175 Reviews for the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival (In order from most enjoyable to least)

 

Welcome to the 2011 version of my Fringe reviews.  Since I tailored much of my schedule to that of my friend Tim’s, and my wife’s requests, I will not be seeing as many plays this year.  You can see my schedule here.  You can find out about me, and my extended thoughts about reviewing at the bottom of this page.  I think that the most useful aspect for my readers is the rankings.  I base the rankings on my enjoyment of the show, so they may not reflect the quality of the script and/or acting.  I prefer plays to comedy acts, but work in a little of the latter for diversity.  I have discovered that I have a penchant for true stories.  The comments are usually only three sentences long because I have little time between shows, and, after all, I am here for the shows.  You can also see my 200 reviews for 2010 Fringe, 177 reviews for 2009 Fringe, 153 reviews for 2008 Fringe, 162 reviews for 2006 Fringe, and 151 reviews for 2005 Fringe.  I always enjoy chatting with both audience members and dramatic artists.  If you wish to contact me, send e-mail to Sean Davis.

You can change the sorting column of the table below by first clicking anywhere in its header.  Each succeeding click in the header sorts the table by the column clicked.  Succeeding clicks of a column will reverse the previous sort order.  I have now added a Date column so that returning viewers can sort by it to see my most recent reviews.

 

Rank

Title and Review

Venue

Times

Date

1.       

Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut (*****)

This homage is a remarkable mix of reverent recital and play-within-a-play antics.  I’ve seen Casablanca countless times, and I was amazed how the cast of three would play every touching scene straight, but then add every sort of high jinx to the other scenes.  I should warn the uninitiated that many of their funny touches, such as air freshener sprayed all over the set to simulate fog in the airport scene, will make little sense to you.  (Aug 13 & 25)

Pleasance Courtyard

16:30-17:30

13

2.       

Snap.Catch.Slam (*****)

This show has three independent stories: a harried high school teacher must deal with an insubordinate student, a woman’s scream breaks a fellow’s Sunday routine, and a lonely mother spends an afternoon waiting for her five year old to come home.  Though some stories have minor support, these are essentially three monologues that felt perfect.  The second story had the woman next to me literally biting her knuckles.  (Aug 13)

Pleasance Courtyard

13:50-14:50

13

3.       

A tribute to the Blues Brothers – Live (*****)

A septet and three female singers join Jake, Elwood, and Cab Calloway, to provide spirited renditions of 1960’s blues and soul.  Almost every song had the audience clapping and/or dancing.  I suggest that you sit on an aisle or in the front row you can easily join the good times.  (Aug 3 & 29)

C Chambers Street

23:00-0:00

3

4.       

Richard Herring : What is Love Anyway (*****)

In his typical fashion, Herring mixes research with personal experiences to provide an amusing exploration of the meanings of “love”.  Maternal love, paternal love, love and lust, puppy love, teenage love, grandmother love, and even corporate love all receive well-conceived treatment.  I laughed until I cried as he described the mathematical consequences of doubling the number of chocolates he gives his lover each Valentines Day—imagine the UK covered with Egyptian pyramids of bonbons!  (Aug 4)

Udderbelly’s Pasture

20:50-21:50

4

5.       

The Monster in the Hall (*****)

A 16-year old girl must prepare her blind, multiple sclerosis plagued father for a visit from a social worker that may remove her from her home.  This well crafted comedy lays out all of the quirky characters, including Norwegian biker woman and a fashion conscious boy with a scheme to prove he is not gay, and then creates a wonderful, albeit predictable, jigsaw, with each piece fitting perfectly among the others.  Only the scene with four people on a motorcycle strained my credulity beyond the breaking point.  (Aug 12)

Traverse Theatre

varies

12

6.       

Futureproof (*****)

When attendance withers the manager of a freak show decides that the performers should alter their acts to be more appealing to the customers.  This play works at both the personal level where each performer must confront change, and as a commentary on society as we confront our own attitudes towards the disabled.  Each character has a depth that allows their actions to be unpredictable and yet valid.  (Aug 14)

Traverse Theatre

varies

14

7.       

Wasted Love (*****)

Eight young men and women have a group counseling together to help deal with being dumped.  I rarely like young musicals, but this had good lyrics, catchy melodies, strong voices that did not need microphones, good acting, properly amplified music, and diverse tales of rejection.  The design wisely placed the pianist/counselor at the center of the stage for the play would not work nearly as well without his musical virtuosity and good-natured leadership.  (Aug 16)

C Chamber St.

12:00-13:00

16

8.       

The Golden Dragon (*****)

Four stories involving everything from Aesop’s grasshopper to stewardesses to illegal immigration to unwanted pregnancy intermingle with each other in surprising ways.  When initially the cast verbalize most stage directions and descriptions it is disturbing, but as the play continues they add rhythm and clarify which character an actor is playing as we often shift from one story to another.  This rich play provided material for the most interesting post performance discussion I’ve had this year.  (Aug 25)

Traverse Theatre

varies

25

9.       

Translunar Paradise (*****)

A husband slowly reconciles himself to the death of his wife by revisiting old memories.  No play could be designed to elicit more tears than this one as it alternates between the joy of an occasion and then returns to their spiritual parting.  The constant accordion accompaniment keeps our emotions shifting with the scenes while the seemingly magnetic masks of the old pair emphasize his withdrawal from each world.  (Aug 29)

Pleasance Dome

15:40-16:55

29

10.   

Dave Gorman’s Power Point Presentation (*****)

Like the title says, Gorman uses a huge video screen to present a Power Point Presentation that deals with observations of life.  Topics range from him being mislabeled as a Jew in publications to the absurdity of digital clocks all being set to 10:08 in advertisements.  This is a very cleverly crafted show that exploits Power Point to present cascading tweets, mosaics of photographs, and blow-ups of magazine page sections.  (Aug 16)

Assembly George Square

19:40-20:40

16

11.   

Shylock by Gareth Armstrong (*****)

Guy Masterson assumes the character of Tubal, Shylock’s only friend in the “Merchant of Venice,” to mix a complete history of Jewish persecution with a retelling of Shakespeare’s story from a Jew’s perspective.  The blend of historical facts with Shakespeare’s prose is at once lively and informative.  I particularly appreciated how he presented a clear and concise synopsis of each scene before moving on to dissecting it.  (Aug 5)

Assembly Hall

15:45-17:00

5

12.   

Swimming with My Mother (*****)

Choreographer David Bolger pairs with his 77-year old mother to perform swimming inspired and ballroom duets.  From the opening entrance, as she walks gently leading her prancing, agile son they establish the tone of love and embellishment.  As they piece continues, they sometimes dance as a unit, but more often she dances as the melody, and he adds the arpeggios.  (Aug 21)

Dance Base

12:00-12:40

21

13.   

The Man Who Was Hamlet (*****)

George Dillon starts as Hamlet, but quickly switches to the ghost of Edward De Vere telling of his life in Elizabethan court.  The play implicitly argues that De Vere actually wrote Shakespeare’s work by having De Vere meet an illiterate Shakespeare, and portraying other events in De Vere’s life that end up in Shakespeare’s plays.  In both roles, Dillon presents a well-measured performance that enthralled me with Shakespeare’s words and De Vere’s privileged but volatile life.  I should note that this is my review from last year because when I saw the play again this year I was a bit bored since none of the revelations were new to me.  (Aug 22)

Assembly George Square

20:00-21:35

22

14.   

Barry and Stuart: Show and Tell – The Tell (*****)

This show follows the pair’s magic show, “Barry and Stuart: Show and Tell – The Show,” and reveals to the much smaller audience how all of the tricks for the magic show worked.  Though I understood some of the tricks beforehand, their thorough approach and innovations, as well as their enthusiasm to teach the audience, made this a great experience.  Note that you must see earlier, four-star show that I reviewed below, to be allowed into this one.  (Aug 12)

Underbelly’s Pasture

23:59-0:59

12

15.   

Pip Utton is the Hunchback of Notre Dame (*****)

Pip Utton assumes the character of the Hunchback to tell his life story.  As usual, Utton demonstrates his mastery of character to create a real one-eyed, filthy, speech impaired hunchback standing in front of us.  Though all of the story is heart wrenching, the pathos reaches its peak when he rejoices at for once becoming one of the crowd when he is elected “pope” for a parade.  (Aug 17)

New Town Theatre

18:00-19:00

17

16.   

An Instinct for Kindness (*****)

Chris Larner describes his ex-wife’s life battling with multiple sclerosis, and the complicated process of fulfilling her wish to be euthanized in Switzerland.  While this could be a play with unrelenting sadness, Larner has included an occasional lighter note to relieve the pressure.  The aching phone calls from her son pleading for her to change her mind are here, but so is his quip asking his neatnik ex-wife if Switzerland was tidy enough for her?  (Aug 19)

Pleasance Dome

16:10-17:20

19

17.   

Bellevile Rendez-vous (*****)

Based on the animated film, “Les Triplettes de Belleville,” the show tells the tale of a grandmother who helps her orphan grandson prepare for the Tour de France, and saves him from the gangsters who kidnap him.  The show combines a jazzy accordion-led trio, physical theater moves, three puppets, and minimal words to recreate the fantastic spirit of a cartoon.  I had not seen the film, but I could still appreciate their wonderful interpretation of such scenes as a car chase with the cars leaning around curves.  (Aug 9)

Bedlam Theatre

11:00-12:00

9

18.   

The Girl with the Iron Claws  (*****)

After a princess becomes enthralled with a golden band in one dream, she agrees to go away with a bear that actually has the band.  From the simple puppets to the sparse, evocative bear costume, this Nordic fairy tale is wonderful for both children (from age 6) and adults.  I only wish that the few poorly sung songs would have been replaced with prose spoken by the outstanding narrator.  (Aug 4)

Underbelly

13:35-14:35

4

19.   

The Fitzrovia Radio Hour (*****)

This a recreation of a 1930s radio program that contains commercials and four stories with a few added visual touches for the audience’s amusement.  This perfectly designed show splits the two long stories across the show so that we can experience real cliffhangers.  While the cast maintains the “suspense” of the on air show, they must scramble around the studio producing the manifold sound effects, as well as quickly changing hats.  (Aug 20)

Gilded Balloon

16:00-17:00

20

20.   

