Musical Review: Phantom of the Opera

Edinburgh Playhouse

I’ve been writing about theatre and performance for more than two years now yet Phantom was one show I’d never seen. For many it remains the quintessential theatrical experience (it’s the longest running show on Broadway) and for me, having gazed upon the posters from a young age, the ominous gothic mask and the notion of a ‘phantom’ was oh so tantalising.

The tone and style of this production is theatre at its most striking. Fleeing actors, dark shadows, sheer drops, ornate costumes, a decadent opera house, a room of mirrors and of course, that chandelier. Phantom is a play within a play which means we are treated to various delectable sets, from tropical foreign lands to a towering gothic church. The presentation is mesmerising and the numerous sets consist of layer upon layer of platforms and rooms which shift, open, slide, rise and turn as though part of an elaborate Rubix Cube. Special effects also contribute to the drama with copious use of smoke machines (at one point engulfing the orchestral conductor), explosions and – my favourite - fierce pyrotechnics illustrating our disfigured villain’s considerable rage.

My usual theatre outing involves perching in a small venue where the budget is tight and the stage sparse. For that reason, it is immense fun to see what a seemingly bottomless budget can achieve in a large-scale show. Beneath all the opulence though, there’s a story and this is where I felt disappointed. The plot is simplistic and often clumsily expressed as our beautiful protagonist Christina is the textbook heroine, fleeing danger in a white gown, bosom heaving as she falls into the arms of various men. The Phantom is, at first, a frightening spectre (again, the production sees to this) but when he wrestles with his inner-conflict and throws himself to the floor whimpering, this was too much for me. There’s little, if any sense of knowing or understanding these characters in this bizarre gothic tale so I struggled to engage or sympathise with them. That they exist as ‘actors’ in the performance means each character often inhabits a role other than their own and this further inhibits any real understanding of their true motives. Sadly, in too many ways the grandeur overshadows the story itself and reflects its failings as we inevitably compare the astonishing visuals with a simplistic narrative.

The performers sing beautifully and the vocal range is impossible to fault. Christina and the Phantom especially poured emotion and feeling into every lyric, the melancholic high notes making the hair on my arms stand on end. The campness of the story though thwarted much of an emotional connection. The narrative is propelled through both song and speech, though the pace rarely feels right and there are character revelations which seem unexpected and clunky.

For me, the pageantry and drama is spectacular, the musical talent faultless but beneath lies a weaker and fragmented story told through predictable musical sequences and clichéd lyrics. Phantom is an hugely enjoyable spectacle but for me, it offered little else.


For other reviews visit www.acrossthearts.co.uk

Fringe Review: Briefs

'All male. All Vaudeville. All Trash.'

Happily the show delivers each element it promises in this show of pageantry, performance and faux-burlesque.

Our compere and compulsive-outfit changer Shivannah holds the audience in his/her hand and each bitchy comment is followed by belly laughter at the absurdity of what we're watching. There's oodles of swearing, self-mockery and crude comment without which the show would fall flat on its face.

Beneath the trash and fake eyelashes though, is some real talent. Elements of vaudeville are well-married into the performance which sees plate-spinning and gymnastics through to an exceptionally attractive strong man who lifts fellow performers and bends metal old-school style. Glitzy and gutsy song and dance punctuate each routine and the ariel work from a heavily tattooed man is especially impressive.

Nakedity is integral to the proceedings which is trashy, unapologetic and of course, very funny. There's a distinctly boyish silliness to what our performers mixed up playfully with feather dancing and other unmanly acts. They work filthily together, slapping, gesticulating and harassing one another with their genitalia and there's an atmosphere of pure enjoyment about what is taking place before us.

Briefs is explosive and while there's nothing meaningful about what these guys are trying to achieve, they deliver an hour of fantastic entertainment, comedy and talent.

4 stars

Ian Kendall interview: A Life with Magic

Ian Kendall has performed at the Fringe for twenty-one years and this year is his last. He is one of the most skilled magicians performing today and in the flesh he is warm, friendly and brutally honest. My kind of guy. He gave me his unique perspective on this manic festival and how the perception - and performance - of magic has changed over his time here.

His first statement surprises me.
'Most card tricks I find dull. Do you think I’ve lost your card in the deck? No. I like effects with cards. Typological effects and gambling stuff. That’s a really technical discipline. There are people who go out and do nothing but tricks with cards, I mean, how mind-numbingly tedious is the eighth or ninth trick?'
Tedious for you or both, I ask.
'A bit of both.' he replies. 'One of the reasons I don’t do card tricks is because I don’t enjoy watching them. And so it’s very hard for me to get enthused about entertaining. The coin trick is what I’m sort of known for.'
Most performers do their own PR work. Ian has visited the Mile almost every day of each show. This cobbled road is crammed full of Fringe performers flyering and offering the public glimpses of their show in an attempt to secure a ticket sale. Ian's speciality is the floating coin. He first performed this for me two years ago, it's a very neat trick and it was enough to make me see him that night.
He continues, 'Years ago I was the only person doing that trick. Unfortunately I had a trapped nerve in my neck last year and I lost the use of my left arm for six months. I can’t do it as well anymore. The world record was 18", I could manage 23 or 24.'
So how do you develop your on-stage persona? Is there pressure to bring some sort of gimmick to the proceedings?
'There’s a general rule of performance that you should be yourself, tuned up. I tried one year to do the Victorian magician where I recreated tricks from 1880 to 1930. For fourteen nights I thought, I will pretend to be this character. But I’m not an actor. The first review I got said it was unfair that there’s not a magic category [in the Fringe guide]. On the fourth night I thought, I’m just going to be me and I relaxed and it was a laugh riot and I had a beautiful reviews. That told me that I have to be me. I’m never going to be David Copperfield. I'm a slightly sophisticated, close-up Scottish magician. I’m going to be Ian, just turned up a little.'

