Alienated Top Five

Ah, alienation. Once upon a time it was the Marxist explanation for why capitalism could exploit the proletariat. Now, it's a handy catch-all to describe the human condition. While I can't claim to have a complete understanding of the concept, I probably live it, so picking out five works that express the anxiety of contemporary existence ought to be a breeze.


Making the list even easier is The Stranger, an old school monologue straight from the pages of Camus' existentialist classic. Guilherme Leme is alone under the spotlight, telling the story directly and with the polished aplomb of an actor who has been a fixture on Brazilian TV throughout his career. There's no surprise twists - the hero wanders through his life, kills an Arab, gets tried, becomes a symbol of monstrosity for the local community, especially for his atheism - but Leme holds the attention and builds the sense of utter meaninglessness through his measured, nuanced delivery.


If The Stranger offers any respite from Camus' bleak vision of a reality uninhabited by the divine or even compassion, it is through Leme's style. A mixture of a bed-time story for Gaulois smoking adults and a Film Noir detective voice-over, his presence, and talent argue that meaning can exist in the sheer joy of experiencing another human revealing truths. So - perhaps the last word there goes not to alienation but art's ability to reconcile.

Summerhall, 3-25 September


A more explicitly political version of alienation is arriving at Dance Base later this week. Last time they came to the Fringe, Sanpapie got in a van, loaded it with food, and drove from Italy to Edinburgh. This time, they come fully prepared, starring an ex-footballer and ready to respond to the frustrations of living in contemporary Europe.

I am Son takes its cues from a poem that references the revolutionary generation of 1968, trying to understand what it means to be, and how our history defines our legacy. "Let's say it is a a show on the West by young Italian schizophrenics," say Marco di Stafano and Lara Guidetti (co-director and choreographer).

Seeing themselves as Western European rather than merely Italian, Sanpapie fit beautifully into the grand tradition of experimental live art and dance theatre: "the absolute masters are Pina Bausch , Marina Abramovic, Sasha Waltz, Wim Vandekeybus, Constance Macras," says Guidetti. The two art forms themselves that evolved from the twentieth century's struggle to cope with its own idiocy, shattering the traditional alienation between word and movement, idea and image to encourage an immersive, immediate engagement.

Dance Base, 16- 25 August


If setting up a bunch of shows called "the alternative Fringe" and declaring war on the big venues is any guide, Bob Slayer's pretty alienated. In person, he comes across as balanced and charismatic and his actual show sounds as if it incorporates self-deprecating wit, improvisation and a philosophical challenge to traditional concepts of stand up. Slayer would probably laugh at any pretentious attempt by me to define his work, and since one show featured his aunt wiping his bum, he'll probably be happier if I shut up.

Slayer used to be a tour manager, and his career started on stage started as the guy who would get pelted by fans of the Bloodhound Gang when they had a mid-gig fag break. His approach - half abrasive, half generous - will probably alienate some members of the audience. He's in.

The Hive, 3 -27 August


Although Marxism has managed to pretend that it is the only socialist path, there has always been a counter tradition that comes from the UK, and eschews the revolutionary for a more democratic critique of existing power structures: that what the Labour Party used to be. The world's first two handed version of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists comes from a novel squarely in this strand: a team of house painters are joined by social justice enthusiast Owen, and hilarity ensues.



Hilarity in the sense of Owen's attempts to inject a social consciousness into his fellow workers, that is. Written by a bloke who has done loads of Coronation Street episodes, this version of The RTP is plugged into the warmth and wit of northern working class theatre, and comes just at that time when the Coalition Government is doing its best to - hang on, what are they up to? I mean, I see the things they do, but I can't see any logic or sense in it.

Like many of the works in this political quarter, it emphasises not the big ideas but the daily reality of working class life. While there is an argument that political theatre is best aimed at contemporary wrongs, The RTP is more than nostalgia: it is a reminder of where this nation has been, and how we got past the excesses of industrial capitalism.


Assembly George Square, 1 -27 August


Finally, I need to give some love to the Creative Martyrs. Fringe veterans, Glasgow legends, a pair of misfits who flutter between cabaret and esoteric Eastern European mime, a pleasure to watch and the inspiration for many an uncomfortable post-show conversation. This year they are going their greatest hits, which will include songs about babies being bred for the purpose of being a bank of spare parts, warnings about the secret agenda behind supermarket loyalty cards, chuckles at the end of the world and the fun parts of war that people so often forget in their rush to condemn those hard working business men in arms manufacture.

