a liana in a rainforest. This is a traumatic story. It is an elegy to those lost - Julianne’s mother, and those fellow passengers who did not return. The text is the production’s ultimate weakness. It begins with clarity around the chaos at the airport and gathering storm; the view from the plane and the humid and oppressive jungle where the palpable sounds of sex and death are ever present. What the play cannot capture is the interior for the characters minds, thoughts, doubts, nightmares. It is very logical and controlled where the title suggests we may be in for more of a ride. I am very particular when it comes to solo, text-based performance and “Her Green Hell” didn’t cut it for me. But if you don’t know the story of survival and are not squeamish about hearing disaster stories then take a look. Kate Gaul

A powerful slice of non-verbal mask theatre from acclaimed South Korean creative collective Geo Gi Ga Myeon, this show uses comedy, acrobatics, slapstick, and dance to portray the lives of an elderly couple afflicted with dementia. The stakes are high. The company also uses large full-face masks for each character. The masks have exaggerated characteristics for each character and that means that the performers physicality is equally exaggerated and stylised. It is extremely physical work and these performers are exquisite in their execution. This non-verbal play is full of brilliant imagination and unique ideas. Three actors use slapstick, Tatiesque acting and athleticism to invoke the changing expression and physical humour of the characters. “The Messenger” is poignant but from a theatrical point of view this is virtuosic physical and mask theatre. The biggest surprise came at the curtain call when the audience realised it was ONLY three sweaty and dishevelled performers taking on all the roles. The twitching hands of the oldies, the poses and attitude of three K-pop young women, the ferocity of a friendly dog just to name three incarnations. The messenger of the title is death, and “he” sends his henchman to gather an elderly lady on her final journey. But the elderly lady’s husband will fight his off for as long as he can. Along the way there is plenty of detail of the trials of being a carer and many jokes about incontinence – even non-verbally we all understand the jokes. Costume of the henchman is of the Korean Joseon period. He travels through time to the modern day. The blend of contemporary and traditional is striking. “The Messenger “is highly accessible. As an audience we fill the spaces created by the performers with our imaginations based on our own lived experience. The energy created by the live performance and between the performers and audience is essential for this synergy to occur. It is a very poetic form of theatre because sometimes the image presented is suggestive. For example, the figure of death will mean many things depending on your cultural background. The sensations felt watching this work are unique and if anyone is in danger of falling asleep – watch out for the water gun! The is very niche theatre but I loved the experience and recommend “The Messenger” to any theatrical adventurer! Kate Gaul

And then the Rodeo Burned Down The Space – Edinburgh Fringe 2023 Xlohe Rice and Natasha Roland from NYC present “And then the Rodeo Burned Down” – hell! But this ain’t their first rodeo! These gals made their Edinburgh Fringe Debut in 2022, receiving the prestigious Fringe First Award for Outstanding New Writing, followed by a run at the historic King's Head Theatre in London. As they say on their website, they put their “blood, sweat, tears, blood, tears, and more blood into everything we create, so we hope you find us as funny as we find ourselves”. This is a queer comedy clown story about a clown who wants to become a cowboy. And a cow. And rodeo. It’s good. Everyone else can tell you what the story is (and you should go see it yourself) so I’m not going into detail about Dale the rodeo clown and aspiring cowboy. Or Dilly Dally the shadow (yeah, what is that?). It’s good ‘ol singin’, dancin’ and a heap a good actin’ thrown in. Physical theatre, clowning, storytelling, kissing and cuddling - this show has it all. The show is tightly choreographed and scripted even when it appears a bit rough around the edges. It has such a light touch that it often feels like virtuosic improvisation and that’s the point. It eventually becomes absurdly meta, and the audience is on the edge of seats. Like the characters, the performers now jostle for independence inside the structure they have created for themselves. Is this a piece about writing you own queer story, claiming your identity and independence, being true to yourself? This is a big-hearted love story and permission to burn it all down! “And then the Rodeo Burned Down” is a breath of fresh air and a testament that if you put your heart and soul into something you can surprise yourself! Kate Gaul

