Fringe musicals & opera reviews: Stumped, Meet me in Buenos Aires and more

Stumped at Scottish Storytelling Centre

MUSICALS AND OPERA

STUMPED ****

Scottish Storytelling Centre (Venue 30) until 13 August

Any kind of opera is a rare beast at the Fringe, let alone a brand new, fully staged creation with an ambitious theme to boot. STUMPED, by composer Lewis Coenen-Rowe, tackles nothing less than the current crisis in deforestation, setting sinister disinformation from our own times against ancient texts – from Babylonian to Norse epics – on iconic trees, their silent support for human endeavour, and humankind’s compulsion to demonstrate its mastery by hacking them down.

It's a lot to pack into 30 minutes or so, and in truth STUMPED feels at times a little more like a non-narrative cantata than a fully fledged opera with an authentically dramatic impetus, even if Coenen-Rowe cunningly weaves together his twin timelines in the piece’s final moments. But his score – for the unusual but striking quartet of violin, cello, trumpet and trombone – shifts from the slow-moving and monumental to the filigree, with tendrils of melody and ornamentation providing poignant connections with its underlying themes. There’s an almost Britten-like clarity and sense of purpose to his writing – seldom a note is wasted. Likewise, his vocal lines – sometimes stuttering with staccato and pauses, other times soaring and lyrical – convey his own libretto’s sense with gratifying directness.

Shuna Sendall and Catherine Backhouse are persuasive and thoroughly committed as Coenen-Rowe’s duo of online chatters discussing how to combat fake news, while Thomas Butler is an able and elegant conductor of the on-stage instrumental ensemble. STUMPED won’t be for everyone: it’s often uncompromising in its sound world, and its pacing invites contemplation rather than delivering gripping energy. But it’s a bold undertaking, one that comes together with ringing conviction and dogged determination.

David Kettle

MUSICALS AND OPERA

Meet Me in Buenos Aires ***

Underbelly Bristo Square (Venue 302) until 11 August

Florencia Iriondo tells a tale of Argentinian family life, of generational emigration to and from the country, with a one-woman monologue-with-songs which takes place largely outside of the country. In a sleek red dress, she looks and sings like a nightclub singer, but her spoken monologue is personal and conversational, like a Bridget Jones's Diary or a Sex and the City for a generation of global economic migrants.

She moves with a friend to New Zealand, taking advantage of a soft border and favourable exchange rates to work hard and save for her future in Buenos Aires. They have fun, she meets and falls in love with a man named Juan, and months away from home become years. The couple adventure through South-East Asia, eventually settling in Dublin.

Iriondo’s humour is light and easy-going, but it hits the mark, especially a very enjoyable song about love being dead, as recorded on a child's synthesiser. The musical staging is nicely done too, with an imagined series of found cassette tapes from her childhood used as gateways for songs in pop, tango and folk styles, which act as markers in her memories. It’s a very enjoyable show for anyone who’s ever travelled or missed home.

David Pollock

MUSICALS AND OPERA

The Wellbrick Centre on Roswell Drive **

Paradise in The Vault (Venue 29) until 10 August

There’s an arresting theme lurking behind this new musical created by Julianne Chauhan, one about the obligation for adults to reveal their vulnerabilities to mental health professionals, and the abuse they may suffer as a result. But despite likeable, folky songs and strong vocal performances from its four-strong cast, The Wellbrick Centre needs a fair bit of tightening and clarifying to make it a convincing offering. Its strangely relaxed pace and general sense of vagueness about the abuse that may or may not have taken place – not to mention a few jarring nods to meta-theatrical playfulness – all add up to a somewhat mystifying experience.

David Kettle

MUSICALS AND OPERA

Wallis **

TheSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall – Flemming Theatre (venue 53) until 24 August

Image a musical version of The Great Gatsby but lacking the spiky social commentary and character depth of Fitzgerald’s novel. Wallis, a schmaltzy sugarcoating of Wallis Simpson’s life clambering her way up the greasy pole of sycophantic high society, is light touch but forgettable art deco fun.

The tunes jauntily imitate Cole Porter, but the accompanying book is content to languish in one dimensional blabber. Wallis and a decidedly pompous Prince of Wales (who briefly reigned as Edward VIII) are generic star-crossed lovers making googly eyes at each other across the Atlantic. His decision to forgo the crown to marry his socialite lover carries little weight.

Alexander Cohen

MUSICALS AND OPERA

Yantra *

theSpace @Surgeon’s Hall – Fleming Theatre (Venue 53) until 10 August

The age-old adage about the Edinburgh Fringe still stands: just because you can bring a show here doesn’t mean you should. Yantra is so mind-bogglingly bizarre that it was difficult to tell if it parodies new age spiritualist gibberish, chankras, lay lines, spirit animals, or it was the real deal. The song about the alchemy confirmed it was the latter. Not a tinge of irony.

There is an applaudable message about female solidarity. But it’s difficult to engage emotionally when most of this 90-minute therapy-session-cum-cult-indoctrination holds a middle finger to two thousand years of scientific innovation. Maybe a hashish-tinged corner of Glastonbury would be more receptive to dimensional psychic garble and Covid denial. No doubt this one-star review will damage my spirit-aura. Hopefully the moon god will find it in her heart to forgive me.

Alexander Cohen