'Found'

I went to see a show at Dance Base last night. Here is what I wrote about it:

Found
****
You find a letter. It’s not yours. Do you open it? The simple premise behind ‘Found’ evolves into an incredibly sensitive and highly nuanced performance piece.
It examines the scope of human emotion as one person’s reality is influenced by a life imagined, combining elements of dance, theatre and music to unravel the relationship between the two dancers, Michael Sherin and Christine Devaney. Sherin speculates the identity of the imagined woman as they circle each other, never touching, as if to suggest the insurmountable distance between the imagination and the reality. Devaney’s movements intuitively change to express the mood, ranging from aggressive gyrations to sensuous pirouettes.
The cumulative effect of the narrative is dramatic; projections of the dancers are placed on a darkened screen behind the action, whilst the haunting live music crescendos and thickens in texture as layer after layer is added to create an impressive climax. With humming bass and spiralling violin, the sound builds up to a rich symphony, delicately manipulating the atmosphere of the piece.
The piece ends with a redemptive, contemplative feel. The two dancers are finally united upon the stage, with an accord reached between dancers, musicians and audience.

PRESS THE BUTTON!

There are approximately twenty people standing at a pelican crossing. There are about the same amount of people waiting on the opposite side of the road. It's a busy main road, lots of cars and buses hurtling down it, and the people wait for a good couple of minutes, clogging up the pavements and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Question- do they not know that unless you press the button, they could be waiting there for an awfully long time?

What is it about the Edinburgh festival that turns people into morons, forgetting even the most basic 'city survival skills'?

End of rant

The Edinburgh Festival Begins!

It's that time of year again. Edinburgh is rapidly filling up to the brim with tourists, artists and no doubt plenty of other kinds of 'ists' besides. Before you know it, the Royal Mile will become a gauntlet of drama school students and aspiring comedians, all desperate to foist handfuls of flyers upon you, with a desperate: 'It's really good!' The clubs are now open to 5am, and hundreds of obscure venues will open all over the city. This blog is to be the site of plenty of reviews, tips and gripes about the festival, so to begin with, here are some things that I recommend from last year.

Spank, the late night comedy showcase is usually a winner, as it is rude, drunken and raucously funny. The quality and fame of the acts do vary from night to night, but whatever happens a fun evening is there to be had. Reginald D Hunter, the American stand-up comedian will probably be quick to sell out, so get tickets quickly! He is an authorative figure on comedy circuit, who manages to be thoughtful and political without losing an ounce of his humour. For something a lot less heavyweight and a lot more silly, go and see Pappy's Fun Club, a sketch quartet combining ramshackle props, ridiculous songs and occasional nudity.

I'm personally looking forward to the arrival of the hordes of takeaway vans- Aberdeen Angus burger at 2am, yes please!