There has been a resurgence in magic over the last few years. In 2000 there were only two shows while this year sees forty-seven. So is the standard of magic good these days, I ask.
'Let's say there are forty shows. I would estimate, having a rough idea, that ten of them will be good. Another ten of them will be okay. Ten of them will be... [Ian sighs loudly and exaggeratedly making me laugh]. And three or four of them will be holy shit, shoot me now. The Fringe has always said it does not programme so there's no editorial control. That used to be the case, it’s not anymore because the venues are run like businesses and they all programme. However, the Free Fringe has raised its head. It’s good because it gives people a place to be bad. But then that creates a stigma, because if you go and see a bad musician, you’ll go and see another musician. If you go and see a bad comedian, you’ll go and see another comedian. If Joe Public sees a bad magician, they will never see another magician again. Ever.'
Do you think public perception of magic has changed too, I ask.
'Blaine, when he went on the streets, completely changed the paradigm. Before that you had Daniels and Copperfield and it was studio magic. I enjoy that, I actually prefer it because street magic is generally so manufactured that what you’re seeing is essentially a fiction show, it’s not a magic show. Derren helped a lot, though he doesn’t present himself as a magician anymore.'
How do you feel reflecting back on so many years of performing?
'One of the biggest regrets I have is that I don’t get that sense of wonder because without the wonder there’s no magic. Unfortunately a lot of magicians aren’t really talented. I enjoy seeing friends but I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been fooled, amazed or astonished. I cherish those moments.'
Being so jaded, how do you maintain your sense of wonder and excitement for magic?
'There are certain effects I’ve very deliberately not investigated. There are a couple of things out there I saw which I saw and I said right, I’m not going to read it, buy it or look it up because I’m going to keep that. I’m going to keep that moment.
'There is an entire industry around magic and a school of thought amongst magic dealers. In fact there are a lot of analogies between magicians and drug pushers of the famous ‘no skill required’. Eighty-five per cent are amateurs, people who buy a trick, run through it twice and put it in the cupboard. You’re not selling them the trick, you’re selling them the idea that they can perform the trick. I’m guilty, I’ve got stuff in my box at home.'
Ian then says something that, for me, makes him a real magician.
'I don’t believe magic should be easy. I think it should be bastard-hard. I think you should have to jump through fourteen hoops. I think we should go back to the guild system where you have to get a mentor like in the thirties.'
His final show certainly reflected this attitude; an hour of classic close-up sleights that rely almost entirely on technique and years of perfecting. Despite his jaded view of the craft, the aptly-titled Obsession: A Life With Magic was his final love letter.

Fringe Review: Paul Wilson, Lie. Cheat. Steal.

Paul walks quietly on stage gruff and expressionless and with minimal preamble, launches into his stuff. The fact he is friendly yet vaguely standoffish is part of his character as a con artist and he's not here to win any of us over. In many ways, he's not what you would call a magician. What follows though, is magical.

Astonishingly he flicks, tosses and shuffles every card he touches making it impossible to follow anything he does. More than once Paul looks up expectantly at his silent audience, making a quip about these moves actually being rather difficult to perfect. What I don't think he realises is that the subdued reaction is the result of bewilderment, shock and intimidation at what this man is able to do.

Occasionally, the pack of cards is put aside and replaced by equally stunning sleight-of-hand involving coins and walnut shells; the former is particularly smooth.

Paul's narration is fascinating and we are treated to stories of card cheats, tricks, casino rules, famous magical feats and movie sleights, like those of Paul Newman in the Sting.

Lie. Cheat. Steal. is sleight at, what has to be, its most complex. My brain doesn't want to accept what this man is able to do. Mesmerising and 'magic' at its very best.

Fringe Review: Peter Antoniou's Psychic Circus

Peter Antoniou's Psychic Circus @ Sweet

The corporate uniformity of Sweet at the Grassmarket couldn't be much further removed from the style of Psychic Circus. Freak shows, performing midgets, scam artists, guess-your-weight men. None of them are there but the show is something of an homage to this age-old style of entertainment.

Peter looks the part in his fantastic black and white brogues, dark suit and grungy belt. His routines are inspired by early circus and cabaret entertainment which is not only an obvious area of enjoyment and fascination for our performer but a great premise for his bizarre mentalist talent. It translates nicely to stage too, though perhaps could use more of a visual and aural accompaniment to pull audiences into that time itself.

The small venue means most of the audience get involved and with this type of show it's the best way to be flummoxed by what transpires. The are occasions of the usual mind-reading stunts; almost invariably someone is thinking about and/or drawing a cat. Pete dresses up the show in other interesting ways though. His naggingly creepy ventriloquist 'bit' is a winning routine and has a hint of the silent-movie era about it. Beautiful.

After one particular flourish there's a titter of appreciation and Pete comments, very honestly, that he's not entirely comfortable with the socially correct manner of applause and we should feel free to continue or abstain when we see fit. His playful banter is humble and endearing and it's difficult not to like this man. He also has a wicked sense of humour, though plays it safe. His charming demeanour makes it easy for him to connect with his audience though, and more of him would be nice.

Peter has always worked hard to bring a sense of odd-ball identity to his Fringe shows and with Psychic Circus this year he nails it.

3 stars

Fringe Review: A Guide to Second Date Sex

A Guide to Second Date Sex is an achingly funny and frighteningly accurate account of this dreaded, yet necessary, ritual.
The stage reeks of youth; a Sports Direct mug sits next to the laptop, the odour of Lynx hangs in the air, dirty underpants are strewn on the floor, the bed is crumpled, even though it's made and the bathroom has pubes on the floor. Laura meets Ryan properly for the first time in this bedroom, plucked from the comforts of the boozy pub where an attraction - vague or otherwise - was established. 
The immense fun of this show is the 'Oh my God, I've been there' factor as we see the two move stiffly, touch tentatively and talk bollocks.
Panicked thoughts play aloud, educational shorts discussing basic sexual attraction appear above our bachelor's scruffy bed and there's the usual problem of our lady visitor having not shaved...
Mishandled, the simple premise of this show threatens to be sleazy and cliched but here is crafted perfectly and slickly mixed with humour. The whole narrative, though exaggerated, is consistently filthy and funny, though it never veers too far from the believable so audiences can consistently imagine themselves in the position of one of our protagonists.
Actors Amy Butterworth and Thomas O'Connell play off one another's crippling self-doubt and, surprisingly, there's a genuine sense of attraction and tenderness between the two despite their inharmonious union. 
A Guide to Second Date Sex is achingly funny and entertaining theatre which you want to tell your friends about.