Out of the Blue (*****)

The large Oxford men’s a cappella group is back again with their great arrangements and fun choreography.  This show seemed to have better choreography and a lot more new tunes than the shows from the last couple of years.  I think that their new venue is a little too large for their volume, with the weaker solos becoming inaudible.  (Aug 23)

Pleasance Courtyard

15:00-15:50

23

21.   

Pinocchio: A Fantasy of Pleasure (*****)

The tale of Pinocchio is told with modern dance, and music that runs from opera to rock.  This is a feast for the eyes and ears with imaginative dance movements and a strong operatic soprano.  The Pinocchio  dancer uses a loose limb gate and his marvelous gymnastic skills to create the marionette star.  (Aug 26)

New Town Theatre

19:00-20:10

26

22.   

From the Fire (*****)

A large cast portrays the lives and working conditions of 146 immigrant girls who died jumping from the ninth floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory when it caught fire in 1911.  I usually do not like what I call Sondheim musicals with their lack of rhyming lyrics, but the beautiful voices of the women combined with their evocative lyrics won me over.  The occasional projection of photos and videos of the times reinforced the state of their working conditions as well as providing historical context for newly emerging women’s unions.  (Aug 20)

Zoo Roxy

10:30-11:45

20

23.   

Street Dreams (*****)

A puppet who lives in a garbage dump tires of dealing with animated banana peels, rubber gloves, and plastic bags.  The tale of seeking greener pastures extends the garbage motif to a corrugated paper ramshackle set, and a large holey umbrella that serves as a boat on a bellowing plastic sheet sea.  Except for a harshly strummed mandolin, the flute and harmonica provide a nice lilting soundtrack. (Aug 19)

Underbelly

11:40-12:40

19

24.   

Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler (*****)

A bored wife selfishly manipulates almost everyone around her to entertain herself.  I had not seen the play for many years, but it seems that this abridged version has all the power of the original.  Hedda, with her probing questions and sly rejoinders hurting people but often thwarted in her aims, and her husband, with his naïve honesty providing a clear contrast, are a core duo that form a strong base for the play.  (Aug 7)

Hill Street Theater

14:15-15:45

7

25.   

A Slow Air (*****)

This two hander has a steady tile contractor and his estranged volatile barhopping housecleaner sister dealing with her 21-year old son’s disturbing fascination with the Glasgow bombers.  This well honed script eschews rhetorical flourishes in favor of solid monologues from clear characters presented by skilled actors.  I loved the idea of an album of family photos with everyone caught in midair while jumping together.  (Aug 6)

Traverse Theatre

varies

6

26.   

Sold (*****)

From the cocoa farms of Ivory Coast to the nightclubs of the UK, this show reveals how varied and widespread human trafficking is in the world.  Unlike many shows on this topic, this one accuses governments of providing little more than rhetoric, and then suggests actions for the audience to take.  The facts projected on monitors combined with appropriately disparate stories combine well, though I do grow tired of the prominence of the sex trade aspect when it is just a small part of the problem.  (Aug 8)

Pleasance Courtyard

11:10-12:30

8

27.   

Fantasmagoriana (*****)

Based on a real event, Lord Byron, Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, and Dr. John Polidori agree to compete to write the best ghost story while Mary’s stepsister competes with Polidori for Byron’s affections.  The play brings all five participants alive with dialog that matches their historical backgrounds.  Though Byron was clearly the leader, and his verse is sprinkled throughout, the play provides each character time to develop so that we can witness a rich mix of romance and literary creation.  (Aug 21)

C Aquila

15:40-

21

28.   

Remember This (*****)

A working man and his posh wife review their life together as they watch a slide show he has painstakingly created.  As they view each slide, they reveal secret aspects of the situations which are quite touching.  The best was him revealing that he was pretending to be still dating her close friend while dating his future wife because he thought it kept her interested in him.  (Aug 9)

Bedlam Theatre

12:30-13:30

9

29.   

Breathing Water (*****)

A young man troubled by a traumatic experience has a jock buddy and concerned girlfriend try to support him while her sexual predator girlfriend does not understand him.  I loved the way the protagonist spoke in extended alliterative phrases that were also quite evocative.  All of the acting and script suited me perfectly.  (Aug 23)

theSpace on the Mile

13:35-14:30

23

30.   

Medea (*****)

Medea plans revenge on her husband, Jason of the Argonauts, when he weds the daughter of the king of Corinth.  Three strong performances by the leads make this tragedy compelling.  Nadira Janikova’s Medea has an intensity that I’ve rarely seen on the stage, and her Uzbekistani accented English gives just the right touch of a Medea’s foreignness.  (Aug 14)

Assembly George Square

18:30-19:35

14

31.   

Llwyth (Tribe) (*****)

A gay Welshman who now lives in London returns to go clubbing with his three longtime gay friends.  Though the men speak in Welsh with English supertitles, and there were many British proper nouns unknown to me, I still found the events quite affecting.  I cannot remember another show that portrayed gay men gently touching each other when it conveyed genuine friendship with no sexual undercurrents.  (Aug 24)

St. Georges West

11:45-13:30

24

32.   

Sunday in the Park with George (*****)

The large young cast takes on Stephen Sondheim’s musical about George Serat and the people in his painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.“  With consistently strong voices, good acting, and clear accompaniment from a small band, everything works in this well proven play.  It was nice touch to have parts of a replica of the painting as an occasional backdrop to provide a reference for the characters.  (Aug 26)

C Chamber Street

15:35-17:35

26

33.   

Go to Your God Like a Soldier (****)

While four British soldiers are penned down in an Afghan school, we see flashbacks and sometimes confusing flash forwards of the individuals.  Not surprisingly for a play, each soldier has different issues in his/her life, with the most touching being a divorced father who is not granted joint custody solely because he is away fulfilling his duty.  I liked how a large monitor in the background introduced each scene by first drawing an outline of a room’s furnishings and then filling in the details.  (Aug 19)

Underbelly

14:40-15:35

19

34.   

I, Malvolio (****)

Malvolio, the officious butler in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice,” complains of mistreatment in this treatise on bullying by Tim Crouch.  In the first half of the story, Malvolio garners sympathy by as the love struck conservative who is ridiculed and imprisoned simply for doing the bidding of his supposed lover, but as the story continues Malvolio reveals his own bullying side as he tells audience members what to do without so much as a please or thank you.  The play starts with some very clever incremental absurdities matched by a slow increase in volumes, but Malvolio’s complaints become repetitive as the play continues.  (Aug 16)

Traverse

varies

16

35.   

Fresher the Musical (****)

In their first week at a university, two girls and three boys share a suite, and learn to get along as they party and quietly talk about their needs.  The music is very good, the lyrics clear and well written, the situations straight out of first week, and the characters are close enough to real to allow me to care for them.  I just could not believe that the “good” girl would fall in love with the mostly unrepentant mean prankster until he demonstrated that he had changed.  (Aug 12)

Pleasance Dome

15:50-17:00

12

36.   

Broadway Swings (****)

A fifteen-piece band and thirty-five singers perform pop tunes as well as Broadway hits.  I loved “All That Jazz,” “Mack the Knife,” and a Judy Garland medley bookended by “Over the Rainbow.”  During an instrumental, the drummer had the traditional, but uninteresting solo, and the brass section drowned out the five saxophones.  (Aug 18)

Pleasance Courtyard

20:00-21:15

18

37.   

The Caroline Carter Show (****)

Accompanied by good guitarist, Caroline playfully sings her own country songs.  The lyrics are fun, and her warm personality won over the whole crowd.  I even got to be bartender for the audience as she offered libations for us all!  (Aug 28)

Zoo

21:15-22:15

28

38.   

Youth and Will: a Portrait of Shakespeare’s Young Characters… and us (****)

Two actresses and an actor describe how Shakespeare influenced their lives.  During difficult emotional times the two women found solace in characters sharing their plight, while the actor identifies with Hamlet’s intellectual challenges.  The ordering of the stories weakens the play because it misled my expectations of its trajectory, but the story of one actress’ loss of trust caused by the constant betrayal of her director/lover had tremendous impact.  I must note that the actress is a friend of mine, but a disinterested stranger in the audience volunteered the same opinion when I asked his thoughts on the play.  (Aug  6)

C soco

12:00-12:50

6

39.   

Camille O’Sullivan: Feel (****)

This is the third time I have seen the Irish singer accompanied by a keyboardist, drummer, and lead guitarist.  Whether using a mechanical caged bird hanging from her microphone stand to accompany her, or urging her players to ramp up to another crescendo, she always brings a mischievous presence to her often dark music.  She made it a truly spontaneous show as she good naturedly selected songs on the spot to accommodate the tardy starting time of opening night.  (Aug 3)

Pleasance Courtyard

20:00-21:00

3

40.   

Ed Byrne: Crowd Pleaser (****)

The nerdy Byrne follows the standard stand-up comedian formula of exploring a few topics, and occasionally querying the front row.  As a new father, domestic life figures prominently, though politics and a few random jokes made their appearance.  I laughed often, and found his piece about what his cat brought into the house, including a live pheasant, hilarious.  (Aug 17)

Venue150 at EICC

19:40-20:40

17

41.   

52 Man Pickup (****)

With some help from the audience, a woman describes her sex life by randomly going through a deck of cards, each with notes on a man with whom she has had sex.  Her energy, vulnerability, and bawdiness combine to give her show an unimagined power.  While I have seen many one-woman shows, this is unlike anything I have seen before.  (Aug 6)

Hill Street Theater

22:30-0:00

6

42.   

An Imaginary History of Tango (****)

Anna Cetti tells of her discovery of the tango, the nuances of the culture of tango clubs, called milongas, and the world of non-verbal communication found there.  Cetti combines dance, puppets, storytelling, and audience participation to create a lovely atmosphere of discovery for us.  I particularly liked how in the initial scene where she is dancing to quick pop music, she first ever so minutely misses a beat and then progressively finds that the music does not resonate with her.  (Aug 21)

C Aquila

16:55-17:55

21

43.   