Shadow Kingdom Assembly Roxy Edinburgh Fringe 2023 “Shadow Kingdom “is a puppet show created and presented by Mochinosha. The company was founded in 2012 by Canadian artist Daniel Wishes and Japanese artist Seri Yanai. The two met while studying puppetry together at the London School of Puppetry. Now based in Japan they create puppet theatre. “Shadow Kingdom” is aimed at young people and the young at heart. Using almost four hundred hand-cut puppets, and original music, it presents a fantastic bedtime story. A live animated movie is created right before our eyes! The puppeteers introduce themselves and the show and then sit downstage next to two compact lights and between then create an hour-long story all by hand. The artwork is intriguing. A comic book comes to life, trees turn into birds, and like the best theatre the world becomes magical. Before the show, Wishes and Yenai showed us how they can make their own shadow puppets at home. With a torch and pair of tongs a dragon is created. A recorded soundtrack accompanies the piece created by Elliott Lorans is also controlled by the puppeteers. They use their own voices to voice the characters. There is a couple of songs that are pre-recorded, and the puppeteers acknowledge that the sound of the voice is different - the audience love the deconstruction of what is happening along with the fantasy. A child, Minerva, is put to bed, but she is waiting to hear about an invitation to a party and won’t stop looking at her mobile phone. Like parents everywhere, her father entreats her to put it away until tomorrow. She doesn’t want to sleep and impatiently checks her phone again and again for messages. This leads to her phone being taken by Hypnos, the God of Sleep. Minerva decides to get her phone back. The adventure begins. Minerva meets Owl who, like Minerva, hates sleep. He takes Minerva on a treasure hunt. When Minerva realizes what Owl wants to rid the world of sleep altogether, it’s too late to stop him — he wants everyone to stay awake forever and he can release nightmares to destroy. Minerva must decide to either keep her phone or help save the city. This is a story that tells us children are heroes, about the importance of standing up to injustice and the power that we possess to resist harmful regimes. It never speaks down to its audience. “Shadow Kingdom” is gripping entertainment and reinforces the importance of sleep and putting away the phone in a way that doesn’t feel too preachy. It’s not often that there’s a chance to see great shadow puppetry and such high-quality children’s theatre. Kate Gaul

RJG Productions, Bristol Old Vic, Pleasance present writer Lucy Hayes’ “Bitter Lemons” -a play for two actors (Shannon Hayes and Chanel Waddock). It’s a dual-monologue style show where the monologues told in the second person are interwoven. Two stories unfold in parallel. One is from a biracial woman making her way in the finance sector, determined to do well so she can give herself an “easy life” and take care of her mother’s mortgage. The other is a white woman who will finally get her shot at being the number one goalie on her football team. Women doing well in male-dominated cultures. They both have absent fathers but pretty good mother-daughter relationships, humorously portrayed. As the play moves forward and greater success beckons, they also have a common decision to make. Should they or should they not have an abortion? We never learn these woman’s names and the anonymity gives them both an “every-woman” quality as women world-wide face denial of healthcare and agency (Hayes wrote the play following the overturning of Roe v Wade.) The actors are engaging, Chanel Waddock as the footballer is fierce as she kicks against stereotypes. She idealises her father and when that bubble bursts Waddock conveys the characters complex emotions with skill. Shannon Hayes delivers a slick performance of a young corporate hustler on the rise. Both characters are let down by the men in their lives and the consequences are well navigated by the cast. Although, let’s face it, it’s a shame that the writer centralised offstage male characters to explore these young women’s futures. The setting is a very simple open space. The actors use microphones when presenting the voices of characters other than the young women they portray. That’s a neat convention. Costuming is appropriate if suffering from the lean resources of an indie show. Someone working in the up-market financial field would dress smartly. The writing does lean into sentimentality at times, and this is particularly true of the plotting that creates an unacknowledged bond between the young women. Lucy Hayes also directs. Its pacy and a bit one-note. She misses some opportunities to finesse overlapping text which not only dramatises the connection between the two characters but supports the “everywoman” focus of the play. The feminism is all very digestible and like a 101 intro. Certainly, the young women in the audience found the work powerful and the age-appropriate text is bound to turn up in auditions everywhere. I didn’t find it as gripping as others have but there’s no doubt it is packing a punch. All power to those who produce new writing! Kate Gaul