Fringe Review: Swamp Juice

DIY Puppetry fun about the perils of life in a swamp

The stage is awash with props, resembling something of a well-loved kid's dress-up room. Our performer shuffles on stage and speaks in a made-up language as he proudly gesticulates his way through some home-made props and lighting equipment.
Swamp Juice is quirky, bizarre and impressive. Shadow puppetry and physical theatre tell the story of a mean old man who visits a swamp and antagonises the inhabitants. Narration alternates between various characters made from gloves, tinsel and card (complete with moving parts) who are projected onto a screen.
Audience interaction is both oddly and cleverly incorporated into the story but this has its downfalls. The numerous, often ambitious, techniques require some faffing about both on and off stage and while the audience is curious as to where it's going, the preamble can feel overlong and at times begins to eat into the excitement of the story.
The 3D finale is wildly creative and our performer literally shows no sense of boundaries with his work. Swamp Juice is ambitious and funny and the weaker transitional areas of the performance ought to be forgiven for the gutsy show as a whole.
With this performance Jeff Achtem has proven himself to be an extraordinarily skilled storyteller and animator. Though the technical aspects of his performance are at times, somewhat clunky, he is energetic and brave and will doubtlessly continue to look for ways to not only entertain an audience but tell his delightful stories.

4 stars

Fringe Review: Ian Kendall, Obsession, a Life with Magic

After twenty-one consecutive years Ian Kendall is performing his final Fringe. Obsession: A Life with Magic is a love letter to his craft and a collection of his favourite sleights.   

As far as the magic goes, there's nothing new here. Nothing which will surprise, shock or awe. He will not pull flaming chainsaws from his backside. What he will do is perform classic routines. Perfectly. Watching our lofty magician flit effortlessly through his store of standard magical objects suggests there's little he's not mastered.

The narrative of the show is nostalgic and personal. We are taken on the journey through his early life, encountering the illusions he mastered along the way. Introducing the audience to various props of sentimental significance helps us connect with his story, understanding the obsession which has ultimately led him to over two decades at this festival.

Magic aside, Ian is a joy to watch. This is partly due to his inherent charm but there's an excitement about what he does with playing cards, elastic bands and coins. The Fringe veteran carries himself with comfort and ease and frequently calls upon audience members, chatting happily whilst they provide assistance. As a result, Obsession feels like a intimate party. There's no attempt to dress up the tricks, our illusionist simply spends his last Fringe showing us how beautiful classic magic can be.

4 stars

Fringe Interview: Morgan and West

Victorian duo Morgan and West have become part of the magic furniture at the Fringe. Famed for their slick performance and well-mannered loquacious humour, they chatted to Rebecca Paul about their craft and the two shows they’re bringing to the Fringe this year.

‘With Clockwork Miracles we want to deliver some really strong, original and entertaining magic that, as well as being baffling, is visually and aurally impressive. We want the show to be a spectacle, rather than just a bunch of tricks.’
‘Our second show, Lying, Cheating Scoundrels, is unlike anything we've done before – and as far as we know unlike any magic show before at the Fringe. Inviting our audience to sit round a card table with us has brought a whole new range of challenges and opportunities, presentational and methodological, and the show has grown into a very different beast to what we first imagined.’

The image of the Victorian Magician is integral to every aspect of their work and while it provides a springboard for ideas, it can also make devising the tricks that bit more difficult.
‘The aesthetic influences everything we do - we can’t use a prop that looks out of place or borrow a phone from a volunteer, as stylistic anachronism shatters the experience for an audience. Even the humour in our show has to come from our characters. It’s challenging, but these limitations force you to be creative and original, which is something we strive for.’
Watching the two perform in such synchronicity, one wonders how long it takes to produce such a polished act but apparently it's never quite perfect.
‘Every time you do a show, or a trick, or even just say a line, there’s a chance to tinker with the delivery and try to improve: every show has the potential to be better than the last. Still, we’re known for being very polished on stage (it is something of a necessity when working in a double act) and that takes a lot of work. Each Edinburgh show is built over the course of a year or so. We get up each morning and work on the tricks, or the props, or the million other things that go towards making a show.’
'All magic is based upon slipping a lie past your audience that they won't notice. Some routines require lots of these lies, all piled on top of each other, this can be quite tricky (if you’ll forgive the pun). Other tricks are based around one single untruth that has to be disguised so it doesn’t stick out for the giant porky that it is. Both of these things lead to complex tricks but in different ways: sometimes we’ll spend hours devising methods to accomplish the nigh-on impossible, but in other cases the difficulty is in the idea, the motivation and scripting of the trick.'

Magic faces a challenge at the festival. If a Fringe-goer sees a bad comedian they will invariably go and see another one. Sitting through a sloppy, cliched magic show, on the other hand, is enough to turn off audiences all together. That said, magic has seen a resurgence in recent years. In 2000 there were just two shows at the Fringe while this year sees an extraordinary boost at forty-two separate performances.
Morgan and West put this down to TV appearances from the likes of Penn and Teller, Derren Brown and David Blaine with his brand of street magic.
'There's also an increased appetite for cabaret and variety shows as new audiences are exposed to live magic.
'TV is grand but things are even more impossible when done in front of your very eyes. More inventive acts are trying to break in and it’s brilliant that more and more magicians every year are putting on shows.
'It also makes it more of a challenge, which is great, because you have to make sure your show is more miraculous than the last one your audience saw.'

Morgan and West are playing at the Gilded Balloon until the end of the month

Fringe Review: Clockwork Miracles

Ah Morgan and West. This Victorian illusionist duo gets tighter and tighter every year and their slick, stylised show is always a Fringe treat.

A love of all things scientific, mathematic and paradoxical is at the heart of the Clockwork Miracles. There are three of four tricks which are simple, snappily-presented and full of whimsy and going by the raucous applause, they certainly hit the spot with the audience.

While the narrative of the act ticks like clockwork (oddly enough), there are delightful unexpected interruptions. A new routine is underway and Mr Morgan unexpectedly encounters a mechanical error. Mr West looks on, a growing sense of concern causing the quiver of his sculpted moustache. He begins inspecting the broken magician and some illusions simply trickle out. Later Mr Morgan is encouraging Mr West to don a clown nose and an ornate and silent-comedic style illusion ensues. These are beautifully executed magical moments which punctuate the performance and catch the audience off guard.

As with all magic, there are re-imaginings of the older tricks but here the accompanied whimsy keeps them fresh. Some routines drift into the mind-reading domain and these work well, though they lack the snap, crackle and pop of the more traditional illusions.