The Big Bite-Size Breakfast – Menu 1 (****)

The four-person troupe present five short plays along with coffee, croissants, and strawberries.  The consistently satisfying plays range from a man preparing to see an ex-girlfriend to a pair of pro tennis players saying what they are thinking as they battle for the match point.  My favorite was a tale of a wild horse ride by a Special Forces soldier in Afghanistan.  (Aug 26)

Pleasance Dome

10:30-11:30

26

44.   

The Big Bite-Size Breakfast – Menu 3 (****)

The four-person troupe present five short plays along with coffee, croissants, and strawberries.  These plays range a groom dealing with a sleepy bride to a widower discussing with his wife her eulogy.  The highlights were a story of woman preparing to return to the high wire after a fall, and another that had a foreman help his laborer prepare for an acting audition by playing famous scenes in a blue-collar style.  (Aug 28)

Pleasance Dome

10:30-11:30

28

45.   

The Big Bite-Size Breakfast – Menu 2 (****)

The four-person troupe present five short plays along with coffee, croissants, and strawberries.  The consistently satisfying plays range from a modern couple choosing to live their lives exactly as if it was October 30, 1942 to how two men’s video game obsession have different effects because one is single and the other married.  My favorite of this batch had a workman’s repeatedly hiring a prostitute not for sex, but to fulfill his rigid fantasy of having a long happy marriage, and then she rebels. (Aug 27)

Pleasance Dome

10:30-11:30

27

46.   

Foursome (****)

This light comedy has a pharmacist, a sex obsessed buffoon, a hung over fellow, and his concerned girlfriend, preparing for lunch with her mother.  There is no new territory explored here, nor great cleverness, but the show has a comfortable TV sitcom feel to it.  Though after 50 minutes, I started to grow tired of hearing of the buffoon’s sexual missteps, I could appreciate his reasoning when he told a woman that she was a better lover than her non-existent sister was.  (Aug 12)

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall

20:50-21:40

12

47.   

The Overcoat (****)

The cast of five transpose Gogol’s short story of a socially inept clerk, Akaky, who becomes obsessed with purchasing an overcoat to the modern banking world with its technological advancements and dubious financial innovations.  His continual mastery of each new computer improvement is a nice interpretation of the original protagonist’s mastery of copying documents.  His ensnarement in the financial crisis is also a creative parallel to the original Akaky’s trouble with an insecure general.  (Aug 28)

Pleasance Dome

12:25-13:45

28

48.   

The Butterfly Effect (****)

Three middle aged Swedish gentlemen present a wonderful array of tunes played instruments created from everyday objects as well as a piano and an accordion.  With one man providing percussion and innumerable sound effects with his mouth, another singing and playing a radio-ski slide guitar and bicycle harp, and the third hippy providing comic relief as well as playing almost anything, this playful trio kept us smiling throughout.  The purity of sound produced when one fellow rubbed more than 20 partially filled tumblers made one Telemann piece surprisingly affecting.  (Aug 7)

Hill Street Theater

11:15-12:00

7

49.   

Dust (****)

As he is writing a book about the 1984 miners’ strike under Margaret Thatcher, Arthur Scargill, the union’s leader, is confronted by a fellow leader who personally suffered from the repercussions of the strike.  This show endeavors to both teach political history as well as conveys the individual suffering of the miners.  I was a bit confused about a key mine accident.  I spoke with a miner in the audience who had been with Scargill when the famous strike photo was taken, and he said he did not like the play because he rejected the portrayal of Scargill.  (Aug 18)

New Town Theatre

15:30-16:50

18

50.   

Two by Jim Cartwright (****)

A man and woman play the estranged owners of a pub, as well as their many patrons.  The vignettes range from domestic abuse to a loving couple sharing a Western on the TV to and unfaithful rake trying to wheedle money from soft touch girlfriend.  The explanation behind the couple’s constant bickering was troubling because it takes them seven years to finally talk about it.  (Aug 15)

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall

10:30-11:25

15

51.   

The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik (****)

The Earth is covered with water, and a widower signs up to find an air pocket of vegetated land at the bottom of the ocean.  The one-man show has the aquanaut puppet passing in and out of a projected screen that sometimes displays the whole story as a cartoon, and sometimes just provides the seascape for the real puppet.  The show has an extra dimension of tenderness because he chases the light of the soul of his wife, which ends up guiding him on his quest.  (Aug 12)

Underbelly

18:00-19:00

12

52.   

Ruby Wax: Losing It (****)

With the help of her piano accompanist, the comedienne explores her battle with depression throughout her life.  She has written a show that maintains its good humor throughout her journey as we learn of her voice of belittlement in her ever-busy life and her experiences in treatment centers.  She argues persuasively that mental disease should not be shameful, and that, with one in four suffering from it, sufferers should seek out other depressed people as well as therapy to help them realize that they are not bad.  (Aug 11)

Udderbelly

16:10-17:30

11

53.   

One Night Stan (****)

In 1954, after hearing that Oliver Hardy is seriously ill, Stan Laurel sits in his dressing room and describes his professional life.  Though most of the names of the performers are unfamiliar, it does not detract from his thesis that Laurel needed a partner to help him create an enduring character for film based on the low comedy of the 1910’s English music halls owned by his father.  I learned that Laurel did much of the early production work while Hardy golfed, and that Laurel thought the later orders to eliminate his pancake make-up made the gags less funny because he looked less childlike. (Aug 3)

Assembly George Square

15:45-16:45

3

54.   

Confessions of a Mormon Boy (****)

Steven Fales tells of his life as a gay boy battling his sexuality within the Church of Latter Day Saints, and his life as a prostitute afterwards.  Fales is a gifted singer, and this is a clear, forthright tale of man who worked hard to mold himself to a unaccepting system, and then using that same industry to provide for his family in a most antithetical way.  Fales still embodies the traditional Mormon value for his family, but he readily admits that the ever present Mormon smile has left him at times.  (Aug 26)

Hill Street Theater

21:00-22:30

26

55.   

The Trials of Galileo (****)

Galileo describes his Inquisition trial for violating an edict that proscribed advocating Copernicus’ theory that the Earth revolved around the sun.  During his thorough discourse he covers the effects of the rack, his own astronomical studies, his friendly meetings with Pope Urban, and the legal maneuvering during the trial.  All the pieces fit nicely together to explain the verdict and his ingenious recanting.  (Aug 27)

C Aquila

18:50-20:05

27

56.   

Rose (****)

As she attending her immigrant father in the hospital, a woman relives their life together in a bedsit.  His portrayal as a troubled father trying to sternly guide his daughter in a new culture drives the play.  Her development, in two-year installments, works well except that her religious conversion shows up only intermittently  (Aug 29).

Pleasance Courtyard

17:25-18:35

29

57.   

Paul Daniels: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow (****)

Daniels presents age-old tricks almost identical to the other five magic acts I’ve seen this year, except for Barry and Stuart who create new tricks.  With such a range of tricks available, why does every act have an audience member sign a card, then have the card show up in some impossible place?  What separates Daniels from the others is his smooth, friendly veteran patter that allows him to be both clever, and interact with the audience in more than a superficial way.  (Aug 16)

Assembly George Square

17:00-1800

16

58.   

Oedipus by Steven Berkoff (****)

The Oedipus, the king of Thebes, must lift the curse on his city by finding the murderer of his predecessor, who is himself.  Berkoff’s translation/interpretation and the fine acting makes the ancient Greek tragedy accessible and powerful.  I loved how the messenger pranced around the table to indicate his journey, but I hated how Jocasta constantly held her arms out as if she was a spirit and not part of the rest of the characters.  (Aug 29)

Pleasance Courtyard

13:20-15:00

29

59.   

Great Expectations (****)

This abridged version of the Dickens’ novel focuses on the interactions between the protagonist Pip and the beautiful but remote Estella.  The playwright does a fine job of minimizing the outside scenes to only those that bear on Pip’s and Estella’s romance so that there is enough time to fully render their dysfunctional relationship over the first twenty years of the novel.  We can feel how the both are hurt by her upbringing.  (Aug 17)

Princes Mall

16:45-17:45

17

60.   

The Table (****)

This three (or is it four?) part puppetry show starts with a great first act, and then tails off a little.  The first act has three men controlling a puppet who describes himself and his table as well trying to interact with a woman reading at the table.  The later white heads controlled by invisible hands act, and rolling credits are fun, but not up to the originality of the table puppet.  (Aug 19)

Pleasance Dome

22:00-23:00

19

61.   

Dances for Wolves (****)

While five diverse strippers compete for the attention of sheik, they describe their lives and say what is going through their minds.  They often tell of their thoughts by providing clever alternative lyrics to famous stripping songs.  Most men in the audience are singled out and described as the repulsive wolves the women encounter in their club.  (Aug 20)

C Aquila

21:30-22:20

20

62.   

Your Last Breath (****)

This devised piece cycles through four stories set at different times in Norway based on the medical and frigid characteristics of a real 1999 skiing accident that involved suspended animation.  My favorite story at times utilized two sets of clothes lines to form a huge grid while an English cartographer maps the minimally hospitable north of the country in 1876.  Surprisingly, I found the story about the accident itself, the least appealing because of its reliance on repetitive physical theater.  (Aug 13)

Pleasance Dome

12:15-13:25

13

63.   

Barry and Stuart – Show and Tell: The Show (****)

The young magicians provide a good show with a variety of tricks ranging from mentalism to sleight of hand to escaping bonds.  They are excellent entertainers that know how to dress up a trick to make it even more appealing to the audience.  As someone who has studied magic, I could figure out almost of them, except when they poured previously tasted bottled water into a glass, and it became real red wine.  You must see this show to see their five star show “Barry and Stuart – Show and Tell: The Tell” that is reviewed above.  (Aug 12)

Udderbelly’s Pasture

22:15-23:15

12

64.   

Bespoke Magic – On the Fringe of Reality (****)

Bruce Glen, the self-ascribed Gentleman Magician, performs a nice range of magic tricks while using a quiet, gentle patter.  Though most of his tricks are from the traditional bag, he deserves high marks for avoiding almost all of the tricks that the other magicians at the Fringe are doing.  I still don’t know how he touched one audience member, and had another feel it.  (Aug 18)

C Aquila

18:10-19:10

18

65.   

