Fringe theatre reviews: Play Dead | See You Tomorrow | WENCH | Good Girl | Ludwig: Unfinished Business | Space Cadet | Chestnuts

THEATRE

Play Dead ★★★★

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61) until 30 August

You might want to brush up on your Ovid before settling in for UK/US company Betyl Theatre’s enjoyably high-concept, often unsettling Play Dead. You won’t miss anything if you don’t (and - spoiler alert - there’s a helpful walk-through towards the end), but it might help with untangling the gloriously knotted threads in writer/actor Bailey Edwards’s contemporary queer retelling of the myth of Echo and Narcissus.

And, frustratingly, it’s a show in which surprise counts for really quite a lot, so don’t expect many details here. Suffice it to say that it involves a large animal transporter crate, a profusion of grapefruits, an ignored lover, a distant sister and quite a lot of technical jiggery-pokery too. Hand-held mics bring in unexpected voices and unusual perspectives, and an on-stage mixing desk offers yet more possibilities for vocal metamorphoses.

If that all sounds a bit diffuse, even random - well, at points that’s exactly how Play Dead feels. But what’s really impressive is how Edwards ties up the many loose ends he’s unpicked and, rather than simply allowing everything to make sense, actually makes it all feel inevitable. Yes, at times Play Dead feels a bit like a tick-box list of contemporary theatrical techniques, but director Mia Hull ensures they’re used effectively and with good purpose.

Holding it all together, too, is the simpering presence of Edwards himself as Echo, who convincingly reimagines his Greek nymph character as an abandoned lover (and dog kidnapper) who’s ultimately left only able to repeat the accusations of the man who’s left him. Edwards gives a superbly choreographed performance (including some impressive yoga moves), but he’s unfailingly in touch, too, with his character’s inner emotional life.

Play Dead isn’t an easy watch, and it takes trust in the company that it will all add up to something meaningful in the end. But as its strands and ideas are drawn elegantly together, it’s very rewarding both intellectually and emotionally. David Kettle

THEATRE

See You Tomorrow ★★★★

Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) until 29 August

You never really know what someone is going through and everyone copes in their own way. Harrie is going through an awful experience, but tells her story with dark humour and confidence, poking fun at herself and the situations she finds herself in. Is she using humour as a coping mechanism? Highly likely, but at the end of the day, the funniness she brings is exactly that - incredibly funny.

Writer and performer Beth Lindsey is on it from the start, and her energy does not let up. One minute we are watching Harrie comically pose for photos to gather evidence of a sexual assault, and the next we are aching for her as she sits quietly in her living room with a blanket over her head.

The dramatic emotional shift between these moments is purposeful, yet nothing feels forced. It is a real testament to Lindsey that all sides of Harrie feel authentic and make complete sense within the piece. The humour never downplays the severity of what Harriet goes through, instead finding light in the darkest places. The hour whizzes by, although the emotional whiplash may remain for some time afterwards.

It looks at the struggles of speaking out as a victim and how getting justice doesn't mean peace. It takes us through invasive examinations at a sexual health clinic, police interviews and an uncomfortable trial, presenting difficult topics and emotions in a human and honest way.

The only odd thing about this production is the projections slanted across the ceiling. They highlight the timeline and embellish the story, but craning your neck to see does slightly take away from the action. This may be more to do with the space than an intended choice.

This is an important piece that is brilliantly performed. It is distressing at points, but it’s the raw, unapologetic and comical nature of it that makes it so impactful. Suzanne O'Brien

THEATRE

WENCH ★★★

Underbelly, George Square (Venue 300) until 30 August

Drag Idol UK winner Felix Le Freak is to be applauded for doing something a little left field with those ubiquitous Kate Bush/David Bowie influences. WENCH is a three act/wig/costume exploration of outsider women, starting with the Wicker Man-meets-The Crucible cautionary tale of Martha Tallow, accused of “livestock relations” and being the word that dare not speak its name in 17th century England (but it sounds a bit like “wench”).