As ever, these guys work splendidly together and Clockwork Miracles is the result of a meticulously planned and admirably creative magic show.

4 stars

Clockwork Miracles runs until August 27 (not 14) @ Gilded Balloon
The dashing duo also have another magic show; Lying Cheating Scoundrels. A more intimate evening of cards around a table. Cosy. Runs until August 26 @ Gilded Balloon at midnight

Fringe Review: The Fantasist @ Underbelly

Through puppetry, movement, physical theatre and music we are taken on Louise’s journey as she battles bipolar disorder. From the off, The Fantasist grips the audience in a way rarely seen and this hold is only tightened over the hour.

Taking place entirely in Louise’s apartment, she is visited alternately by a kindly healthcare worker and the creatures of her imagination; a tall, dark stranger, a flying vampiric hag, two freakish charred heads and (my favourite) a small wooden pose-able doll akin to Morph, who vies for her attention with indiscernible child-like moans.

The exhilarating highs and interminable lows of the mental health disorder are tortuous, frightening, incomprehensible and extraordinarily funny, often all at once. What at one moment is freeing for Louise, suddenly becomes dark and dangerous. Interestingly the puppets don’t change – her nurse is even present in the room – but there’s an obvious ‘come down’ and the atmosphere suddenly becomes tumultuous. This is, by and large, thanks to ingenious manipulation of puppetry and choreography with few props or lighting helping our performers along the way. If ever a production dismisses the notion that puppetry is immature and unimpressive theatre, this is it.

In The Fantasist it is mesmerising and perfectly married to its subject matter. The emotions of such an intense disorder are explored through Louise’s lustful and obsessive relationship with the tall stranger who romances her, only to disappear and leave her distraught. She is harassed by the small doll, bullied by the vampiric hag and cajoled by the two heads. Somehow, at the same time she is also enticed and encouraged because she exists in a world where everything makes sense. Manipulation is everywhere.

As the lights fade, the audience is left shocked, exhilarated, saddened and amazed at the story that has just been told.

The Fantasist is one of the finest pieces of theatre I’ve ever seen (and next week I'm sending my mum).

(a very easy) 5 stars

Presented by Theatre Témoin and Cie. Traversière, The Fantasist runs until August 27.

My Fringe: Part III

Today is all about theatre, circus and some puppetry at the Underbelly. It's also about the gold postbox I found and - after a quick Google search - apparently it's a wee homage to Sir Chris Hoy and all those gold medals he's won.

AHoy Hoy, Sir Chris' postbox on Hanover St

The Night of the Big Wind @ Underbelly is an unusual departure from the frenetic bustle of the Fringe. The most striking thing about the show is the ornate puppetry. A young boy is controlled by actors as he wanders morosely about his surroundings, hopping off tables and emulating fishing locals as they laze about. Faceless and beautifully-carved, the wooden child conveys a surprising intensity of emotion and loneliness. While our actors play characters themselves, they alternate effortlessly with their miniature props. Isolation is captured perfectly through a tiny puppet, no taller than fifteen centimetres, who is surprisingly life-like as he meanders across the land. When the inevitable storm hits, the easy pace is obliterated. Panic and devastation reigns and turns the set upside down. The Night of the Big Wind doesn’t concern itself too much with a story, rather it explores the sense of living in this place and this time. At any given moment, there’s inexperience, hope, devastation, ambition and humour to the performance which asks only to be experienced, rather than thought about.

A wee jaunt up to Bristo Square and I met the spiffingly-lovely Morgan and West, top hats and all, leafleting for their magic stuff. These very pleasant guys have a cracking show this year with Clockwork Miracles.

What you see if you look up at Underbelly.

Scribbling now at Underbelly, Ratatat blaring in the pub which is nice. Laptop teetering on a table that looks like it wants to die. Not so nice. Going by the wobbling of my ‘desk’ caused by passers-by, the floorboards are on their way out too. Just saw Tumble Circus @ the Udderbelly. My first ever circus show. Well, since I was a small child. An outing captured in a photo of a chubby younger-self perched atop an elephant. Tumble Circus tells the story of Tina and Ken, an acrobatic couple stuck with one another for seventeen years, both personally and professionally. The story here is of boredom, incompatibility and comedy. They tumble (as per advertised), twist, balance, jump and more often that you’d expect, slap one another. The moves are nice but the music and lights don’t always fit and there are lacklustre flourishes that leave me unsatisfied. The premise works; at odds personally but very much together professionally. Their final act on a circus swing high in the rafters is engaging, fun, humorous and interesting but I can’t help notice a lack of energy and excitement in the performance as a whole.
One Hour Only @Underbelly has to be my treat of the day and it’s a stand-out for the week so far. Marly is studying forensic biology and to pay her way she’s started a new job at an ‘upmarket’ brothel. Her first client is AJ who is 21 today and about to enjoy a birthday treat from his mates. The two bond in unlikely ways as they talk frankly about love, life, youthful aspirations and sexual attitudes in contemporary Britain. There’s a journey here and it’s gripping, funny, refreshing, honest and moving. Brilliant theatre.

The Lonely One @ Underbelly is a one act play inspired by an excerpt from Bradbury's Dandelion Wine. This locally-dubbed 'Lonely One' is an ominous presence terrorising a sleepy American town. This is atmospheric and creepy theatre with puppetry, light boxes, torches and a distinctive art deco style. The minutiae detail is lovely to watch and the visual richness is bang on. Everything about this play is ominous and richly presented in an H.P. Lovecraft style. It's fun to watch but the story lacks much plot or narrative. Again, this is another show for the eyes.

My Fringe: Part II





I’ve got the scratchy-eyelid thing happening which has been aided by my lack of caffeine today; I rarely go a day without the frothy goodness of a cappuccino. I spent my day tasting the delights of the Gilded Balloon taking in some mind-reading, magic and theatre.

A Donkey and A Parrot

A Donkey and a Parrot is a charming one-man theatre show. Sarah Hamilton enthusiastically tells the story of her family’s survival as they try to escape religious persecution in France, attempting the treacherous clandestine journey to England. Along the way they encounter crooked boatmen, slave drivers and helpful neighbours. Through mime, finger puppetry, song and movement all atop a large and curious wooden barrel, her great ancestors’ story is played out. At times, the tale seems too dense and frenetic for one narrator as she inhabits up to sixteen characters while punctuating her monologue with comments from her current self. Expect donkey impressions, avian conversations, French children who need to pee and clichéd American slave owners. This is entertaining and fun physical theatre which insists on being unexpected and resourceful, even if it gets away from you at times.