Award winning Fishamble’s “King”, by writer and actor Pat Kinevane, tells the story of middle-aged Luther, a man from Cork named in honour of his Granny Bee Baw’s hero - Martin Luther King. Luther only leaves his spare apartment for essential journeys, and to perform as an Elvis impersonator. He doesn’t like people but is Ok if he is in disguise. The play explores prejudice, privilege, and resilience, as Luther struggles to live a full life. Pat Kinevane is one of Ireland’s theatrical sons and for lovers of Irish drama, “King” is a charmer. Director, Jim Culleton, assists in bringing this man living on the fringes of society who is falling through its cracks. A lonely man, a complicated family history, overwhelming personal and political oppression, death ever present, and the desire to keep talking to stave off the loneliness – all rich ingredients of a usual Irish play! Although the chatting is about incidents from the past the stakes are high as Luther prepares for a wedding gig where he will impersonate Elvis as a warmup to the karaoke, thanks to bride Indira, his local pharmacist. He’s hoping for a date with Flossy. A small inconsistency for someone who doesn’t like being around people. There are stories of his grandmother Bee Baw, the teacher Savage, his dead mother, and his father Pawdy who is easing towards death in a care home, and who Luther visits daily. On the almost bare stage small tasks are completed as the stories flow. Clothes are ironed, a floor is washed. There is a tango element to the action as Luther has a love of dance as did his parents. It represents his passion and his isolation. There are mysterious voiceovers giving a dark edge to the action telling Luther of Irish race-memory trauma and some instructions on tango. The movement sequences are a bit of an ask and the monologue is not improved by the impact of the solo dancing. But the text is gorgeous and carries the weight of the production with real humour and pathos. Indira leaves messages on the unanswered land line so we have a sense of an outside world to compliment Luther’s descriptions. She’s foul mouthed and very human. This is where “King” excels. Kinevane is a likeable presence and astute performer. This is an enjoyable piece and definitely one for the lovers of Irish theatre. Kate Gaul

Korea’s Theatre Haddangse presents “Wait!”, an exhilarating children's play about Bada, a young girl, creating an adventure of her own while she yearns for her fisherman dad to return home. The entire production is championing the use of imagination and a thousand ways to use cardboard. Once we enter the space all the audience is invited onstage to participate in around 15 minutes of hands-on creative work. We are asked to draw either a fish or a star and to outline it with some glow-in-the-dark sticky tape. The cast then Velcro the drawings onto sticks for use later in the production. Back in our seats, the cast bring out some cardboard coils and demonstrate how they can be made to look like boats or buildings or anything really. The entire production is non-verbal or rather, it’s a gibberish. It’s very accessible. We are introduced to Bada and her love of a baseball glove, catching and throwing. The cast perform a sequence and provide the foley sound effects from offstage. I gather this is a company signature as it was used to great effect in another production of theirs “At That Time, Byeon” – currently playing at Greenside as part of Edinburgh Fringe. It is extremely effective. Then something amazing happens – a large white screen falls to the ground at the back of the theatre and the cast literally sprawl on stage working flat on their backs. The action is streamed to the screen from a camera overhead. We can see both the cast working unnaturally on the ground and what looks the right way around on the screen. It becomes fun when the company use a combination of an actor lying on the ground and one standing upright. There are many comic and charming sequences. It becomes magical as Bada, our hero, enters an underwater environment. Like most theatre once we head into the “unreal” things get interesting. Blacklight is used to create a glow-in-the-dark scene inside a whale’s stomach. Dancing skeletons, stars in the night sky also glow. Occasionally a video animation is added to the scene – for example when Bada crawls though and underground tunnel the tunnel space is evident, and the rest of the screen is black. It's quite hard to describe the feeling of seeing how an effect is being created and the actual effect. The demystification of the process actually adds a layer of sophistication. This is 45 minutes of sheer genius from a highly energised, creative, and positive company. I am glad to have caught it. Oh, and we got to take our art works home. Kate Gaul

“Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!” currently playing a second year at the Edinburgh Fringe. I’m an Agatha Christie lover and an occasional obsessive when it comes to true crime. I’ve been a curious fan of the musical based on the first number the team released on You Tube and finally seeing the show did not disappoint. It is beyond fabulous; it’s high camp fun, fun, fun! The incredible cast have singing, acting, and dancing chops to burn. Kathy (Bronte Barbé) and Stella (Rebekah Hinds) play two true crime podcasters who find themselves attempting to solve a whodunnit unfolding around them. A misfit and a non-conformist make for an odd couple but outside of the podcast their prospects are bleak. They are going nowhere fast, their families are bugging them out of concern and their favourite author, Felicia Taylor, has just been killed. Can they solve the crime? The cast includes Jodie Jacobs as Felicia Taylor and all her family. TJ Lloyd as morgue attendant Justin and he is an absolute delight. Imelda Warren-Green as crazed fan Erica. Onstage are also Jacob Kohli (ensemble, cover Justin), and Sarah Pearson (ensemble, swing). A guitarist, two keyboards and a drummer make up the band. Its tight, loud, and outrageous! “Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!” is written and directed by Jon Brittain. Accompanied by punchy music and lyrics from Matthew Floyd Jones, who plays keyboard on stage, it has plenty of goose-bump moments, high notes, hilarious lyrics, and great vocal blends. The musical has little in the way of scenery – it’s the band and the cast, a small staircase, and a cork board backdrop, a couple of roller chairs and of course the all-important podcast microphone. I was impressed by the use of mobile and computer props – after all al lot happens on the internet nowadays. Costuming is spot on in terms of supporting character (set and costume design Cecila Carey) So, where is the substance – well it’s about some serious stuff: murders and miscarriages of justice; personal failure; appearances, and a welcome gentle recognition that anxiety and depression exist in many lives. It explores what drives the intense interest in true crime podcasts and who the audiences are all sharing both in the true crime community and the existential dread that accompanies these obsessions. The questionable ethics of some presenters gets a serve too. The centre of this musical is a terrific story about great friends and what friendship means. This musical isn’t breaking new ground. Its small and could be played in an intimate cabaret style space. The very GP, down-to-earth vibe is part of its growing popularity. Sometimes people just want a great night out and feel that what they are engaging in is about them too. “Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!” kills it! Kate Gaul

Raw Material & Traverse Theatre Company in association with Regular Music present a return season of “What Girls Are Made Of” – Cora Bissett was a teenager when her Glenrothes-based band “Darlingheart” secured one of the biggest record deals in Scottish music history and shot to fame. And this brilliant gig musical is a record of those years and what happened next. This is – believe it or not – is a totally relatable story. As Cora says, “dreams are fragile” and we all have them. We all know betrayal and disappointment as well as the highs of success. The dreams and naivety of youth are captured and reflects on by the now mature voice of experience – in disbelief of how little she knew at the time. “It’s the early 90s. In a small town in Fife, a girl is desperate to get out into the world. An ad in the local paper declares: Band Seeks Singer.” Based on her meticulously detailed teenage diaries, this is the true story of Cora Bissett’s rollercoaster journey from the girl she was to the woman she wanted to be. Directed by Orla O’Loughlin it flies by. The cast of four have a lot of fun making music and telling this story. Joining Cora Bisset are Harry Ward and Simon Donaldson – both guitarists who take on multiple roles: Cora’s mum, Thom York, smelly schoolgirl, bad band manager – are all memorable. Cathryn Archer plays the drums, keyboard, and guitar with great flair. Collectively, they create the soundscape of the 90s, from Darlingheart’s own songs to Radiohead. They cast occasionally use very heavy Scottish accents and its quite fun working out exactly what is being said. It does sound incredible. This is all plays on a geomatic stage design of levels by Ana Ines Labares-Pita which lights up colourfully and is basically a really slick space for the band. There are even colour co-ordinated drink bottles! Insights into teenage success where the band were still sitting exams, playing in school concerts, discovering little bottles of wine on the flight to London and the exploitation grip our attention. Then once the band breaks up and Cora struggles to find her way stories from the other side of life emerge. Her father’s dementia, her mother’s MS, and a long-held desire to find someone who wants the same things as her – a child. The brutally honest longing, the stories of miscarriages, inevitable death of parents is a reminder that we are always out of our depth as we navigate life’s big events. Bissett is a fabulous performer and as a musician her rendition of Patti Smith’s “Horses” sounds like an original. She dedicates the final song to her daughter, telling her “What Girls Are Made Of”. This is a huge inter-generational success: the young women in the audience were cheering for more as the show ended. The older women were dabbing eyes dry. Kate Gaul