Edinburgh Fringe dance reviews: Wayne Sleep: Awake in the Afternoon | Tam O’Shanter | The Crucible | Nak Dara

The godfather of British dance Wayne Sleep delights with his debut Fringe show aged 76, while Tam O’Shanter and The Crucible put new spins on a pair of historical classics

Wayne Sleep | Steve Ullathorne

SPOKEN WORD

Wayne Sleep: Awake in the Afternoon ★★★★

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) until 25 August

With a plethora of dance shows populating our TV screens these days, it’s easy to forget it wasn’t always so. When Wayne Sleep’s ‘Hot Shoe Show’ hit the BBC in the early 1980s, it was one of a kind, blending ballet with commercial and tap dance. Sleep was a trailblazer in other ways, being the shortest principal dancer in the Royal Ballet’s history. So it should come as no surprise that this plucky performer, who was never afraid to go against the grain, is doing his first Fringe show at the age of 76.

Taking the form of an extended interview, dancer Jacquie Brunjes is tasked with keeping Sleep in check. Which is harder than you might think, because the bundle of energy that flew across the Royal Opera House stage and toured America with his own show, still has a mischievous glint in his eye. Taking us back to his childhood, through his years at the Royal Ballet, dancing in the West End, making films, breaking a world record and performing a duet with Princess Diana, the man has no shortage of anecdotes. With only an hour to play with, it’s a whirlwind trip, but he still finds time to get on his feet for a quick dance.

What’s perhaps most illuminating, is the archive of photographs and videos they’ve compiled. Each time Sleep mentions dancing a particular role or acting in a film, we’re shown a clip. Which not only brings his words to life, but reminds us time and again what a sensational dancer he was. It’s hard to imagine anyone spinning faster or leaping with such enthusiasm. Most surprising of all (but presumably not to those who know him), is just how funny Sleep is. Evident in the comic performances shown on screen, but even more so in the hilarious quips he delivers during his conversation with Brunjes.

Kelly Apter

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Tam O’Shanter ★★★

Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) until 24 August

The technical rigours of classical ballet usually preclude non-professional dancers from taking their hard work to the stage. So while it’s not uncommon to see children and teenagers delivering a narrative ballet to an appreciative crowd, rarely do adults get the same opportunity. Stepping into that void is Edinburgh Ballet Theatre, an amateur company founded in 2019 dedicated to giving adults the chance to perform.

This adaptation of Robert Burns’ poem, Tam O’Shanter is spirited and fun when it needs to be, spooky and dramatic when Tam’s drunken night takes a turn for the otherworldly. There’s no shortage of commitment from the 20-strong cast, whether they’re kicking up their heels in the local tavern or scaring Tam half to death in the graveyard.

What comes across most, however, is the sensitivity with which this show has been created. The original choreography by Rachel Clowes, Katy McMillan and Vanessa Smer–Barreto (all of whom also perform) is perfectly pitched to the technical facility of each dancer. The two or three who could easily take their place in a professional company are given more complex material, those less able are never over-stretched but neither are they left standing at the side. Which means everyone has a chance to shine.

Kelly Apter

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE AND CIRCUS

The Crucible ★★★

theSpaceTriplex (Venue 38) until 24 August

Performed by the Sacramento Dance Theatre, with company founder Jacob Gutierrez directing and choreographing, this is a spirited ‘reimagining’ of the classic Arthur Miller drama about the Salem witch trials.

The performers start off seated in the audience dressed like something from ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, before disrobing and gathering in a suitably witchy circle onstage. The original play sees a group of girls accused of witchcraft after being seen dancing naked in the forest, providing a strong basis for the adaptation. The opening stages are exemplary, with the uniformly excellent dancers whirling around the stage as if possessed.

The production continues to impress as the accusations of dark arts are made, but it is soon clear that the tale is too complex to be satisfactorily told via the medium of dance; the storytelling becoming muddled even as the dancing veers towards the spectacular.

A soundtrack of moody contemporary pop by the likes of Florence + The Machine and Taylor Swift works well in places but elsewhere is a little too on the nose (the first two songs feature the word ‘devil’ in the title, suggesting the involvement of a Spotify search) and threaten to Disneyfy the final third, turning it into something resembling a High School Musical Witch Hunt.

David Hepburn

DANCE, PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

Nak Dara ★★★

Assembly @ Dance Base (Venue 22) until 25 August

There are so many layers to this intimate solo from Singapore-based dancer Hasyimah Harith, that non-Muslim western audiences can only scratch the surface of. First, there are the actual layers - five large pieces of colourful patterned fabric, known as kemben, which women formerly used to wrap around their bodies, now replaced by more modest Islamic attire.

Standing on a high, almost sacrificial-like table, Harith spends the first half of the show wrapping herself in this material in complete silence. It’s a long and thoughtful process, and although interesting to follow, verges on the soporific at times. But once Harith is laying on the table, it’s as if a fire has been lit inside her, allowing her sexuality to burst free. A soundtrack arrives to boost momentum and the constrictive material, so tightly folded across her body, is slowly deconstructed.

A Malay term for ‘wanting a virgin’, ‘Nak Dara’ will have special connotations for Harith, herself a Malay-Muslim woman. As an outsider looking in, we can enter her world only so far, but the beauty and intensity of Harith’s performance is there for all to enjoy.

Kelly Apter