From finger puppets to tricky fingers it was on to magic with Morgan and West Clockwork Miracles. These guys get tighter and tighter every year and their slick, stylised show is always a Fringe treat. Our loquacious Victorian duo teach us the proper etiquette of drinking tea while demonstrating some mind-reading. There are three of four tricks which are simple, snappily-presented and full of whimsy and today they certainly hit the right spot with the audience whose raucous appreciation drowned out our waistcoat-clad duo several times.

Mr Morgan and Mr West

The Magical Adventures of Pete Heat was a very different magic show. Pete is all smiles and charm and possess an absurd sense of comedy which exudes a semi-intentional sense of disorganisation. Off-the-wall humour and silliness is at the heart of this show ; there’s shuffling a loaf of bread and an affluent monocle-wearing weasel. His magical adventure features all manner of card magic and a neat trick of manipulating audience members which would have had more impact had it felt less frenetic and bitty. The closing trick involves underpants which can only be a good thing.

Doug Segal: How to Read Minds and Influence People bursts with energy and there’s a keen interest in involve the audience in his routines. With a background in advertising and psychology, Doug whisks his way through his performance to appreciative applaud. Mind-reading shows are of a certain ilk; novels and dictionaries are distributed to audience members and our host is able to pluck seemingly impossible words from their minds. This is fun and Doug relies on interaction with his crowd, keeping them intrigued. A special moment arrives when he is able to teach one volunteer how to read the minds of three other spectators.

Tomorrow… to the Underbelly.



Fringe Review: The Colour Ham

The Colour Ham does something new with the sketch show and an unpredictable mixture of illusion, mind-reading and comedy is fun, fresh and very, very silly.

The raucous atmosphere means jaw-dropping magical feats don’t quite have a home here. Save for a neat disappearing bottle trick through the stomach, the magic itself is nothing remarkable, instead there’s more emphasis on the comedy and boyish joviality of our Scottish trio. There’s an energy and irresistible comradery between the performers as they stumble through their show, which goes delightfully wrong at every turn.

Kevin McMahon is our magician, Colin McLeod a mind-reader and Gavin Oattes our comedian. While McMahon and McLeod are ighly skilled illusionists – both having performed at the Magic Castle in LA - Oattes provides the comic relief. He is funny, naughty, rude and scathing of his pals and takes every opportunity to thwart their routines and slag them off. At one point he pretends to be hypnotised and as Colin briefly exits the stage he smiles vacantly at the audience, telling them ‘I fucking love being hypnotised.’

Such is the tone of the performance. Highpoints of the show include a skit where Kevin performs some magic for a glaikit and excited Gaelic TV presenter (Oattes).

The Colour Ham offers variety to the more traditional child-friendly and clean-cut shows filling the rest of the Magicfest calendar and its mischievous atmosphere, adult content and bizarre turn of events make it a good choice for comedy (and a spot of magic) at this year’s Fringe.

The Colour Ham will be on at Just The Tonic @ The Caves until August 12

Magicfest Review: Lewis Barlow

As Close as You Can

Lewis is very much the traditional magician. Rather than entertain with banter or comedy, he focuses on tricks, encouraging them to speak for themselves. His more subdued style may not be for everyone and though his magic (and mind-reading) stumps audiences and his sleight-of-hand is mesmerising, there’s simplicity to his routines which, at times, could use more energy. He is the third magician (I’ve seen) this year performing the rope trick at the Magicfest and while it’s flawless, it lacks any dressing up and sadly this becomes tiring to watch.


Lewis tells us from the off he is no comedian and if there is comedy, it’s not intentional. A magic audience wants to discover the illusionist and enjoy their style through the performance, and stating this from the off perhaps robs him of some of his charm.

Understanding the nature of close-up magic Lewis seeks plenty of audience participation (in a small venue holding forty) and he succeeds in creating a tense intimacy with each routine from predicting the future and mind-reading to impossibly locating a specific business in the Yellow Pages, based on the audience’s guidance - the final flourish in this trick is especially nice. And of course, it wouldn’t be close-up without the obligatory card magic.

Lewis consistently impresses with his close-up illusions and this year is no different.

3 stars

Magicfest Review: Matthew Dowden

Magic of the Movies

Chronicling the magic of the movies, Matthew guides us through his favourite moments from Charlie Chaplin, ET and the Rat Pack to the Godfather and James Bond. A large screen behind our magician depicts nostalgic scenes as he sings, dances, plays the piano and of course, creates illusions.

The show is energetic and dripping with passion for the craft. There are the oldies but the goodies; cut the rope and the bottle and tube trick. While it’s showcased differently, incorporating the magic of the silver screen, Matthew offers little new material. Illusions are punctuated with his surprisingly gentle singing and some comedic movie impersonations.

At times, it feels a little too cluttered and at odds with itself, but Matthew’s classic conjuror persona and charming smile never fail to engage his audience and he keeps the momentum going.

It’s the sleight-of-hand though that is the real gem of the show. With a deck of cards he masterfully flicks, throws, produces and fans them as they disappear into a bucket, only to re-appear in his hands. Few magicians currently performing can boast such clean flourishes and expert misdirection and Matthew’s card tricks are always a high point of his performance.

The Magic festival, this year more so than ever, seems geared towards kids (most shows suitable for aged five and above). The performers therefore have the awkward task of keeping both younger and older audiences entertained and while this is obviously a kids’ show, our illusionist’s skills remain fun for all to watch.

Matthew delivers an energetic, whimsical, polished and charming show of magic and the movies.

4 stars

Magicfest Review: Michael Neto

Beginning his show as a bumbling and unhinged scientist, Michael Neto wanders on stage and with the help of two audience members and a vial of ominous fluid, he transports coins through the table into a glass. The illusion is cute, amusing and finishes with an impressive flourish. Michael will bring this act to the World Championships of Magic.


Making his debut in Magicfest’s first year, Michael won the Magic Off competition with a neat coin disappearing trick and since then has settled happily into his act. Originally from Portugal though now based in Glasgow he has grown into a fine performer, tempering slick sleight-of-hand with confidence, humility and an unusual sprinkling of comedy.