Bashir Lazhar (****)

Bashir is an Algerian immigrant who takes over teaching a 6th grade class when their teacher commits suicide.  As he tries to help the students deal with violence in their world, he must deal with the physical violence of his homeland, and the political violence of his new school.  As a lecturer, I found his enthusiastic lesson plans appealing, but his writing on his clothes with chalk a distracting artifice.  (Aug 21)

Assembly George Square

14:25-15:25

21

66.   

Free Run (****)

Seven fellows and one weak woman run, jump, and flip around a set of four large boxes of varying heights while videos play on the huge back screen.  After the first five minutes, I realized that while quite athletic, the range of tricks was surprisingly narrow.  The best scene was having four runners chased around the whole auditorium by two hunters, but it ended badly when the runners are cornered, tension mounts as we wonder how they will escape, and then the lights just go out.  (Aug 3)

Udderbelly

18:20-19:20

3

67.   

Dusk Rings a Bell (****)

A 39-year old woman returns to a beach house to retrieve a hidden piece of memorabilia, and meets an old flame who is an ex-con who is still dealing with his crime.  The whole play gets off on the wrong foot with the woman giving a long, elaborate soliloquy describing her life, but lacking any emotional content.  The fellow’s lines are much better written, and delivered with a sincerity that gives power to the later scenes when the pair interacts.  (Aug 3)

Assembly George Square

14:00-15:20

3

68.   

Phys Ed (****)

Neville, the twin brother of a world famous rugby player, coaches his young team toward the English School Rugby Invitational Cup while describing his own childhood.  This lighthearted tale finds a rich source of material in the brothers’ problem of bed wetting that well serves the story’s well-designed ending.  As a Sean Connery fan, I particularly liked his send up of Connery as King Arthur in “First Knight” when describing Neville’s pursuit of his own holy grail.  (Aug 4)

Assembly Hall

16:15-17:15

4

69.   

Vertigo (****)

This has the premise that two plays were scheduled for the same time in the Bedlam so the two actors alternate presenting one shallow play about the man’s fears based on questionnaires and his experiences, and another about a woman’s search to re-capture a once experienced emotion.  This is a slight play, but the sincerity of her search, and a plot twist at the end, really warmed my heart.  Her constantly backpacked stepladder provided a prop metaphor for her efforts to reach a higher plane.  (Aug 8)

Bedlam Theatre

15:25-16:05

8

70.   

The Return of the Pink Sinatra (****)

Scott Free dons a pink suit, and backed with a quartet sings a wide range of pop songs that Frank Sinatra might have chosen.  While last year he was a fine Sinatra imitator, this year he eschewed Frank’s mannerisms for my references to his own homosexuality, and expanded the set to include songs from the likes of Sting and the Beatles.  The band is tight, and Free’s voice has a Boy George clarity that saunters through all of the songs with ease.  (Aug 6)

St George’s West

18:55-20:05

6

71.   

Matilda and the Tales She Told (****)

While their uncle and auntie are away for the evening, little Matilda and her “perfect” brother explore Matilda’s imaginary world with the help of her doll.  The performers wear colorful music hall face make-up, often speak in rhyme, and occasionally break into short songs.  Though the children in the audience were generally attentive, I thought the vocabulary is a little advanced, and the rhyming words not accentuated enough.  (Aug 4)

Udderbelly’s Pasture

12:15-13:15

4

72.   

Dead Cat Bounce: Caged Heat (****)

Four fellows perform songs with odd lyrics in classic rock style.  This is the third time I’ve seen this humorous act, but it seemed curiously formulaic this time.  While they had me smiling throughout, this time songs like one about a man denying his sea kayak expertise seemed high on concept and music, but lacked truly witty rhyming lyrics.  (Aug 4)

Pleasance Courtyard

22:30-23:30

4

73.   

Jus’ Like That! (****)

This play begins with the magician/comedian of the 1940’s-1980’s drinking heavily backstage while complaining about his wife in one-liners, and then moves on to his stage act.  Because of the original backstage scene, I thought that the play would be more about his life, or at least bookended with some biographical notes, but it was not.  Nonetheless, from Clive Mantle’s portrayal I can see how the Brits came to enjoy the wisecracking, bumbling, but adept magician.  (Aug 5)

Assembly Hall

17:30-18:55

5

74.   

Scary Gorgeous (****)

This tells the stories of a woman asking another female bartender to join her new band as a back-up vocalist, while a pair of 19-year old lovers explore sex.  The acting throughout as well as the early modern dances and rock songs are all great, but their later, louder songs have unintelligible lyrics and less melody, and a later sailor dance piece often reprises moves seen earlier.  The story of the sexualization of music and its impact on its listeners and its performers is quite powerful.  If I had thought that the degraded later performances were intentional, then I would say this is the best play at the Fringe, but the actual selling of CDs of the score argues against it.  (Aug 10)

Bedlam Theatre

21:00-22:30

10

75.   

Transformer (****)

Three young fellows provide sketch comedy on a wide range of topics.  I was quite pleasantly surprised that they avoided sex and drugs as topics, while producing countless consistently funny short routines.  Two days later, none is memorable, which is the price paid for short sketches, but I still remember that one actor had perfected his use of an arched eyebrow to great effect.  (Aug 8)

Bedlam Theatre

18:00-18:50

8

76.   

The Prodigals (****)

The older son of a colonel follows the family tradition of military service, but the younger rejects it and becomes a pop sensation in the drug infested world of rock and roll.  Unfortunately, the musical suffers from raised expectations as the enthusiastic, upbeat opening pop show songs and dances are unmatched by the remaining slow ballads that focus on regrets and despair.  The show sinks as it has a reprised ballad that tries to use the prosaic word “invisible” in its key phrase, and turns what could be rousing military anthems into somber dirges.  (Aug 15)

Gilded Balloon

17:00-18:00

15

77.   

Show Me the World (****)

The Glastonbury Festival is the final destination for three rotating, independent stories: a closeted gay high school student trying to come out, a bartender’s son whose longtime girlfriend is leaving for South America, and a reserved young woman who has forgotten how to live outside of work.  All of the stories have Facebook revelations that have devastating consequences.  The opening crowd scene was too loud for me to understand their words in the reverberating Iron Belly, but, thankfully, later scenes involved few people who only rarely raised their voices too far.  (Aug 17)

Underbelly

12:00-13:15

17

78.   

The Oxford Imps (****)

Six men and two women improvise skits based on audience suggestions.  In most cases, the team created funny pieces, though their disparate skill was plainly evident as some excelled, and others often faltered.  One fellow in particular could create germane rhyming verse with seeming ease.  (Aug 9)

Gilded Balloon

15:45-16:35

9

79.   

Tomboy Blues : The Theory of Disappointment (****)

Use clothes as a touchstone, two women of radically different heights explore the difficulties they had growing up as tomboys.  From the opening scene of a clothesline of panties ranging from pedestrian cotton to G-String, the actresses maintain a light touch as they relate their challenges to proclaim their identities.  I felt that they had focused only on lesbian tomboys for which there is a social model while ignoring the more ambiguous position of a heterosexual tomboy.  (Aug 15)

Zoo Southside

18:30-19:30

15

80.   

Free Time Radical (****)

Ali takes in his surfer buddy Justin becomes homeless when a tsunami hits London, and most of the city remains underwater.  This odd mix of scheduling the remaining food, surfing among the dead, monopoly, and slowly emerging regrets is a little too surreal to be as touching as it could be.  The opening twin montages of the men’s lives in picture-framed monitors are cleverly artistic and prophetic.  (Aug 15)

Pleasance Courtyard

13:10-14:20

15

81.   

The Animals and Children Took o the Streets (****)

A young woman and her daughter move into a tenement in the slums of a city with the goal of helping the children who run amok each night.  The three actresses interact with the full backdrop video screen cartoon in many creative ways, including pushing a real broom that creates animated dust.  The style is fantastic, but the story is depressing, and a bit thin.  (Aug 27)

Pleasance Courtyard

16:10-17:20

27

82.   

A Dish of Tea with Dr. Johnson (****)

Dr. Johnson, the English genius of the mid 18th century fills his conversation with aphorisms as he chats with his biographer James Boswell, the object of his affections Mrs. Thrale, and a few luminaries of his time.  Johnson’s wit permeates the play as we also see his mixture of rough criticism and tenderness with the one drawback being two substitute actors reading from scripts.  I was singled out and offered a real cup of tea, and so I actually had a dish of tea with Dr. Johnson!  (Aug 27)

Traverse Theatre

varies

27

83.   

Swamp Juice (****)

Jeff Achtem returns with a shadow puppet show quite similar to his wonderfully creative “Sticks, Stones, Broken Bones” of last year.  While the show on the screen can be fun at times, it seems that, even with 3-D, he has exhausted his creativity.  The actual puppets are no longer whimsical amalgams of objects used to create surprising shadows, and most of the acts, particularly the 3-D and audience participation scenes, lose their novelty well before they end.  (Aug 17)

Underbelly

14:00-15:00

17

84.   

The Sexual Awakening of Peter Mayo (****)

Peter, a 23-year old almost virgins nerd, by accident follows a text message and befriends Dan who introduces him to the world of online no strings attached one-night stands.  Dan provides Peter and us with a thorough description of the mechanics of this subculture, while Peter demonstrates the loveless nature of the arranged sex.  While Peter’s initial lack of confidence and ineptness is understandable, his later awkward kissing with a repeated sex partner did not jibe with his purported social overconfidence.  (Aug 20)

Pleasance Courtyard

14:45-15:45

20

85.   

Somewhere Beneath It All, A Small Fire Burns Still (****)

The comedian Phil Nichol begins this dynamic and touching story playing a man who imagines fantastical sexual experiences with a waitress when all she is really doing is serving him.  His high energy quick delivery is almost overwhelming, but a mid-show interlude provides a twist that adds tremendous poignancy to the whole show.  I would have enjoyed this more had he not decided to stop the show and pick on me after I had surreptitiously turned off the ringer of my cell phone.  (Afterwards, the people around me had said they had thought he was joking because they had not noticed me doing anything.)  Of course, he was thinking I was texting, but I still think it was unprofessional of him in a non-stand-up comedy setting.  (Aug 23)

Gilded Balloon

12:00-13:00

23

86.   

