Edinburgh - city of...

It was mid-August when four of us from our theatre companies, headed up to Edinburgh. Due to request (well, one person) here are my notes on our experience.

Bags packed and company assembled. As we headed up north to Edinburgh we wondered what was in store as a group of 4 budding energetic thesp performers. Our accommodation was kindly provided by ACE East we just had to get up there. I formed a plan in my head: promote our current show of The Covert Club, promote our collaborative companies (Headless Entertainment and Hocus Pocus Theatre), use the escapade to bond with company members, enjoy a few days away, experience some new and exciting performance and expand my network of more budding theatre types. All within a number of days.

With a strong agenda and fumble (or thumble?) through the iFringe app, the excitement grew. We arrived. Our accommodation: reminiscent of a student flat, but obviously the kind that has financially supportive parents and the kind that had strategically planned their home-from-home-stay opposite an off-license.

It has been a few years since I’d been to Edinburgh and the festivals. I remember the first time; festival guides, listings, reviews and flyers crammed into a tote bag (they were very posh back then) with a militant schedule precariously planned so I could see and do as much as I could in this window of Scottish and International theatrics and test of endurance.

The coffee table of the flat was piled high with listings, venue brochures and postcards stapled with starred-reviews. As soon as we reached the Royal Mile it was A5 flyer central with show promotion in abundance, sporting every theatrical genre going. Shakespeare (boy there was a lot of Shakespeare this year) to dance, horror to new opera. Fantastic. I also recall a lot of gay zombie things.

I’ve been to Edinburgh as few times before, apart from festival visits I’ve always seen the city in the winter. The city looks great in either season whether full of endearing theatre makers and tourists or when more docile, with its dark purple sky that frames its tall impressive buildings.

Words that came to mind: excitement, hype, dreams, disappointment, risk, bravery and appreciation. Not meaning to sound bitter or objective, because the whole experience of Edinburgh in August is a wonderful one.

Excitement builds with audience members and tourists. Excited companies armed with gaffer tape, flyers and bottled water rush by. Within each performer is the dream and their opportune moment – right there in the centre of Edinburgh- is that step closer to reaching whatever it is they’re after.

Infectious hyperactivity manifests itself as you thiumbs through the show listings. Over-hyped show promotion fools individuals to commitment of time and place that lead to disappointment. I admire the risk and bravery of any performer in an productions. The brave souls of one-man shows, the brave ensembles of experimental cabaret. The brave souls who have left their jobs and homes to seek attention in this city of many incantations. Of course, any performers’ hard work is appreciated (as we can choose to show with worthy- or unworthy vigorous applause).

Only one show I saw received a standing ovation which I wholeheartedly took part in. It’s that expression of appreciation that comes forth before you know exactly what it is you’re applauding. The writing, the acting talent, the story, my engagement with the concept? What is the majority of these elements is actually the mastermind of those onstage before you? This is often the case with the Fringe but the production I refer to here (Bette & Joan, the final curtain) excelled in all elements listed above. It was a great show that stood out from my other Fringe experiences. Too well-delivered, too comfortable, too polished? Can a show be too polished for a Fringe?

The return journey home to Norwich was a drowsy one with moments of delirium playing word games and making entertaining noises. Feel well-nourished with performance we all headed home, with ideas taking shape in our heads ready for the next Covert Club, the show which we heralded and presented to those festival goers who I’m sure we’ll be meeting again next year.

End of the Rainbow, beginning of a phenomenon

 

End of the Rainbow

Written by Peter Quilter. Directed by Terry Johnson.

Pinstripe Productions and Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

At first, you could think of the many biographical pieces of theatre that attempt to delve into the life of a diva. I also think of the many GCSE drama students who try to immortalize Marilyn Monroe and her tragic ending. At a time when the ink telling the sad news of Amy Winehouse is still wet, comes this poignant and intense piece of theatre that blew me away.

Out of the set (a gorgeous London Ritz hotel room that provides the backdrop to most the play) comes the club venue ‘Talk of the Town’ where Judy ploughed on with her umpteenth comeback show. Tracie Bennett (a string of UK theatre, TV and film, mostly recognized from Emmerdale) gives an outstanding performance that raised the hair on the back of my neck. She delivered what felt like a true raw performance, moving from dark humour and wit to pieces of intense drama – crumbling the international sensation of Garland before our very eyes – one moment she’s up, the next she’s literally down on the floor begging for more drugs and liquor.

Just before the interval we’re treated to Gershwin’s  ‘The Man That Got Away’ – a haunting performance where you’re allowed to engage with and left vulnerable with the wreck of a woman that’s crumbling before us.

“It’s a terrible thing to know what you’re capable of and never get there.”

Judy in End of the Rainbow.

Bennett is joined by Hilton McRae (Anthony), Norman Bowman (her last husband, Mickey Deans) and a variety of guises from ASM Robert Maskell. McRae plays her gay (and bitter) pianist, which balances dry wit with Judy’s dark humour. A nod to Judy’s gay fans (and the many that made up the audience) continued throughout the play adding comic relief often amongst moments of intensity that deal with the star’s demise that seemed to have begun as that child star we all remember.

The opening night at the first leg of the UK tour, here at Theatre Royal Norwich, got a standing ovation and I’m sure it will be getting many more.

For more information about this production and its UK tour, check out: www.endoftherainbowtour.com