UPCLOSE, it seems, earns its upper-case letters in a fantastic performance at the intimate and haunting venue of The Vault, nestled under George IV Bridge. Gasps and at one point, a cry of ‘No!’ can be heard from the audience as our performer locates cards and flips decks to a chosen number, both blindfolded and using only his tongue. A signed card is even folded up neatly and transported into the empty pack at the corner of the table, an impossible distance away from our magician’s meticulous and sprawling fingers.

The show does that rare thing of delivering beautiful illusions with a twist in a flawless performance and with UPCLOSE Michael has proven himself one of the finest magicians performing today.

5 stars

My Fringe: Part I

I'm arriving in a heap to this year's festival. Happily though, I am here now and only a few days late. I allowed myself some me-time and have been separated from my laptop for perhaps a little too long. It's been a busy few weeks. A job rejection which was sad but it did result in freelance work and oodles of positive feedback. I was lucky enough to get along to the Olympics on Saturday afternoon which was fantastic and utterly astonishing. The place is something to behold and I got to glimpse Usain Bolt doing his 100m heats which was, of course, wonderful. He is extraordinarily tall. And fast. Finally managed to see The Dark Knight Rises and I may be the only person who was underwhelmed by it. But that's another blog for another day. Regrettably still not seen Spidey... Something to remedy next week. Oh, and I hit a personal best on Tetris of 216 lines.

Attempting a bit more this year from reviewing magic, theatre and performance for the Skinny to venue reviewing (and some comedy) for Across the Arts as well as some podcasting for Subcity. Oh, and some filmed reviews live at the venues. All that around work, it's sure to be interesting...

Monday was prety much an orienteering exercise, slowly, calmy and gently immersing myself into the festival, much as one does with a hot bath.

I'd yet to try a freebie magic show so I went along to Wet Paint at Le Monde on George Street. Illusion-designers (!) Neil Kelso and Ben Hart perform a variety show, each popping on and off stage and accompanied by a miniature jazz band. Kelso, fresh from compering the Magic Festival gala show last month is a wonderfully sweet and mischevious-looking man and his tricks, though basic, largely involve storytelling, playing to his strengths. Ben Hart opts for more interesting illusions with even more interesting props from a sword and scissors to a lightbulb. His final illusion involving the latter is particularly fun and unexpected; something we’re seeing less of in modern magic performances. It’s not as slick as it could be, with our performers all-too-often ‘handing over’ to one another rather than working together. When the two finally perform an joint-illusion the contrast works well and there’s an effortless banter. More of that would have been nice. Wet Paint is worth a visit if you fancy some magic and perhaps sells itself short being a free show.

Some fantastic lamp-art at Geoge Sq Gardens

I popped along to see The Vocal Orchestra at the Udderbelly on Bristo Square. Seven mouths and seven mics, these guys are amazing; beat-boxing, singing, dancing, re-creating Mortal Combat, drum kits and even a time-machine. Each performer is given a chance to break from the group and present their individual talents and while the sound effects are unbelievable, the vocal range is another happy surprise. Energetic they work together and create genuine excitement with what they do as they bounce across the stage. The song choice was, at times, obvious and more of a musical mix-up might have encouraged this talented septet to push themselves further. With tickets costing up to £16, The Vocal Orchestra is at the more expensive end of the Fringe but it's also a highly polished show that earns its asking price.


Here we go day two…

Edinburgh International Film Festival: Part II

And now for a comedic look at societal behaviour...

Set largely in one of the ubiquitous and bizarre taxi cabs that weave through the streets of Manilla, MNL 143 follows Ramil, a middle-age taxi driver looking for his long-lost girlfriend. Despite Rami’s intense loneliness, his job results in all manner of encounters which he genuinely seems to enjoy… for the most part.
The film is often funny, the narrative making sure of this with colourful characters popping into Ramil’s taxi, squeezing next to one another and abruptly leaping out when they reach their stop. We watch through a camera seemingly affixed to the rear-view mirror, though it often travels through the sweaty bodies into the rear of the car. During each turbulent journey, Ramil keeps his cool as he is barked at by aggravated commuters, many of whom turn on one another. Anyone who has worked with the public will immediately identify with the exchanges here and find comedy in the madness.

harrassed commuters in MNL 143



Throughout the film commuters fiddle with iPhones, cameras, video-recorders and iPads and there’s constant sending and receiving of text messages. This is perhaps a nod to our technology-obsessed culture but there’s comedy to be had here too. A giggling young man records a fellow passenger whose testicle has slipped through a hole in his shorts and exclaims, ‘This will go viral’.



Ramil lunches with some fellow taxi drivers in MNL 143



The web of smaller narratives within Ramil’s own are fun to watch. Sadly our protagonist is never able to resolve his own dilemma and the film lacks any twist or sense of finality which is a bit of a let-down after such a frenetic build-up.

I enjoyed my first taste of Philippine cinema. MNL 143 creates an entertaining balance of sadness and comedy in a rough and alien environment, even if it does struggle to find closure.

Frank and Roxy in God Bless America

From one aspect of social commentary to another, God Bless America takes a scathing look at celebrity culture. Frank has just lost his job. His ex-wife is getting re-married and his tantrum-throwing daughter wants nothing to do with him. His neighbour parks too close to his car. Frank also has an inoperable brain tumour. Parked in front of his television he watches the deterioration of human behaviour on grotesque reality TV shows (one altercation involves a woman flinging a used tampon at an enraged co-star) and decides we have suffered too much freedom of speech. On his trigger-happy journey to rid society of its social ills – and rude behaviour - Frank forms an unlikely alliance with a teenage misfit who shares his discontent.
The film nails the sense of stupidity and narcissism that saps so much air time. The story itself though is over the top, and it wasn’t long before I became bored with the premise. It seems to me that stupid people ought to be ignored, rather than targeted for conversion… or death. For this reason, I found it difficult to engage with the plot or care about Frank’s progress.
That said, this is perhaps the first film of its kind, lampooning reality TV shows and celebrity judges, and I think it’s likely to attract audiences. The scathing humour and bizarre shoot-em-ups are amusing enough and well-acted with our Bonnie and Clyde-inspired duo, even if the self-righteous superiority can, on occasion, become tiresome.
An engaging enough film and if the cathartic story appeals to you, it’s likely to hit the spot.