Encounters: Theater Uncut (****)

Actors read the scripts of eight short plays ranging from allegory to polemic that all address the recent large budget cuts by the UK government.  The presence of the scripts was a minimal distraction because all of the actors provided pitch perfect readings.  While the allegory of a healthy man having heart surgery was the most touching, the most amusing was a black comedy of a hard hearted couple dealing with their arthritic cat by “helping” her by placing her food at the top of some stairs.  (Aug 22)

Traverse

15:00-17:00

22

87.   

Anton’s Uncles (****)

Though this has men based on characters from Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya,” since I have not seen that play for a long time, this show had to stand on its own.  From the beginning, the cast established that clever music and dance would be an integral part of the play.  Their interactions with unseen characters allowed the play to draw in the drama of Chekhov’s play.  Those people in the audience who remembered “Uncle Vanya” well, consistently said they would give the play five stars.  (Aug 8)

Bedlam Theatre

14:00-15:05

8

88.   

The American Family (***)

A huge cast from two universities on different coasts presents a pastiche of vignettes from all aspects of American family life.  This derived piece has the concomitant strength of imaginative staging and vignettes, but attending lack of structure and plot.  The bookends of the play are a perfect example with their metaphor of fabric sacs containing American family gametes that emerge at the end as (needlessly topless) young American families without any pattern of growth in the intervening time.  (Aug 9)

theSpace at North Bridge

22:15-23:05

9

89.   

The Wright Brothers (***)

The two brothers lecture on their four year effort to create a heavy-than-air aircraft.  While the interesting facts of their work are here, the drama of the two different men and their efforts is not.  Particularly troubling is the too small video screen that made significant images quite difficult to see.  (Aug 26)

Pleasance Courtyard

13:30-14:30

26

90.   

Darkness (***)

A Croatian fellow applies to work as a lumberjack for his English girlfriend’s fundamentalist Christian family.  The play tries to treat the mini-sect with an even hand as we hear of their strong beliefs, and see that they are sincere, and not hypocrites.  However, the unnecessary introduction of a top hat and Cliff Richard’s white shoes undermines these efforts and the play’s potential drama.  (Aug 16)

Zoo Roxy

15:30-16:35

16

91.   

Timothy (***)

This comedy has a wife summon her two close friends to help her figure how to deal with a situation that she perceives will threaten her marriage.  The bulk of the humor derives from the women repeatedly jumping to conclusions based on the flimsiest evidence.  Though the final scene invites the audience to make a similar leap, I was unwilling to take it.  (Aug 9)

Bedlam Theatre

10:00-10:45

9

92.   

Cry of the Mountain (***)

After interviewing thirteen people, Adelind Horan recreates them using their own words to describe the devastation and remediation efforts of coal mining in Appalachia.  The banjo accompanist and her attempts at rendering the Appalachian accents help to set the Kentucky settings.  Though the play definitely has an anti-coal tilt, she does provide a couple pro-coal responses.  (Aug 28)

Pleasance Courtyard

14:15-15:15

28

93.   

Death Song (***)

As an illegal Mexican immigrant waits on death row in Nevada we also see his last free year recounted.  This protective father, his British advocate, his secluded but curious daughter, his new Southern girlfriend, and the slightly slimy Mexican repairman all interact beautifully.  However, the wandering through the audience makes the actors difficult to see, and the final plot twisting criminal act makes the advocate’s actions unreasonable in retrospect.  (Aug 19)

Underbelly

18:35-19:35

19

94.   

Liberace: Live From Heaven (***)

Bobby Crush dons the trademark sequin and fur costumes of Liberace, in this tribute to the closeted gay TV pianist who was the highest paid entertainer in the world in the 1950s.  Crush does a good, but not great, job of playing the piano and assuming Liberace’s flamboyant persona.  The overload accompanying music and his overuse of the sustain pedal muddied much of the performance, with only his final, unaccompanied, medley of ten songs suggested by the audience impressing me.  (Aug 11)

Assembly George Square

18:25-19:55

11

95.   

What Remains (***)

This site specific show has each member of the audience apply for acceptance into The Conservatoire of the Anatomy of Music, while we trace the horrific experience of one of the students.  While the macabre ambience was maintained throughout the production, the piece felt disjoint and unfocused—more into atmospherics than a more engaging murder mystery at which it hinted.  The final scene is quite memorable because it is set in a museum room with huge iron gates and two elephant skeletons flanking the protagonist’s strange piano.  (Aug 16)

Travers at University of Edinburgh Medical

21:30-22:30

16

96.   

Blues! (***)

An eleven piece band presents a history the blues from the 1930’s to the 1990’s.  The show is informative, and the band is good, though a bit too reserved at times, with one female singer and a lead guitarist clearly standing out.  I do wish they had stuck to strict chronological order rather than postponing Muddy Waters and the topic of women.  (Aug 5)

theSpace on Niddry St

20:55-21:55

5

97.   

Debbie Does Dad (***)

The Bobby Gordon, the 25-year old of .a famous porn star of 1970s, describes how his father’s profession affected him and his family.  Though Bobby made it abundantly clear that his father was a loving husband and father, his fame and profession did have some unusual consequences for the son.  Gordon does a fine job of mining the humor of the fatherly advice of “Grab your dick” in times of trouble, and Bobby’s own sexual performance anxiety, but the final politically correct manifesto for male sensitivity deflates the show.  (Aug 8)

Bedlam Theatre

23:00-0:00

8

98.   

Mr Kolpert (***)

An effete couple invites another couple to dinner so they can watch the guests come to terms with the hosts’ hint that there is a dead body in a steamer trunk/table.  This black comedy has the intial scene with the hosts demonstrating just the right air of superiority and lust to give this retelling of Hitchcock’s “Rope” a good start, but the guests seem a mismatched couple from the moment they entered.  As the show continues, this becomes a dark farce that unsuccessfully mixes murder with self-realization.  (Aug 20)

C soco

18:40-19:40

20

99.   

Pete Firman: Jiggery Pokery  (***)

Firman mixes some time worn tricks with a couple of new ones.  I must admit that this is my fifth magic show, and I am getting tired of seeing a selected card palmed. and then reappear some “impossible” place.  However, I am still impressed with the mentalist routine of knowing a book so well that he can recall words from a specific page.  (Aug 15)

Pleasance Dome

20:30-21:30

15

100.           

Now That She’s Gone (***)

This autobiographic tale has Ellen Snortland describing her life in terms of her interactions with her emotionally remote Norwegian mother.  From discovering the sexual joys of her father’s vibrating recliner to directing TV shows to her participation in est, Ellen has lived a varied and interesting life, but she seems more a braggart than an entertainer.  At one point, she performs a long medley of mostly obscure show tunes that are not so much for our benefit, but to “prove” the range of her talents.  (Aug 4)

Assembly Hall

17:30-18:30

4

101.           

Devil in the Detail (***)

All of the characters wear huge, expressive masks and did not speak in this story of a devious landlady has a Mafia accountant, and a night watchman pay rent for the same room.  The idea of taking a picture of the room of the just departed occupant and then recreating the room of the arriving tenant is wonderful to see once, but by the fourth time I cringed.  The surreal masks, particularly that of the landlady and night watchman, are a marvel because though they never change, they seem to perfectly reflect the emotional state of their characters throughout the play.  (Aug 13)

Zoo Roxy

18:00-19:20

13

102.           

Tonight Sandy Grierson Will Lecture, Dance, and Box (***)

Grierson follows the adventures of Arthur Craven, his great grandfather, as he takes on varied professions as varied as boxer to painter while seducing everything in sight.  Grierson gets the audience involved by asking them to both take on undaunting roles of people in Arthur’s life as well as each fold an origami shape from a sheet of facts on Craven.  The show works pretty well, with even a real 1916 film clip of the short Craven ineffectively boxing with a giant, but Grierson’s repeated assertion that he met Craven in 2010 continually discredits the story.  (Aug 9)

Assembly George Square

19:50-20:50

9

103.           

To Avoid Precipice Cling to Rock (***)

Eight young women form an expedition to reach a high precipice into which their friend had fallen the previous year.  Entertaining, upbeat songs and dances intersperse their monologues and interactions with spirits of the mountains.  I liked their twinned takes on their lost friend, but found some of the spirit scenes underwhelming.  (Aug 8)

Bedlam Theatre

16:30-17:30

8

104.           

Translator’s Dilemma (***)

A woman gives a lecture on legal translation for a friend, and finds that she has a personal interest in the case discussed in her friend’s notes.  The setting is perfect for presenting the facts of this real case of corporate asbestos poisoning, and the lecturer’s initial fumbling with the lighting matched my own experiences.  However, the script loses legal and emotional focus when the lecturer starts to abuse a student volunteer.  (Aug 19)

Princes Mall

13:00-14:00

19

105.           

Diamond Dick (***)

On a hot set, it’s been a long day in pancake makeup as a disgruntled cast makes a 1930s movie revolving around a pair of rich siblings and the aftermath of World War I.  The script and cast of characters of the movie fell nicely in line with the films of that time, but the off screen scenes added little, and made the whole show seem long.  I had a particular problem with Miss Lane because she seemed like an old veteran off screen, but played a 19 year old in the movie.  (Aug 13)

C soco

19:30-20:20

13

106.           

Penny Dreadful's Etherdome (***)

Based on true stories, in the middle of the nineteenth century, a professor, an inventor, and a sly businessman all vie to introduce the first anesthetic suitable for general surgery.  In typical Penny Dreadful fashion, they use comedic melodrama to milk every possible horrific event for all its worth.  When I researched the topic after the play, I was surprised to find that almost all of the events depicted had happened, including petitions to Congress, misapplied ether, and chloroform induced crimes by a gentle dentist.  (Aug 9)

Assembly George Square

14:10-15:20

9

107.           

The Oh F**k Moment (***)

This site specific play takes place in a meeting room with everyone sitting around a large table while the two leaders guide us through exercises exploring the causes and effects of our regrettable mistakes.  The two leaders were masterful in telling tales of both their own mistakes and that of others as well as coaxing audience participation.  However, their poems and efforts at relieving guilt fell flat. (Aug 6)

New Town Theater

17:30-18:30

6

108.           

Kitty Litter (***)

After a druggy fight, Don kidnaps a sexual assaulter, and then his four friends must deal with a manic Don.  The playwrights choice to constantly jump around both temporally and physically throughout the play adds unnecessary confusion to the play.  However, a similar technique where the cast trade earlier lines works well to convey Don losing his sanity.  (Aug 5)

theSpaces on the Mile

11:00-12:00

5

109.           

