Edinburgh Fringe theatre reviews: Flicker | Hometown | Juniper and Jules + more

THEATRE

Flicker ★★★★

Pleasance Dome (Venue 23) until 26 August

Flicker articulates perfectly the tricks a troubled mind can play on one’s brain. The set - a living room, reminiscent of a 90’s TV sitcom - gestures towards the interior life of Jo (Gabriella Foley), a woman grappling with Pure OCD. The grip of her thoughts, which explode unsolicited into her every moment, has gone beyond all bearing. When we meet her, she is at a tipping point - doubting the integrity of her surroundings, and questioning her morality.

These thoughts - her thoughts - are unthinkable. Invariably, they involve harming herself or others, and often feature violent sexual acts. While the impact they have on her is painful to observe, Flicker also proves painfully funny. We see the ways in which Jo is attempting, desperately, to escape her own body and experience, such as through endless hook-ups and flirtations with strangers. Her most recent one-night-stand hides from her flatmate, Anna (Olivia Michi Shrenzel), throughout, adding an unexpected element of farce.

Neither Jo nor Anna have the vocabulary to make sense of the extremity of the situation. It is bewildering, frightening, compelling, and repellent, and the play’s originality resides in its ability to navigate this spectrum with humour and sensitivity. With consultation by OCD UK, Flicker captures the perspectives of both the sufferer and their carers, demonstrating how the emotional state of one can oftentimes exist in opposition to the other, despite the fact that both parties share the same goal.

The title also points to the experience of Jo’s thoughts. How slippery they are as they flit, in-out, on-off, into her mind. But there is relief in putting a name to her experience - knowledge of viable treatment models, valuable support mechanisms, and confidence in the fact that there is a means of managing, and of living safely in a world in which she can love whomever she chooses.

Josephine Balfour-Oatts

THEATRE

Hometown ★★★

Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) until 17 August

Navigating life after college and the fate of friendships formed over four years are the issues explored in Los Angeles Theatre Initiative's new production. With a cast of 15, the show captures the warmth and bittersweet moments of post-college life. There are moments of sadness, particularly when characters are faced with the reality of growing up and growing old, but this does not overshadow the sense of hope and love.

The story follows four close friends—Mallory (Kaia Chen), Bailey (Lou Stockmeyer), Stella (Lucy Winzenried), and Alex (Max Outcalt)—as they spend one last summer together in Alex's hometown after their final term. Each character takes on a summer job or, in Alex's case, attempts to write a book. The chemistry between the friends is genuine and believable, making their journey particularly touching.

Sarah Talbert's writing weaves together multiple stories, scenes and characters with ease, allowing each one to have its moment without it ever feeling overwhelming. Normally, a large cast in a small space could be some cause for concern, but Mia Van De Mark's direction and the cast's unity mean that they have little issues working in the tight space. The cast manoeuvres and creates simple sets with precision, even moving chairs around while the action is still happening, which maintains the flow of the production.

Suzanne O’Brien

THEATRE

Juniper and Jules ★★★

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) until 26 August

“Juniper and Juliet, we sound like planets,” says one of the characters at the start of this romcom, about a gay woman and one who previously thought that she was straight who meet at a party and try – sometimes failing and sometimes succeeding -- to have a relationship that suits them both. Jules is a high-achieving software developer, Juliet is a teacher who uses too many exclamation marks in texts. As the spark between them dies, the dynamic changes – and then Juliet suggests that they should start seeing other people.

The performers do an excellent job with playwright Stephanie Martin’s lively dialogue, which contains some great one-liners. Through Juniper and Juliet’s changing arrangements, the piece provides an unusually pragmatic view of polyamory that is funny and honest, even if the conversation gets a bit circular as the two women bicker over who’s going out with whom when. It often feels like the women are committed to doing things (relatively) differently through gritted teeth. “It’s real. I like it. I think,” sums it up. Juniper and Juliet’s dilemmas are similar to the ones many couples face, but their openness and honesty to finding solutions, even though it’s never definitively decided what these should be, is involving.

Sally Stott

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THEATRE

Odin’s Eye and the Art of Seeing ★★★

Scottish Storytelling Centre (Venue 30) until 25 August

With the poised presence of the professional storyteller that she is, Alice Fernbank beautifully contextualises her treatment for eye cancer through the tales of Norse gods and the quest she shares with them to find a new way of ‘seeing’ things. Ferried to the hospital by taxi driver Drew, she simply and objectively captures each session, with alien equipment turned routine and the ultra-violent auroras that she sees every time the radiation reaches her eye and takes away part of her sight.

Her stripped back storytelling, paired with considered, composed movement are an affecting combination that capture the geometry of both the stories and the body. With a serene strong voice, she evokes the spirit of gods, goddesses and warriors she describes, starting with the tale of Odin sacrificing his eye for “the knowledge of all that came before and all that comes after”.

At times, it feels like the myths take over from Fernbank’s story, and they’re most successful as a contextualisation of this rather than operating in isolation in their alternative magical reality. A final expansion of the treatment room allows us to see the other five-out-of-seven-in-a-million people who inhabit it and realise, along with Alice, all of its many colours.

Sally Stott

THEATRE

Immanuel Kant Was a Real Pissant ★★

Bedlam Theatre (Venue 49) until 18 August

Naming your Fringe show after a line from one of Monty Python’s most highbrow comic moments might set you up for a fall when the masterful comic timing of the original isn’t in evidence. Writer and director Oliver Kletz’s play has a disgruntled lecturer dance his way onstage and then deliver what he refers to as not so much a seminar, but a stream-of-consciousness, single-sided discussion about Western philosophy and whether any of it means anything in the face of immediate real-world troubles. I imagine it’s an enjoyable script to read, but the delivery is stilted and feels under-rehearsed; not necessarily the actor’s fault, as it would take a Stephen Fry to sell a work this intellectually complex.

David Pollock

THEATRE

Take Me to Your Leader ★★

theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39) until 23 August

Labour relations become increasingly strained in Lex Joyce’s new comedy set in a private space research centre in the Scottish Highlands. Founded by an egocentric billionaire, Nebula Inc. may have discovered signals from the moon of Titan but seems far more concerned with exploiting its young interns. The cast cope well with large gobbets of expository dialogue but they shouldn’t really have to. It’s telling that the best gags all revolve around Amy Adam’s role in Contact rather than the dry matter intra-office negotiations. The characters aren’t exactly well drawn as they’re essentially mouthpieces for opposing viewpoints and this seems content to be a windy piece of agit-prop theatre rather than particularly interesting or entertaining.

Rory Ford