For more of my film reviews visit

http://www.acrossthearts.co.uk

Edinburgh International Film Festival: Part 1

copyright Hannah Houston @ EIFF

This is my first year at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and all the more exciting for it. Sifting through the catalogue, it quickly becomes difficult to decide what to see as each description is awash with enticing and honeyed words of glorious cinematic promise. But then that’s all part of the experience. I’m a horror fan so the ‘Late Night Movies’ selection seems like a good place to start.

David Bruckner’s V/H/S follows a group of testosterone-driven thugs as they break into a house seeking a video cassette that will, apparently, make them a fortune. The house has hundreds of videos as well as a corpse seated in front of numerous television screens stuck on static. Of course, the videos are duly inserted and played to reveal a grim anthology of horrific tales.



There’s an edginess to V/H/S which is pleasantly uncomfortable. The constant hand-held camera narrative (both within the videos and the group themselves who film their exploits) is relentless and given what the film is trying to do, it works well enough.

V/H/S

While the found-footage genre has proven to be effective as a horror tool, V/H/S manages to create another tension. Instead it shows what we ought not to do and the dramatic consequences of doing so. The movie opens with the youths guffawing as they film their deviant behaviour; grabbing a woman in a car park, lifting up her top as she screams and clutches onto her exposed breasts. The video periodically cuts to one of the boys clandestinely filming himself as he is about to have sex There’s an immediate establishment of the forbidden being caught on camera and it seems we ought not to be watching such things.


It’s a nice idea and more importantly, a relatively interesting one. Sadly the film quickly becomes cluttered and muddled betwixt stories of horror in the woods, vampiric creatures, haunted houses, sacrifices and even a Skype call with a lurking demon. The final one is, admittedly, a refreshingly good watch.

Visually the story works but each video seems just long enough to arouse interest before abruptly ending and too many questions are left unanswered. Perhaps this is its aim but audiences are, I think, looking for more. At nearly two hours, the film is drastically over-long and it’s a big ask to expect the audience to stay tuned. Like most horrors of late, V/H/S ushers its viewer through each tale of the unexplained but lacks any broader coherent story, relying heavily on tired shockers.

Henrik Mestad in Jackpot

Norwegian comedy horror Jackpot (Arme Riddere), on the other hand, grabs you from the off and keeps you guessing throughout. Adapted from the Jo Nesbo book and directed by Magnus Martens, this is an interesting tale of absurdity and greed.

At a plastic Christmas tree factory in Norway, three ex-cons and their supervisor have just won the football pools. However relationships quickly fall apart with disastrously gory and vulgar results.

With a distinctive and strong cast, the apparent mystery is played out with intrigue and comic timing, particularly visible on the faces of cop Solor (Henrik Mestad) and our unlucky suspect, Oscar (Kyrre Hellum). Close shots of their bright faces and emotionless expressions are startlingly dark and funny when spliced with the inept dismembering of bodies.

There are a couple of scenes where the gallows humour feels laboured and the slickness ebbs away as our writer seems to try a little too hard to make us laugh. However, the film sculpts humour into every scene, the majority of which are bang on. The Christmas tree factory is a wonderful setting as the overweight and grubby ex-cons smoke and hurl insults at one another while they check each miniature white tree for quality control.

Slickly cut, well-paced and directed and accompanied by a solid musical score, Jackpot delivers a tight and funny black comedy. It’s not difficult to find elements of the Coen brothers in the twisting and turning plot and Tarantino in the splattering of limbs but the film finds a voice of its own in its unique sense of humour and setting.

John C. Reilly in Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie

It’s difficult to like any of the characters in the film but it’s easy to root for them. Jackpot has its let-downs but they are minimal and happily, not enough to detract from an individual and taut black comedy. The film doesn’t linger in your mind too long afterwards but it does entertain and whisk you along with it as it goes.

From horror to comedy, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie seems promising in cast alone; Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Loggia and – astonishingly – a cameo from Steven Spielberg. Sadly, and I hate to write this, I despaired over what I saw. Writer and directors, Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker play themselves making a movie with a large budget (see title). When they blow all the cash they try to make the money back by revitalising a failing shopping mall.

The film strikes me as a desperate post-modernist tale as we see the movie-within-a-movie and the movie-within-a-movie-within-a-movie. This, however, isn’t the problem. Minutes in, I found myself squirming in my seat at the relentlessly bad jokes, the wooden acting and an increasingly absurd ‘plot’ unsupported by any clear comedy, characterisation or narrative. Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie creates its own reality with zany events and caricatures. Sadly it refuses to operate within the framework it creates and things become very boring very quickly.

Tim and Eric have garnered a loyal following and achieved success in DVD releases and online sketches and perhaps this transition to film is merely a mis-step. As I type, I feel compelled to acknowledge my difficulty with absurdist humour and as much as I try to understand it, I find it consistently irksome. Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie reminded me of that today.

Still, if I could direct you back to my initial excitement as I read the energetic blurbs for each film and even throw in a platitude of my own as I point out there are plenty more fish in the sea. Rent-A-Cat (yes, a film about renting our cats) is a top priority over the next few days and with Pixar’s Brave closing the festival, it only seems fitting that I take in some of the many animations making their debut.

copyright Hannah Houston @ EIFF

For more of my film and theatre reviews visit www.acrossthearts.co.uk

Film Review: Beauty (Skoonheid)

@ The Filmhouse

It’s difficult to know what to make of this film. It dips between mildly engaging, melancholic and shockingly brutal and left me pondering gay cinema and what it’s really about.

Francois is a middle-aged husband running a relatively successful timber business in South Africa. He is tormented with his sexuality as he drunkenly stumbles through sordid and debauched private outings which he later fervently laments. The film opens with him having married off one of his daughters. The panoramic, voyeuristic direction immediately establishes his fascination with his stunningly beautiful ‘nephew’ Christian as he intently gazes upon him from across the room at the reception.

Much of the film is shot this way, silently or accompanied by ominous muted tones as our protagonist struggles with his alienation from the lives of those around him. He stands still and alone, his glassy stare devouring his seemingly happy surroundings. Christian, on the other hand, is animated, sexy and effortlessly charming to all he meets. It’s not difficult to see how Francois can never be part of Christian’s world but Beauty follows his attempts to do so.