Hex (***)

Against her doubtful husband’s advice, a new age wife invites a pair of healers to their house to help them with their problem.  The first half of the play is pretty mundane, but a sudden plot twist changes everything and it becomes a joy to watch.  The opening act weakens the play when the otherwise considerate husband intentionally terminates his wife’s meditation for a less than urgent question, and then seemingly accuses her of insanity when he finds cabbage inside the sofa.  (Aug 7)

Hill Street Theater

21:25-22:15

7

110.           

Spielpalast Cabaret (***)

This is a classic softcore cabaret with a lewd emcee, a wide range of scantily clad young women, and a small band.  From fan dances to double entendre songs, this is good amateur fun from the early part of the last century.  The variety of body types of the women provided a nice change from the uniform tall, slender showgirls of today’s Las Vegas.  (Aug 7)

Hill Street Theater

22:45-0:00

7

111.           

Recursion (***)

An amnesiac in a hospital for the insane is aided by an obsessive-compulsive woman, as he writes a play about a couple in a strained marriage.  I chose this play because “recursion”, a function that calls itself, is an important concept in computer science, my field.  While the play does a good job of translating the concept to a life, it also suffers from the necessary simplicity of such functions, which in this case are life events.  (Aug 10)

C soco

16:30-17:15

10

112.           

One Million Tiny Plays about Britain (***)

This site-specific show could have taken place on any stage and present very short slices of current British life.  Most of the vignettes were entertaining, but there a few that fell flat.  Most memorable was where a fellow was reading a book in a park and mother accuses him of being a pedophile.  (Aug 27)

Hill Street Theatre

14:00-15:15

27

113.           

The Historians (***)

Two daughters of petty criminals, nicknamed Mucker and Chucker, tell of the history of Halifax and their lives growing up essentially fatherless there.  Like the home town they describe, there seems to be nothing special in the events in their lives.  This is just an unremarkable story of two girls sharing life and loves until they part company when they reach adulthood.  (Aug 18)

Underbelly

12:05-13:05

18

114.           

The Seagull Effect (***)

The unexpected hurricane of 1987 that wrecked havoc on the Southeast of England serves as the backdrop for a treatise on the unpredictability of life.  The ongoing story of an unexpected reunion of ex-lovers seemed mundane and predictable.  They did make good use of umbrellas throughout the show, and I did like the historical videos, though I think images of the devastation would have helped.  (Aug 24)

Zoo Roxy

16:20-17:20

24

115.           

The World According to Bertie (***)

A young boy must deal with an overprotective politically correct mother while other unrelated love stories abound.  The ever honest Bertie character was adorable and fun whenever he had a scene, but the rest of the characters seemed two-dimensional.  Though having the audience bunched in a circle with the play happening around them is a novel idea, it made for difficult hearing at times in the reverberating room.  (Aug 29)

C soco

19:20-20:40

29

116.           

Rain (***)

A collector of rain from around the world and his daughter offer samples and folk tales involving rain.  The pair’s expertise in identifying rain sets a wonderful tone, but the explanation of how the mother’s absence is justified to the daughter left me wishing they had explored that back story more.  Part of the charm of this piece is that is performed outside under a roof of umbrellas, and with walls covered with little jars of water each labeled with location, type of rain, and time.  (Aug 20)

C Chambers St.

17:15-18:15

20

117.           

Unnatural Selection (***)

A couple try to find the vampires that bit them so that they can get revenge, and maybe change their plight.  As the director notes, this has some cinematic quality, complete with strobe lit fight scenes, but there are too many inconsistencies in the story.  For example, we see an important archivist escape from the vampires’ clutches, and yet we hear nothing of this later when they are speaking of him.  (Aug 12)

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall

19:30-20:35

12

118.           

7 Day Drunk (***)

Bryony Kimmings describes a scientific experiment in which she was given progressively more alcohol over a seven day period to see how it affected her creativity and moods.  The idea was great, and some of the videos of the week provide insight into her experience, but the balance of the show seems a mish mash of ideas.  I think that people who have seen Kimmings before appreciated the very personable performer much more than did I.  (Aug 20)

Assembly George Square

20:00-21:00

20

119.           

The Wheel (***)

In this large production, a woman takes a young girl through war ravaged areas to find her father.  The play uses the slow appearance the girl’s mystical qualities to explore diverse aspects of desperation found in war including profiteering, torture, and famine.  The big problem for this overlong play is that its meaning eludes me still.  (Aug 11)

Traverse Theatre

varies

11

120.           

I Hope My Heart Goes First (***)

A huge cast of high school students dance and sing about the heart and love.  Though there is a purity here, this still feels like a show where anyone who applied had to be included.  The initial group jumping to symbolize the heart racing of new love was a nice idea, but by the third go around it had no power except to make me look at my watch.  Again, my companion loved the show, and would give it five stars.  (Aug 16)

St. George’s West

14:00-15:00

16

121.           

The Carroll Myth (***)

A manic Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) battles to keep a large cast of characters from “Alice in Wonderland” from intruding on his real life efforts to continue to see the eleven-year old Alice Liddell despite her parents concern.  Though we do hear renditions of some of his work, the play concentrates on his seemingly constant efforts to control the appearance of his characters.  The show suffers from such a simple plot, and the cast’s inability to adjust their volume to the small space.  (Aug 10)

Sweet Grassmarket

19:10-20:25

10

122.           

The Perils of Love and Gravity (***)

A naïve young woman who grows up in a remote upside down pyramid shaped house discovers love.  Her innocence, the quirky physical properties of her house, and the sincerity of her tinker lover combine to create a charming first act.  From there, the play confronts us with mundane repetition, a poor song, and a villainous twist that add little.  (Aug 8)

Bedlam Theatre

19:30-20:20

8

123.           

Now is the Winter (***)

Bess, a loyal cook of Richard III, gives her view of the events portrayed in Shakespeare’s play.  This is a nice blend of imagined “downstairs” gossip that seems fitting for a woman in her position, and some of Shakespeare’s best prose.  I wish I had had the program of the play in the queue, so that I could have read the synopsis of Richard III beforehand because it was hard to both keep track of all the characters while at the same time dealing with the Shakespearean manner of speech.  (Aug 5)

Assembly Hall

12:30-13:30

5

124.           

Lullabies of Broadmoor (***)

In 1872, in the Broadmoor Hospital for the criminally insane, a guard tries to learn the reason the great artist Richard Dadd murdered his father by introducing him to another inmate who shares his interests in painting and Egyptology.  Though each of the four players did a superb job, the withdrawn schizophrenic personality of Dadd seems to permeate the play, and I found my mind often wandered.  Because this was based on real people, I asked the playwright how much was fact, and found out that some of the more intriguing details were his own invention.  (Aug 5)

C Chamber St

22:20-23:25

5

125.           

Ethometric Museum (***)

This site-specific play/installation has the head of the museum give a short talk about “Ethos”, and allows the audience into a museum of fabricate electrical instruments designed to create, detect, and analyze its physical properties.  Though the order of presentation of the working instruments worked nicely as it went from mundane to extraordinary, I felt that short lectures on each would added much to the show.  Though each instrument had its label dutifully inscribed in its Bakelite with its wonderfully scientific sounding name, the dates in the 1700s made no sense for electrical instruments that clearly were designed in the 1930s style.  (Aug 26)

Hill Street Theatre

18:00-18:40

26

126.           

Magicians Do Exist (***)

Chris Cresswell gives examples and instructions on the style of the clown/filmmaker Jacques Tati.  Cresswell demonstrates how Tati relied on silence and sound effects to find the humor in the small events of life.  Both my wife and I were invited on stage to participate in scenes that conveyed everything without the need for words.  (Aug 26)

Pleasance Dome

12:10-13:00

26

127.           

Silken Veils (***)

A bride postpones her vows while reliving her life in Iran.  The tale of the effects of revolutionary Iran’s on her passionate parents gets muddled when a second family appears.  The use of marionettes and shadow screens also reduce the power of the story.  (Aug 28)

Assembly George Square

15:40-16:40

28

128.           

Leo (***)

With a suitcase, a two-walled room, a horizontal “dangling” light, a video camera shooting from above instead of horizontally, and a matching adjacent video screen, a man explores the possibilities of the changed perspective of the camera.  The first ten minutes are wonderful as he learns to deal with a situation where gravity is not “down,” but to the right on the video screen.  However, the remaining fifty minutes are filled with pale elaborations on the concept.  (Aug 6)

St George’s West

20:30-21:30

6

129.           

Manipulators (***)

Two Australians perform mostly sleight of hand tricks.  These fellows are pretty good, but I had seen almost all of their tricks many times before, and could sometimes see the palmed objects.  I must admit that I was a bit put off when I walked in and discovered that one of the performers, Vyom Sharma, was the annoying fellow in a queue and another show the night before.  (Aug 13)

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall

20:35-21:25

13

130.           

Simon Callow in Tuesdays at Tescoes (***)

An older transgender man cares for his father on Tuesdays despite his father’s adamant refusal to acknowledge the son’s gender choice.  It took me a while to become accustom to an obviously old man in drag, but that was the point of this slow story of his travails.  Because the character of the son often spoke in quiet, short, severely clipped phrases with the last word unintelligible, the whole play became a lot more work than it should have been.  (Aug 5)

Assembly Hall

14:00-15:15

5

131.           

Mary Blandy’s Gallows Tree (***)

In 1752, on the day of her hanging for poisoning her father, Mary Blandy still hopes that her lover will arrive to exonerate her.  This one-woman show is a mix of the details of life in a 16th century prison, and the particulars of Blandy’s own case.  While I found the description of dreadful prison fascinating, the mania of the desperately innocent Mary made the disjoint tale both real and confusing.  (Aug 4)

Sweet Grassmarket

11:00-11:45

4

132.           

Spent (***)

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers triggered the economic collapse, and serves as the starting point for this series of chronological sketches.  The early sketches lampooning foreign correspondents and the president of Lehman Brothers worked well, but the extended story of two traders that survive their attempted suicides proved tedious to me.  In particular, one scene where one of the pair eats and defecates paper money seemed a sophomoric way to convey avarice.  (Aug 15)

Pleasance Dome

14:55-16:00

15

133.           