Oh, it's a comedy show. After a fashion.

Voodoo Room, 1 -27 August



But who can feel alienated in the Edinburgh sunshine? Who can feel lonely in a crowd on the Royal Mile? When every show is full, and stars are being found on every street corner? Who, I ask you, who?

It's all part of the smiling capitalists' trap, man. Say yes to alienation.

I am Son @ Dance Base

Marco di Stefano co-director of I am Son and Lara Guidetti, coreographer and performer, discuss the Italian entry in the Dance Base Programme

Sanpapie, your company, is interested in fusing words and movement: what influences led you to make this fusion an essential part of your work?

That which we call Fusion is actually a deliberate choice to which we subject our performers, namely that of choosing the right tool to tell the meaning of our shows. We want our performers to use all of their powers of expression, so that the words accompany our research on the bodyin a single creative process, in the end we choose if body or speech are the most appropriate tool to communicate with the public in a specific moment.

The words are never subjugated to the body or vice versa: both are two substantial pieces of our experimentation. Our major influences are the great masters of the theatre who looked into mixing genres to convey their messages, such as Bob Wilson, Johann Kresnik and Matthias Langhoff, with whom Mark has had the honor of working.

For Lara the absolute masters are Pina Bauscht , Marina Abramovic, Sasha Waltz, Wim Vandekeybus, Constance Macras. We are also very close to the poetics of the fragment as practised by  Heiner Müller. The fragment can synthesize, get into things. It's versatile: the fragment is dance, theater, music.

Is the piece about Italy in particular, or does it have any more universal aspects?

I am Son is a work about identity, so it was impossible for us to disregard our being in our thirties and Italians of today. Italy is therefore the central point, but not the only one. Somehow we also feel European, although a shared and strong European identity does not exist, in our view. 


We feel European when we feel threatened by something we do not know and then we feel closer to French than to a North Korean. We believe, rather, paradoxically, that there is Western identity. A sort of feeling that  flattens everything out in favour of a pro-American feeling born out of convenience. I am the Son tries to tell it all: the huge gap between what they told us to be and what we want to be, when we'll understand who we want to be, of course. Therefore we do not feel I am Son  is a show about Italy: let's say it is a a show on the West by young Italian schizophrenics.

What is the relationship between Son and BOH, your previous Fringe entry? Are they similar in any way?

BOH and I am Son are two different stages of the same path, two pieces of the same body of research, a field survey of our work. They are two very different shows, they talk about different things, but they look in the same way at the transformation of the body as a function of communicating with the public. They remain, however, two shows almost in opposition in their formal and aesthetic traits : BOH is delicate, intimate, with an inner world gradually revealed, I am Son is raw, direct, all-encompassing and collective. In BOH the search comes from within, in I am Son the stimuli come from the surrounding world. Despite this they  both have in common the concept of the body as a mirror, or perhaps a medium, between what is inside and what is outside.

What is the birthright that the work is looking at?

We are looking at more than one right: the right to self-awareness, the right to make mistakes, the right to be free to choose... all part of our birthright.

Do you feel any sympathy with other dance companies, either in what they produce or the way they work?

At this moment we believe in sharing, in discussion and exchange with those exploring the transformations of the body. To this end, in Milan, our home town, we are trying to involve other dancers and artists to share with us their research. This project has been ongoing for 3 years, is called TANDEM - like riding a bicycle for two - and lead us to invite other dancers to do their show in our place of residence, the Space Mil.

Amongst other Companies we look at with respect and admiration, and also looking to share creative ideas such we would like to mention Susanna Beltrami, a Milan-based choreographer , whilst thanks to the Fringe we have discovered and met two great companies, the Scottish Dance Theatre, which we admire very much as a company and a community of artists, and DOT 504, from Prague, especially for their research in physicality.

And what has encouraged you to come back to the fringe?

The fringe is a great experience: in 2009, although it was tough, we went back to Italy profoundly changed, especially artistically, and for the better. Since then we chased the possibility of coming back and thanks to Dance Base and Morag Deyes this year we succeeded.

From the Fringe we seek especially the communication with other artists and the public, that here is always diverse and passionate, and to hear the opinion of critics, who here demonstrate an attention to the shows  and an expertise hard to find in Italy these days. And, above all, the beer and the excellent whiskey.


16- 25 August @ Dance Base, various times