As a result, there’s a cumulative intensity to the events. Characters’ faces are depicted closely, through unchanging angles that linger longer than feels comfortable. As such, the tension becomes, at times, unbearable.

Despite this, the pace of the film feels too slow and when we finally arrive at the truly shocking and brutal climax, it is terrifying to watch. I’m loathed to go too much into the scene itself but our reaction (certainly mine) is that of severe discomfort at the visceral callousness of the violence that suddenly fills the screen. This would be fine if the story had engaged or aroused any strong empathy but up to this point, it has not yet managed to do so. Characters are fundamentally uninteresting and unexplained so there’s little sense of understanding at this sudden plot twist.

For me, Beauty fails because it paints a formulaic portrait of the gay man struggling to come to terms with his sexuality and offers nothing more. It seems the director deems the struggle interesting enough without going to any lengths to colour his characters. For this reason the story has become boring, which is a shame. Surely there are countless aspects of homosexuality which are just waiting to be explored. Are we not tired of this particular journey of repressed sexuality? Personally, I’m ready for something a little more meaty and I would suggest gay audiences may feel the same.

What’s worse, following the climax, the plot releases its grip on the viewer and becomes stale. The event in question is glossed over, nothing is explained, there is no transformation and in fact, Christian disappears entirely. Beauty fails to offer any explanation or understanding of the characters’ behaviour that it has so eagerly followed.

Watching Beauty, I am unsatisfied. I wonder that maybe I find the plot boring where others will be fascinated. I yearn for more complexity, more understanding and more thoughtfulness about homosexuality in cinema. One need only watch the emotionally charged and socially relevant Milk to see that homosexuality is capable of being part of powerful and relevant cinema.

Film Review: Monsieur Lazhar

Monsieur Lazhar @ The Filmhouse

A young schoolboy arrives early for class one morning to find his teacher has hanged herself. As the pupils struggle to come to terms with the horror of what has taken place in their classroom, a new teacher arrives who seems determined to help them cope. As the plot slowly unravels, we discover Monsieur Lazhar is also trying to come to terms with similar events in his own life.

Often quiet and subdued, Monsieur Lazhar only shows fleeting moments of emotion and deep connection to his pupils. Refreshingly, the film refuses to dote on the tired teacher-meets-pupil-and-rediscovers-life scenario but rather finds more power in exploring the anger of tragedy and how those left behind must try to comprehend it. The two are often incongruous and that’s fine.

At times there is a coldness about the way Monsieur Lazhar behaves towards his class. In turn, the children display arrogance, immaturity and even callousness towards one another as well as their mysterious new teacher. The film understands character flaws and makes no attempt to hide them. Again, audience’s notions of the teacher and pupil are subverted and the result is a believable story.

In one scene, Sophie, a young pupil, reads aloud a poem of shocking honesty about the events to befall the school. While this is hushed up by teachers and feared by pupils, Monsieur Lazhar encourages her to make sense of what she is going through. There are a number of brief but tender exchanges between the two which go some way to helping them out of their loneliness and these moments envelop the audience.

This is a curious film and all the more watchable for it. Death is not merely tragic and sad but it can be selfish and devastating. As adults, we like to think we have the mechanisms to cope and accept but Monsieur Lazhar dares to suggest there’s far more to it than that.

Review - Derren Brown: The Conversation

@ The Edinburgh Science Festival with Richard Wiseman

We’ve a fascination with celebrities. This much is obvious. Not content with merely digesting their work, we have a hunger for the people themselves; we want to know what they do to relax, how they devise their performances and what drives them. Derren Brown is motivated by people. He has an interest in what makes us tick and he combines this with extraordinary magic. Obvious then that we should want to strip him of his evening suit, pop him in a pair of jeans and sit him on a couch with a fellow magician (and psychology expert) to pick his brain. Welcome to The Conversation.

The world of magic and illusion is so often met with sneers and disinterest at clichéd and twee tricks which have long since lost their whimsy. Derren’s work is anything but. He has a love of parrots and taxidermy and after dappling with hypnosis in-between studying law he graced the restaurants of Bristol as a wandering magician before his big break with Channel Four. The real interest of The Conversation though, is getting a peek into how his mind works and he openly discusses the thoughts that go through his head while performing.

Scrutinising Derren’s inner-workings is fascinating, though in truth few of us expect he’ll let anything too interesting slip. What strikes you most - and this is true of his on-stage persona – is his unassuming nature. He chats happily; listening, pausing and responding with earnest as he chews over each question. While his methods are obviously shrouded in secrecy, he shares with us what he can. His most recent show, Svengali, requires a couple to come onstage and he talks us through selecting the right candidates; she must be quiet and slightly nervous while her male companion must not be too cocky otherwise the illusion will fail.

Stage work aside, he talks fondly of Trick of the Mind and reminisces about Trick or Treat (a particularly dark series where a victim is chosen and receives tutelage from our magician culminating in a dramatic trick… or treat). He speaks frankly and admits the most fun was had working for longer periods with individuals in helping them overcome fears and phobias. Hero at 30,000 Feet remains his favourite show to date, something he describes as ‘very special and meaningful’. When asked if these types of shows are perhaps unnecessarily dark or intense for the those involved he defends his work, arguing reality tv shows (for which he shows considerable distain) are far more sinister than anything he does and in fact all the participants emerge feeling happy to have taken part.

photo by Kenny Mathieson

Derren admits he got into magic for the reason so many do; he was an odd-ball youth with a desire to impress and astound. The problem, he says, is that you can’t talk about the really interesting stuff without giving away your craft so really it almost works against you.

Though the reason for his initial interest in conjuring has since worn off, it seems to have become something altogether more special. Watching him speak about his work, there’s an obvious curiosity - and infallible respect – for people. While the magic is flawless and the routines complex, he never fails to light up at the astonished response. There’s an unmasked joy and humour to what he does which is free from ego, pretention or flamboyancy. Perhaps the root of his success lies here. The transition in his work from mind-reading telly fodder to intricate studies of individual behaviour and investigative projects certainly suggests he has moved on from traditional magic and in fact found something far more interesting for himself.

The Conversation was a treat. I say ‘was’ because such a show is unlikely to be repeated and those of us who were lucky enough to attend left feeling intrigued by the enigmatic performer who really just seems like a terribly nice man.