Meryl O’Rourke – Bad Mother … (***)

O’Rourke provides standup detailing her life as the child of an old Irishman and, more importantly a Jewish refugee from Hitler’s Germany.  Meryl wastes time trying to get the afternoon audience prepared for her swearing laced routine, when she would have been better served to get started with eccentric family.  The stories of her mother’s obsession with TV stars, including writing letters using Meryl’s name, are quite humorous, and I am surprised to see that she has not learned that all the “f**king” actually detracts from her stories.  (Aug 10)

Underbelly

14:45-15:45

10

134.           

Sailing On (***)

This site-specific play takes place in the ladies loos in the New Town Theater where the ghosts of Shakespeare’s Ophelia and Virginia Wolfe try to help a woman deal with a tragic event in her past.  It surprised me how much could be done in a three stall bathroom despite a crowd of six people.  Though both the story and props were minimalist, the three of us audience members had a good time drawing each other’s attention to some muted aspect of the play.  (Aug 6)

New Town Theater

16:15-17:00

6

135.           

I, the Dictator (***)

In 1939, a Polish tap dancer who is making a movie using swastikas and Hitler’s toothbrush moustache is approached by a German producer offers to buy the movie and put the dancer under contract.  Though the insidious efforts at Nazi hegemony permeate the one-man show, the personal conflict of the dancer seems mild by comparison.  While I never understood why he spread body lotion on his arms and face, worse yet was the fact that I was distracted by a dab of lotion by his right eye that he unknowingly never removed.  (Aug 18)

New Town Theater

14:00-15:00

18

136.           

The Dark Philosophers (***)

In the early 20th century, Welsh coal miners must deal with a difficult life exacerbated by a harsh mine manager.  For me, the mix of a huge puppet, masked Death/???, an occasional TV interview, and three primary story lines was just too chaotic.  I did find the scenes with a miner’s wife the most compelling.  Again, my companion found the show wonderful.  (Aug 14)

Traverse Theatre

varies

14

137.           

Man of Valour (***)

On an empty stage, a mime portrays a shy white collar man who deals with his own demons as he decides whether to bury his estranged father’s ashes in his mother’s grave.  When the settings conventional, like an office, kitchen, or train, I could usually understand and enjoy this performance, but other times, particularly when he enters his video game world, I became lost and tired of trying to understand his movements.  The three other men of my generation with me had the same problem, but younger, more video game savvy loved it throughout.  (Aug 11)

Traverse Theatre

varies

11

138.           

Some Small Love Story (***)

This is somewhat embarrassing, but after two days and a foggy mind from a cold, I remember nothing of this play except that I thought it earned a low three stars, and the lyrics were poor.  (Aug 8)

C eca

21:30-22:25

8

139.           

Paper Tom (***)

A soldier in World War I, and another in Afghanistan lose comrades in their wars, and cannot integrate back into society upon their return.  While stories of Post Traumatic Stress Diagnosis are always touching, this somber show covers little new territory.  The scenes of folding origami swans at the beginning, middle, and end, do work well in their contexts of loss, estrangement, and the start of healing.  (Aug 7)

Hill Street Theater

12:30-13:45

7

140.           

Viewless (***)

We watch as two bureaucratic policemen of a bizarre witness protection agency create identities, and then walk a witness through the entire weird process.  Their surrealistic world begins with one bureaucrat peering out of a satchel and continues with countless inexplicable events including them breaking into dance on an elevator, and a window into a world of white noise.  The play does have the witness processing as a plot, but no sense of purpose.  (Aug 7)

Hill Street Theater

18:30-19:45

7

141.           

Bette and Joan – The Final Curtain (***)

Hedda Hopper and Louella Perkins order the ghost of Joan Crawford to guide the ever irascible, but dying, Bette Davis to the afterlife.  All too often this premise interrupted the interesting comparison of the “actress,” and the ”movie star.”  When the overload video of the gossips columnist appeared the show would drag, but the pace would quicken when the rivals would simultaneously describe the parallel events in their lives with just a few critical words different. (Aug 3)

Assembly George Square

12:15-13:35

3

142.           

What Goes Up (***)

A woman, her new male friend, and her son go camping, and deal with the logistics of camping and introducing the son to the man.  The character of the mother seemed a fine mix of caring and competence, but the play provides no explanation of why the man had become so incompetent and mentally troubled.  I admire the cast for managing scenes while erecting and collapsing the unwieldy tent right on the stage.  (Aug 14)

C soco

22:45-23:45

14

143.           

Mr. Darwin’s Tree (***)

Murray Watts presents Charles Darwin’s life including his voyage on the HMS Beagle, marriage to his devout wife, Emma, long delayed publication of “On the Origin of Species,” and his final internment in Westminster Abbey.  While this is a fairly thorough biography it is too dry as we learn of his deeds, but not the human being.  For example, Watts tells us Darwin hesitated publishing his theory for fear it would strengthen the arguments of atheist, but Watts takes little time to explore Darwin’s turmoil.  (Aug 20)

The Playhouse at Hawke and Hunter

12:00-13:10

20

144.           

Criminy (***)

After a series of tussles over bank plans and maps, three strangers agree to join forces to rob a bank.  This show follows the form of slapstick silent films with no words used, but some great music.  Unfortunately, the plot and physical theater rarely rise above the mundane, with some snaking through a laser beam field made of two red sticks being an exception.  (Aug 16)

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall

18:10-18:55

16

145.           

Enclosure 99 – Humans (***)

This site-specific show takes over an empty exhibit at the Zoo to present a collection of fifteen people standing, laying, and moving in a glass fenced area.  This is not so much a dance as it is spontaneous combinations of previously discussed movements by individuals and/or groups.  While I was there, the choreographer sat in the stands and never stopped talking on her cell phone, which both removed the idea of it being just another zoo exhibit, but also provided an interesting counterpoint to the mute humans.  (Aug 18)

Edinburgh Zoo

10:00-17:00

18

146.           

Beowulf – A Thousand Years of Baggage (***)

A septet, two back-up singers, aid four people presenting the English epic pose of a Norse warrior Beowulf battling the monster Grendel and his mother.  This zany interpretation combines bass trombone led music with actors cast against body type and modern phrasing to create a whirl of action.  I found many of the lyrics unintelligible and the music generally lacking.  On the hand, my wife loved the whole show.  (Aug 23)

George Square

16:00-17:10

23

147.           

Julian Sands in a Celebration of Harold Pinter (***)

Sands tells a few stories of the writer’s life, but spends the bulk of his time reading Pinter’s poetry.  Though initially I enjoyed hearing the poetry, after a while I grew tired of it.  On the other hand, my companion, who chose this play, loved it, so I think it comes down to whether you would enjoy listening to fine, complex poetry for an hour.  (Aug 13)

Pleasance Courtyard

15:00-16:00

13

148.           

My Best Friend Drowned in a Swimming (***)

A few days after the funeral of a young fellow who takes too many drugs at a party, his four friends must deal with his death and each other.  Each player, including the seemingly perfect deceased, delivers a monologue that is often mundane.  At their final cocaine party, when the deceased returns from the grave, we are left wondering why he would care that his best friend had had sex with a woman who is not the drowned man’s girlfriend.  (Aug 3)

C soco

21:45-22::40

3

149.           

Bepo & Co (***)

Starting in 1892, a traveling circus keeps finding itself at the site of either personal or global tragedies.  The play starts out so frenetic that many of the actors’ words are lost amongst the mayhem.  As the pace quiets, each performer’s story becomes more touching until the final candle lit moral is quite poignant. (Aug 3)

C /soco

17:00-17:50

3

150.           

May I Have the Pleasure…? (***)

This site specific piece has the audience as guests at a wedding reception with Adrian Howells leading a discussion of such events as well reviewing his role as best man in six weddings.  This is not about entertaining us, but instead is a sometimes humorous, but always self-centered show.  While the video of his first toast as a best man in 1984 was fun, his reading of a list the 60 weddings he has attended was just one of many boring events.  (Aug 24)

Traverse at the Point Hotel

19:45-21:30

24

151.           

The Infant (***)

Two interrogators repeatedly twist their victims’ answers to fit their preconceived notions.  Once the play establishes the unreliability of torture, it has little more to say.  With the near constant verbal abuse from the interrogators, the play was virtually flogging a dead horse.  (Aug 14)

Pleasance Courtyard

14:35-15:35

14

152.           

Murder at Warrabah House (***)

In 1930s Australia, an old man and his sister are asked to visit a wealthy family’s house to solve a jewel robbery.  I saw this play twice because I continually nodded off the first time, and thought I was at fault.  I realize now that the actress’ monotonous delivery, as well as the quick and dull solution to the mystery were more to blame.  (Aug 15 & 16)

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall

22:35-23:30

16

153.           

The Old Woman Who Lived in a … (***)

Twenty years after escaping the abuse of the old woman in the shoe, two of her twenty children return to seek revenge.  While the underlying concept of using the nursery rhyme as the springboard for a atale about desperation and tough choices is inventive, its execution is muddled.  The opening scene has inconsistent rhyming that is disconcerting, and a later fairy tale touts fearlessness as an essential virtue but that virtue is never mentioned in the final moral to the play.  (Aug 15)

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall

12:15-13:00

15

154.           

Rockertinkler (***)

After writing an insulting letter to a billionaire, an unemployed roommate inherits his wealth.  The intial wordplay between the two roommates has some strong polemics, but the play touches the plot points too softly to work well.  The men kissing makes as little sense to us, and it does to the characters.  (Aug 14)

Zoo Roxy

21:00-22:10

14

155.           

In for a Pound (**)

In desperate need of buying a pack of cigarettes, a fellow follows the trail of a pound he lent a friend until it leads to a Mafia boss.  The wooden actors cannot carry off trying to bring a “Pulp Fiction” style to a screwball comedy story.  At one point, for no reason at all, after having sex with a woman all night, the fellow discovers the woman is actually a grizzled man.  (Aug 21)

Sweet Grassmarket

13:00-13:50

21

156.           

