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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 2009 Reviews (82)TAO - Samurai Magical Drumming TAO hooks the audience with the first beat of their drums. Tao's sold-out performances on their return to the Fringe prove how entertaining, polished, and professional this group is. Headed by a director who knows how to please an audience, this peerless group of performers is as exciting for the eye as the ear. The stage seems to be constantly moving. Instruments, mostly drums, are brought on and off. There are some melodic percussion instruments that are not drums, flutes and trumpets. They play with each other and the audience. Much of the production is loud and frantic but balanced by some exquisite and haunting melodies. One cannot avoid mentioning that this performance nods to the visual as well. The costumes are rich; a strange combination of the new and ancient. And, yes, they are beautiful to look at. (Chippendales, take note.) One can see in these bodies the work that goes into this art form. The precision with which they perform seems to be typical of the kind of training in the East; just as Mong-Yeon (A Love In Dreams) from Modl Theatre (Korea), the little more messy Yellow Raincoat Troupe's Shut Up, Play and, in years past, the Korean Shakespeare company that brought the breathtaking Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream all aspects of the production are addressed. I have been told that this group video-tapes their performances every night in order to review them the following day. That may seem excessive but seeking this quality (and training) is something worthy of examining for performers, especially in America. This is family entertainment and a must see for everyone. Catherine Lamm Lotte's Gift Lotte's Gift combines the talents of two Australians pre-eminent in their own fields. These days, David Williamson is probably best known as the writer of Up For Grabs, the play that brought Madonna to the London stage. Karin Schaupp is possibly the country's top classical guitarist. The story centres on her grandmother, who, judging from the numerous photos, was not only a fantastic operatic singer but also drop-dead gorgeous. Her tale starts in Nazi Germany as a teenager, when she met the love of her life Horst, who was in the army. Rather than marry him, she accepted the hand of Heinrich, a pianist/singer in the time that he could spare from his career as a doctor. This was the worst decision of her life. She had rejected her real love for a selfish man with the mother-in-law from hell in tow. The worst moment was not when she was hit after insulting his dear mother but later, when the pair sought a recording contract. Lotte was chosen while Heinrich failed. The jealous husband killed his wife's career stone dead, leaving her to live vicariously through her two daughters and much-loved prodigious granddaughter, Karin. David Williamson has put together an enjoyable run through Lotte's life, as narrated through Karin's eyes and along the way we learn a great deal about a star guitarist who almost lost her nerve. With classical guitar accompaniment of the highest order, this is an ideal lunchtime show. Philip Fisher Graceless It is hard to know what to say about Graceless. Possibly a woman would be kinder but broadly, for 50 minutes, five women in their early twenties dress eccentrically (Ballerina/Frogwoman/Wonder Woman etc) and do little. The devised text is disjointed, musing on the lot of women, possibly using verbatim recordings. This is accompanied by sections of movement and song. The sum adds up to no more than these parts. Philip Fisher |
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