Five minutes in, she’s in the stocks, defiant in the role thrust upon her, railing about nature red in tooth and claw, while generating Green (Wo)man pagan folk drag vibes in her corset and cod-piece. Musically, Felix growls and howls to a backing track which nods to vaudeville and the pastoral beat pop of The Kinks’ Village Green Preservation Society.

From here, the wigs get more asymmetric as Felix moves on to the more conventional cabaret territory of Weimar Germany to preach liberation and love of Werner (“the high earner”) and then to the glitzy Blitz club era for a Hazel O’Connoresque electro finale before Martha returns for a pantomime epilogue. However, while close to the witching hour might seem like the ideal slot for a show with witchcraft in its heart, the jokes don’t always land effectively enough to strike the ideal balance between comment and cabaret. Fiona Shepherd

Enjoying The Scotsman's coverage of the Edinburgh festivals? For just £2 a month you can get unlimited access to scotsman.com plus 2-for-1 Fringe tickets. For details visit www.scotsman.com/subscriptions

THEATRE

Good Girl ★★

Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24) until 31 August

Good Girl, a largely autobiographical solo show, follows a wife, Alix, whose husband has serial, months-long affairs. “One more night,” she tells herself, unsure whether she can – or wants to – leave. Solace comes unexpectedly: after posting a nude online, she’s approached by a “dom guide,” finding safety and community through BDSM, texting a man she calls “daddy” while marriage counselling stalls at home. A shifting timeline drives the story forward, but sightlines are poor, and scenes of betrayal recur without new shading across a run time of one hour and fifteen. Here, the bravest moments are never seen, only described. Josephine Balfour-Oatts

THEATRE

Ludwig: Unfinished Business ★★

Assembly @ St Andrew Square (Venue 172) until 30 August

Actor Mike Hatchard is a capable pianist, and an excellent boogie-woogie player: his witty, virtuoso and vaguely Beethoven-style improvisation on a theme made up by the audience probably counts as Ludwig: Unfinished Business’s highlight. That aside, however, it’s hard to know what his solo piano-plus-anecdotes show is trying to do. Vaguely speaking, it’s a dishevelled Beethoven transported to our own times, bragging about his achievements and moaning about his frustrations, with cod German accent and no end of da-da-da-daaaahs. But it feels loose, arbitrarily structured and overly reliant on weak gags. Tauter, tighter and with cleverer material, it could all have been so much stronger. David Kettle

THEATRE

Space Cadet ★★

Just the Tonic at the Caves (Venue 88) until 30 August

Singer/guitarist Isabella Pettite has spent so much of her 23 neurodiverse years on this planet dealing with her own confusion and the misunderstanding of others that she reckons it’s time to educate her audience with a personal musical walk through her autism, ADHD and dyspraxia journey. Space Cadet is light and slight, framed as a musical conversation with her therapist/pianist and illustrated with a succession of twee indie folk songs on the pros and cons of her condition, a more strident song on the prejudice she has encountered and a witty ditty imagining if the world was flipped to disadvantage neurotypical people. Fiona Shepherd

THEATRE

Chestnuts ★★

Greenside @ George St (Venue 236) until 29 August

With its storyline of four young Anglo-Chinese friends, death, fractured relationships and migration, there’s no mistaking the ambition of writer/director Yuner Chen’s 50-minute multilingual drama. Bringing in the ghost of ‘good Nazi’ John Rabe, who sheltered Chinese civilians during the Japanese invasion, offers fascinating insights into what’s surely a little-known period for European audiences, but he remains an under-explored figure, his presence only partially woven into the main narrative. With more time to flesh out characters and themes, as well as more confident and more strongly projected acting, Chestnuts would surely serve its potent ideas more successfully - as it stands, it feels more like a work in progress. David Kettle

The Scotsman’s arts newsletter is now sent twice a week - subscribe today

Enjoying the Arts & Culture journalism on scotsman.com? Make it easier to find by selecting us as a preferred Google source

Want the latest Scottish headlines sent directly to your phone? Sign up to our new WhatsApp channel here