Dirt (**)

This black comedy has a woman who is trying to camp with an inept scientist starts to hear her mother’s voice speaking from animals.  Despite their best efforts, none of the characters engaged me.  Half of the play takes place in a worm kingdom that feels dull, even when the king tastes corpse brains.  (Aug 17)

C eca

21:05-22:05

17

157.           

Mission Drift (**)

An unemployed Las Vegas worker watches a re-enactment of the progress-obsessed lives of the ancestors of her two former employers starting with their impending departure for America in the early 1600’s.  The show has a trio that provides music as the same couple repeatedly overcome the frontier with little thought to the physical and social damage they have wrought.  While the lead singer has an amazing voice and the music is very good, the super-titled, but still incomprehensible, lyrics completely wreck the show.  (Aug 6)

Traverse Theatre

varies

6

158.           

Jawbone Of An Ass (**)

After a devout woman’s husband disappears, her best friend invites a crass evangelist to come to their small Minnesota town to help find him.  This lampoon of extreme evangelicals takes so many potshots at so many different targets that its denouement is an indictment of its lack of coherence rather than a paean to its cleverness.  This play suffers from oft-repeated ritual lines that might have been funny in sketch comedy, but over a whole hour become just boring filler. (Aug 7)

Hill Street Theater

20:00-21:10

7

159.           

Twelve Men Good and True (**)

A man accused of murdering children argues that he is innocent by graphically describing gruesome murders of the past, and showing his revulsion.  This is one of those plays that is superbly acted, but has such a distasteful subject that I see no reason to put an audience through it.  At the end of the twenty-five minutes, we are suppose to judge his guilt or innocence like a jury, but virtually all of the critical facts of his particular case have been omitted.  (Aug 15)

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall

21:45-22:10

15

160.           

Coal Head, Toadstool Mouth, and Other Stories (**)

While the opening scene with a human marionette with arms strung to a puppeteer drew me into the play, the rest of the show proved soporific.  As the quirky tales continue, the monotonous narration of the mostly mute physical theater action caused both my wife and I to drowse.  Because the tales are bizarre, if you do nod off for a minute, it is difficult to make sense of what is going on.  (Aug 25)

theSpace at Symposium Hall

20:30-:2200

25

161.           

Ten Plagues (**)

Accompanied by a pianist and an occasional video, Marc Almond sings music inspired by the epidemics of the London plague of 1665 and AIDs.  I drank two cokes to prepare myself for this modern piece, but to no avail.  Though both performers were superb, I just have a tough time when there is no tune, and little lyricism to my ear.  Not surprisingly, my more sophisticated companion loved it.  (Aug 15)

Traverse Theatre

varies

15

162.           

Rosie Thorn, Butter Would Not Melt (**)

In an insane asylum, a woman, once the model of propriety and culinary excellence, tells how a perceived rivalry led to the destruction of many of her town’s citizens.  This one-note black comedy goes too far in make-up, as she smears lipstick on her face to indicate her progressive insanity, and too long.  One female audience member noted that when the insane woman mounted a placard after her first misdeed, and the viewer saw that there were five placards she cringed at the thought of four more slow descriptions.  (Aug 13)

theSpaces at Surgeons Hall

21:55-22:45

13

163.           

Standing Count (**)

Kenny, a young man turns to boxing at Riley’s gym much to the pride of his father, and concern of his mother.  The story of redemption threw boxing is mundane, and much of the acting wooden.  I think that the unnecessary decision to have actors play multiple roles real hurt them and confused the play—a consistent Kenny would be less confusing to the audience, and having Riley stay himself instead of acting as narrator and cheering kid would help him find his role.  (Aug 10)

C eca

13:00-13:50

10

164.           

Gutter Junky (**)

A manic idealistic young man ventures to a South American country with the goal of helping the rebels by writing a book about his experiences living with them.  The first scenes when he lives with a depleted fellow journalist work fairly well though the language is a bit too witty for the intended grittiness, but the play crashes in the second act.  It is unbelievable that he would return from 42 days among the native people in the jungle, and still only speaks complex English, and virtually no Spanish, to his native girl friend/victim who knows no English.  (Aug 4)

Assembly Hall

15:00-16:00

4

165.           

Waterloo (**)

This one-man show has two retired soldiers, one English and the other French, recount their heroic deeds at Waterloo.  Combining a minimal story with a very slow delivery made the Englishman’s tale quite boring.  The Frenchman’s tale was faster and more involved, but was still too slow for me.  (Aug 7)

New Town Theater

16:30-17:30

7

166.           

Wondrous Flitting (**)

When a wall crashes through his living room, an unemployed 24-year old takes it as a sign from God that he is meant to do something special that day.  While the initial adsorb dialog with his supportive parents makes a good start, and a later conversation with a burned out counselor is well performed, the bulk of the story just is not enjoyable to experience.  I suppose I just feel uncomfortable around total incompetence, and having bad things happen to such a person makes me want to either step in or leave.  (Aug 25)

Traverse Theatre

varies

25

167.           

A Day in November (**)

This is a mundane day in the life of a puppet of a one hundred year old man.  He takes naps, looks at his cucumbers, and mistakes his reflection for another man.  That’s about all there is to this boring show.  (Aug 28)

Zoo Southside

17:00-18:00

28

168.           

The Tour Guide (**)

The tour guide of bus decides to retire and takes the bus on a surprising trip around Edinburgh.  What could have written as a journey of exploration of change was instead a sparse, depressing litany of the woes of the working class.  Though the view of Edinburgh from Leith was striking, his dour commentary, broken only by his five-minute visit to a bowling club while we waited on the bus, dragged the whole experience down.  (Aug 25)

Departs from Market Street

18:15-19:15

25

169.           

Cusp (**)

Six women use physical theater to portray a young woman trying to find her identity.  They convey the fact that there are now a huge array of choices available, but seem to stop there without any resolution or guidance.  For one scene, a woman stands on a platform and speaks Korean for many long minutes without subtitles or translator to provide us with anything useful.  (Aug 22)

Laughing Horse at The Counting House

13:15-14:15

22

170.           

Imaginarium (*)

On moving day, a teenager falls asleep, and becomes Wendy in Peter Pan.  This high school play has all of the expected problems of an inclusive production on opening night.  However, it was nice to see all of the supportive parents applauding their wide-eyed children.  (Aug 28)

Gryphon Venus at the Point Hotel

19:00-19:45

28

171.           

Scott Capurro:  Who Are the Jocks? (*)

I think this gay man’s goal is to use his caustic wit to offend every group possible in less than hour using sex as his primary focus.  Besides pronouncing his misogynistic views, his insults targeted Blacks, Muslims, Welsh, English, Scots, as well as many other nationalities.  He was consistently abusive of his audience as well, first by asking a young couple intensely personal questions and ridiculing every answer, and then, worst of all, callously querying a deaf woman about the recent funeral of her mother.  (Aug 19)

Pleasance Dome

20:00-21:00

19

172.           

Le Cochon Entier (*)

When a couple opens a shop to sell pork in a vegetarian town, demand outstrips their supply.  This slow, dark, minimalist show failed on so many levels it is hard to narrow the list: over-amplification made the initial voice over introduction frequently unintelligible; a dresser twisted the apron one of two main characters so it covered little; when stabbed instead of bleeding the head of a cardboard pig fell off; one actor was incapable of shielding her head from view using the giant puppet head that she was holding; the serious guitarist devoted himself to one atmosphere the whole time; and finally the slow,  shambling movements of the two large characters made all actions incredibly dull.  What could have been a biting, dark theater piece was instead a demonstration of a production gone completely wrong.  (Aug 14)

Zoo Roxy

20:00-20:50

14

173.           

Fear of a Brown Planet (*)

Two brown Muslim Australians take on racism in the current world.  When they are talking about their own experiences as Muslims and brown in a skittish WASP world their comedy works very well, but when they speak of others their hypocrisy is particularly grating.  While he deplores his own racially motivated treatment, Nazeem sees nothing wrong in belittling Indians as a whole, nor refusing to marry any white woman simply because she is white. (Aug 4)

Gilded Balloon

19:15-20:15

4

174.           

At the Sans Hotel (*)

This one-woman show starts out by passing around an invisible audience multiple-choice survey for which she supplies witty options, but the show soon becomes incomprehensible.  I thought that maybe I had just missed something, so after the show I asked two Fringe veterans and two novices for their views.  All four gave it one star, with one woman calling it “audience torture.”  (Aug 5)

Assembly Hall

19:20-20:35

5

175.           

Odd Man Out (no stars)

An older gay man sits in his small, dark room and vents his bile towards his cat and the world as he bemoans his lost lover.  The acting is fine, but the play is only 15 minutes long when the program says 30 minutes!.  After the play ended abruptly, the actor gave no apologies, and the three off us in the audience all felt ripped off.  (Aug 12)

Zoo Roxy

10:45-11:00

12

 

I am a 58-year old Computer Science lecturer from the University of California in Davis who thinks even a bad play is better than no play at all.  Besides teaching, I work as a house painter / handyman to earn the extra money to pay for my travels.  I have been to the Fringe seven times before.  Eight years ago, after two weeks touring France, my wife and I spent nine days of our honeymoon at the Fringe.  We shared 45 plays, and I attended ten other events besides.  In 2005, I fulfilled a dream of seeing an entire Fringe Festival.  Since then, I have been here for the whole Fringe every year except 2007.  I have learned to devote most days to only one venue to maximize the number of performances I can see.  I expect this year to be similar to last—many performances, and many new friends.

 

After attending more than 800 performances, I have a much better idea of my biases and prejudices in the role of a critic.  To limit my analyzing shows during their performances as much as possible, I have intentionally avoided any training in criticism and the dramatic arts, both formal and informal.  I find that I prefer fact to fiction, innovation to repetition, coherence to creativity, the concrete to the symbolic, and cleverness to depth.  I realize that many of these are antithetical to the spirit of the Fringe, but I cannot deny my nature.  In particular, I just do not like shows that push the bounds of creativity beyond my ability to make sense of them.  Because I choose to fill time slots with whatever is available, I still expose myself to such shows, and do not mind.  However, I do feel a little guilty giving a low rating to a show on which a company has worked so hard, and with such commitment.  Nevertheless, I envision that that is my role—to accurately report my enjoyment so that others may better use my ratings.  In all but a very few cases, I admire the effort of each company, and wish them well.

 

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