Edinburgh Festival Fringe Theatre Reviews: Beautiful Evil Things | Vanya Is Alive | Rites of Passage | 2nd Picture of Dorian Gray | Alfie and George | Take the Bins Out

A hugely entertaining one-woman show about the Trojan War is the five star highlight of our latest batch of Fringe theatre reviews.

Beautiful Evil Things *****

Pleasance Dome (Venue 23) until 27 August

In an ideal world, Deborah Pugh would be cloned and sent into every school in the country to teach history. That way, even the most complicated aspects of the ancient world would become memorable and alive with meaning. If Pugh’s latest show is anything to go by she’d have to sift out the sweary bits, but the idea still stands.

The latest in a long line of dynamic, illuminating and hugely entertaining works by Bristol-based theatre company Ad Infinitum, Beautiful Evil Things is a new take on the Trojan War. An event depicted in multiple works of Greek literature and art, that’s filled with big names and even bigger egos. It’s also a story that’s rife with complexities, which is why Pugh is such a miracle worker.

Over the course of 75 minutes, without losing a single thread, forgetting a single word or dropping a single ounce of energy, she blazes a trail through this multi-layered Greek myth. Better yet, many of the major male players (Zeus, Agamemnon, Achilles, Paris) are called out for their behaviour, while the often maligned or side-lined female protagonists (Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and the little-known Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons) are given their rightful moment in the spotlight. Taking on the role of Medusa, Pugh also sets a few records straight in this epic tale of gods and mortals.

Dashing between mic stands (five of them – plus a hand-held and cheek mic), Pugh’s voice echoes around the room, booming for the big guys, then throwing us cheeky asides. Her very being is alive with movement, bringing each character to life so vividly and with such wit, there’s never any danger we’ll get lost in the narrative.

Kelly Apter

Beautiful Evil Thing (Photo Copyright Mia Lake)

Vanya Is Alive ***

theSpace @ Symposium Hall (Venue 43) until 12 August

Built on doublespeak, Vanya is Alive is a shadowy, dystopian piece - theatre as a trick mirror - whereby peace is transformed into a thing of propaganda, and imprisonment is interpreted as ‘absolute freedom’. Even the weather, or the act of opening a window, cannot be taken at face value, and yet, thanks to playwright Natalia Lizorkina’s clever design, the truth is made transparent.

Though the action has a certain stillness to it, it is not necessarily stilted. Nikolay Mulakov’s delivery is commendable, and he plays the narrator, the entire cast, and voices the stage directions, with dexterity. Following the determined mother of a captured Russian soldier, the play is highly minimalistic, with no setting, no props, and scene changes indicated only by tableaux and subtle shifts in lighting.

However, the poetry of the script and its understated staging can, at times, produce a sleepy, sedative effect, demanding greater intensity at points, or changes in pace. Its emphasis on language (particularly the role of language in politics), also suggests that Vanya is Alive might be best placed as a play for voices, the better to appreciate its depth and nuance, and keep its complex narrative threads firmly in mind.

Josephine Balfour-Oatts

Rites of Passage ***

Annexe at theSpace @ Symposium Hall (Venue 43) until 12 August

Transitioning from childhood to adulthood can be an incredibly challenging time, especially when you do not feel accepted by those around you. In Rites of Passage, writers and performers Luntu Masiza and Olivier Van Dan Hende tell two culturally different stories about growing up and craving to belong.

Focusing on strenuous relationships and discrimination, the intertwined stories are not always easy to listen to but are performed with charisma and a gentleness that guides the audience through. As Masiza details the difficulties a young black immigrant faces, he still manages to inject moments of light humour and Van Den Hende’s story balances an intense father-son conflict with more subtle and considered moments.

With Clare Stopford’s thoughtful direction, the engaging storytellers physically transform into the various characters in their stories. They manage to convey the emotion of the scenes whilst switching characters, although, because they are cramming decades of material into just under an hour, it is difficult to always differentiate between them.

Individually the stories are quite strong but the relationship between the men and why they are choosing to share their stories with each other is not obvious. With only the occasional interaction, their chemistry is limited.

Suzanne O’Brien

2nd Picture of Dorian Gray ***

temple at C ARTS | C Venues | C aquila (Venue 21) until 12 August

Far from a traditional take on Oscar Wilde's famous novel, Macready Theatre Young Actors Company production 2nd Picture of Dorian Gray is 45 minutes of utter madness.

With more confusion than answers, the piece centres on a group of young artists who are creatively struggling. When it is dramatically revealed that one of them is a descendant of the narcissist Dorian Gray, a search to uncover the identity begins.

As the group's determination drags on, the increasingly absurd script written by Vyte Garriga relies heavily on high energy and strong comedic performances. Fortunately, the talented young cast of nine provide just that. Under Tim Coker’s direction Luc Schravesande’s performance as The Poet is a hilarious contrast to the more intense personalities of the other characters and his prolonged consideration is a real source of humour. In addition, the multi-talented Twins played by Louisa Roberts and Annie Hyde provide spirited live music that is well incorporated.

The simple staging and design of the piece would have benefited from variation and a change of pace. At the beginning there is a threat of danger, but this fizzles out and is overtaken by pure oddness which at times, makes it hard to engage with. However, the laughs are certainly in abundance whether instigated by a floating skateboard or slow-motion fight.

Suzanne O’Brien

Alfie and George **

Dunedin Theatre at Hill Street Theatre (Venue 41) until 11 August

A look into the cluttered dressing room of panto dames Alfie and George reveals that the flamboyance and joy of the characters they play is reserved for the paying audience. In Edinburgh Little Theatre’s sombre production, cheeky humour features in short sketches, however the focus is the duo’s deteriorating partnership.

Graham Dallas and Paul Murray create a believable relationship, although at points the delivery is sadly unconvincing - perhaps partly due to the laboured flow of the script. There is no denying the effort of the passionate performers and there are nice moments during the monologues where the truth is revealed and also following a twist that brings an intense energy.

Suzanne O’Brien

Take the Bins Out **

Greenside @ Nicolson Square (Venue 209) until 12 August

There’s loads of potential in writer/director Mark Janicello’s provocative portrait of a young man whose inexorably declining vision drives him to fury, frustration and increasing misogyny. And it’s a brave writer who makes his sole character so thoroughly unsympathetic from start to (virtually) finish.

But Take the Bins Out needs a lot more finessing before that potential is realised: in working more light and shade into protagonist Finley’s relationships with wife, children and colleagues, and in demonstrating the links between his actions and his congenital disorder.

Milo Mooney gives a raw, passionate but somewhat blunt-edged performance, but ultimately this feels like an unenlightening hour in the company of a very angry man.

David Kettle