It's Mayhem

I have seen a few shows, but I have had far more in the radio studio. In fact, I intend to spend the rest of the Fringe in the studio, making episodes of Subcity of the Fringe, only leaving to buy Chinese food and alcohol.

After the first day of recording, I am not sure I could pick out a mere top five - listen to the show and see who sounds friendly - but I had fun listening to Bob Slayer's outrageous life stories, was charmed by Clout Theatre (Lecoq gags ahoy) and was astonished by Christine Bovill's versions of Piaf's signature songs. However, I want to take a moment to remember a show that I saw before it came to the Fringe, and I know is lurking outside of the studio, somewhere in Summerhall.

Puppet. Book of Splendour is not something to slip into between comedy shows: stands ups might pretend to be soulful, but against the depth of feeling in Puppet, they'd ruin your appetite. Based around the Book of Job, with added caballa, it is a journey through the life of Polish theatre legend Kantor, with added angels in afro wigs and the darkest projections onto the darkest set. Astonishing, frightening and life affirming (as long as that live can accept a God beyond understanding), it's the kind of theatrical mayhem I adore.

Summerhall, 8 -13 August 2012

While I am on the mayhem tip, let's go for the Wau Waus. They have a new show - naked as they day they were born, apparently - and are in La Clique Royale. The Waus Waus once said that they chase the moment where everything is falling apart, when the act is on the edge of collapse: they have certainly smashed most of the boundaries that keep cabaret and performance art apart. Their erotic strategies are inspired by a punk ethos and a feminist intelligence, and they usually upset somebody by the end of the Fringe.

The Famous Spiegel Tent, 8- 26 August

Since I am now sitting in Dance Base, I reckon bANGER is worth a shout. It's Very Metal, a one woman take on the pleasures of being a young male, stuck in the bedroom and playing the games that always come along when the volume goes up to eleven. Warfare, rockin' out, a glance at the way a youth's mind can follow the beat into fantastic worlds. I am outside the studio as it is being performed right now, and it made my hair grow long when the tunes kicked in.

Dance Base, Various Times, 3 - 12

While I am on the Dance Base tip, I did chat to Alan Greig out of GOD (Grumpy Old Dancers) and Gary Clarke (A Beautiful Hell). It's a typical smart Dance Base double bill that does something original with pairing up distinctive masculine works. GOD works through the hilarious mismatch of the dancers (Greig does the camp, Andy Howett is the most macho man ever to front a Gaelic TV show about dance). Gary Clarke's choreography grows beauty from brutality and, after last years's solo, has pulled together a group of young dancers to flesh out his energetic, passionate vision of a life lived at full tilt.

Dance Base, Various Times, 3 - 12


So - there are my predictions for the most chaotic (but watchable shows), short of the car crashes and the big Polish action pieces in the Quad (I'll be getting to them soon). But, of course, the real mayhem is on the Royal Mile where I am doing my one man show Get Out of My Way, I Don't Want a Flyer. The bit where I punch a nun was described by the police as the most shocking moment you'll see all year: sadly, they didn't give me five stars but a five year suspended sentence.

Top Five Dance Shows OMG you must see (Fringe only)

The best thing about the Fringe is that it is a rare time when people read critics with a view to seeing something that we recommend. So before I become too jaded and exhausted, I am going to throw out my top fives in anything I vaguely understand.

Dance is the first victim...

The Woman Who Wanted to be Funny (Curious Seed) @ Dance Base

Curious Seed tend to win Fringe awards, so get in on the ground level. Artistic director Christine Devaney is both witty and cerebral, and here she teams up with musician (as heard on Mogwai's last album) and writer (author of Venus As A Boy) Luke Sutherland. Finding the missing link between stand up and choreography, The Woman promises to be moving and thoughtful, but playful.
Born out of Sutherland and Devaney's continued improvisations - they were originally introduced by the NTS when Venus As A Boy was transformed into a play - it discovers that comedy is... oh, okay... no laughing matter.



Booking Dance Festival @ EICC

I have been banging on about this in The Skinny for the past three years: it is a compilation show of American companies, with everything from a spot of tap, a dash of ballroom to more experimental choreography.
A good one if you are not convinced by dance as a medium, as nothing last too long and the seats are comfortable. It's unlikely that every turn will hit the spot, but it usually ends in the amusing sight of audience members arguing over which piece won.
Special note: I am looking out for Hammerstep, who have a live bluegrass band and claim that they are integrating a variety of outsider dances to create a contemporary and relevant style. Plus, that's the most METAL name I have ever seen for a dance company...

bAnger (Tara Cheyenne) @ Dance Base
...except for perhaps this solo show. And that is because it is about metal. And being a young man trying to find a place in the world. It sums up what I love about dance - it can cover most things, and in a form that is funny and accessible. I couldn't think of anything worse than a monologue about being a metal fan, and how the world doesn't understand. Mix in some choreography, and it is top of my must-see list.


Flamenco Roots (Ricardo Garcia) @theSpace
I love it when critics get poetic about shows, trotting out cliches about how this show or that show will transport the audience from rain spattered Edinburgh to an underground bar in Madrid. Puts me fair off my paella. Still, Garcia is good at this stuff: his shows tend to be folkier and more intense, with a real sense that the dancers and musicians would be going for it even if the gig was in their bedroom.
His website gives a taster of his guitar picking style (nice and loose), and although I don't want to get into that critical nonsense, I do believe that a hour with the Flamenco Flow will probably cheer up another Edinburgh day of storm clouds. 

Flashmob (Corrie McGuire) @ Assembly Hall
This is my wild card choice. Every year, the Fringe has one massive dance show. I reckon this is it... although it might be challenged by the one about football. Details to follow.