Edinburgh Fringe reviews: Bark Bark | Did You Mean to Fall Like That | Kev Campbell Was He | Only Bones v1.9 | A Cup of Tea with George Eliot

Bark Bark by film and theatre company Buzzcut | Contributed

THEATRE

Bark Bark ★★★★

Anatomy Lecture Theatre Summerhall (Venue 26) until 26 August

The art of cinematic editing becomes part of a live show in this ingenious contemporary folk horror tale. A young couple of housesitters “off the internet” find themselves looking after a beady-eyed, spindly-legged dog with a penchant for starlings and an instinct for what’s about to happen next. With a beautifully constructed miniature model set, its sections sliced together on screen, it’s a multidimensional viewing experience where there is always the unsettling feeling that something untoward is going on wherever it is that you’re not looking. 

Through a dog’s eye view, we journey into the shadowy house and its grounds, as well as the crumbling relationship of two people who probably shouldn’t be given the responsibility of a pet, as well as the plans of an unseen owner that lie in the mysterious memorabilia in drawers and, occasionally, behind a locked door. 

The cast/crew do a remarkable job in their many roles as performers, puppet masters, stagehands, and camera operators, often carrying out multiple tasks at once in a way that is technically complex but seems effortless. At the centre is a small, but taut story that plays with different definitions of perspective and what constitutes a stage’: from the creepily deserted ‘dog shows’ that haunt the latest ‘fur-baby’s’ dreams, to the framed filmed footage, and the floor in front of us on which it’s being constructed. Encased in the mysterious forest, with its night-time creatures watching on, the suspense slowly builds as the mist clears and the cracks in the couple’s conversations are widened by their differing attitudes towards The Dog. 

An ending feels abrupt, building up to something that is over too soon, but the haunting atmosphere and ambiguities remain long after the omnipresent cameras, telling a story that not coincidentally starts in 1984, have snapped shut. Sally Stott

THEATRE

Did You Mean to Fall Like That ★★★

Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Three (Venue 33) until 25 August

Charlie’s having a tough time. He’s separated from his wife, he’s lost his job after 12 years as a city trader and he’s dossing in a friend’s spare room. For comfort and distraction he only has online hook-ups with girls half his age and with an old flame (now married with son). That’s until rock-climbing doctor Oliver comes into his life, and challenges him to rethink his beliefs on love and sex.

Stephanie Martin’s solo play is nothing if not ambitious, and offers an intriguing take on questions of contemporary masculinity, encouraging a more fluid and personal perspective on relationships. Actor James McGregor offers a vivid, appropriately muscular portrayal of her damaged lead, one that is alive to Charlie’s vulnerabilities and desperation, but also bristling with pent-up energy and dark humour. 

It is not easy, however, to fully engage with Martin’s themes when her lead character’s journey of self-realisation remains largely internal, and when there’s relatively little examination of the new bond that might change the course of his life. Nonetheless, Did You Mean to Fall Like That blends darkness and comedy to compelling effect, in a simple but effective staging. But it feels like the starting point for a fuller exploration of the issues it raises. David Kettle

 

THEATRE

Kev Campbell Was He ★★★★

theSpace @ Symposium Hall (Venue 43) until 10 August

Usually what happens in the toilet stays in the toilet, but not in this case. Alexander Tait’s high-energy Scottish one-man show invites us into the cubicles to witness a friendship develop between 18-year-old Kev and a young gay man named Quinn. Under normal circumstances they would not have bonded but thanks to a cubicle partition, Kev's hilarious urge to graffiti the door and a precious lost pen, a chance meeting occurs. The fast-paced piece looks at what it means to be a man in the context of modern-day Scotland, successfully challenging toxic masculinity and the normalisation of homophobia.

With just a wooden stool, Tait showcases his versatility as he takes on multiple well-defined roles ranging from working-class Glaswegian Kev to Quinn, a posh English student. As Quinn helps Kev to discover his passion for literature, the tension between Kev's past life, current friendships and future potential is subtly and realistically portrayed. Under Ivan Hamshaw-Thomas’s shrewd direction, Tait’s physical embodiment and strong accent changes make each role feel rounded, instantly recognisable and, most importantly, truthful.

The transitions and tonal shifts within the monologue written by Tait effectively sustain momentum. Some shifts are more jarring than others, emphasising poignant moments of discovery, pain or clever humour. The friendship that develops over The Great Gatsby and their shared passion for literature is sweet and the chemistry between the two is particularly special. The natural build in their bond makes their ultimate struggles even more heartbreaking.

Toxic masculinity and homophobia are tackled particularly well, especially through the character of Kev's condescending best mate, Cammy, and in the responses to his character. Tait's inclusion and depiction of these topics and how he balances Scottish humour and sensitivity are both refreshing and necessary. Whilst depicting experiences which many young men will relate to, it also inspires people to work towards self-discovery and to follow their desires even when the easier option may be to conform. Suzanne O'Brien

DANCE & PHYSICAL THEATRE

Only Bones v1.9 ★★★

Venue ZOO Playground – Playground 1 (Venue 186) until 10 August

Imagine Punch and Judy’s continental cousin: part self-aware mime, part lightshow, this self-described “Kung Fu ASMR” experience is a kaleidoscopic whir. But it struggles to conjure weight beyond its trippy visuals. That’s not a bad thing per se. But you can sense that it strives to be more profound. 

Matt Pasquet in Only Bones | Contributed

Matt Pasquet’s one-man show starts with an arse cheek tensing in time to electro soundtrack. It snap to shadow puppets made of his hands barking and chasing each other with canine excitement. It gets repetitive but watching his throbbing muscles twitch, wiggle, and pulse in his veinous hands is oddly transfixing.

The manipulated sound design is a vibrant tightrope-walk of timing, popping in a trance of ambient rhythm. The lone spotlight grows around him, and soon it morphs into a full-blown martial arts ritual, Pasquet’s whole body spasmodically exploding with a logic of its own. You can’t look away. It is just a shame this physical theatre piece remains skin deep. Maybe version 2.0 will find more dramatic gravity. Alexander Cohen 

THEATRE

A Cup of Tea with George Eliot ★★

No11 Boutique Hotel & Brasserie (Venue 211) until 14 August

Other than a bright performance from writer Liza Mance — and an agreeable cup of tea and slice of cake served in appropriately genteel drawing-room surroundings — there’s not a great deal to commend this to anyone outside its rather select target audience. 

Mance establishes a good rapport with the audience as the writer born Mary Ann Evans, revealing that she chose to publish under a male pseudonym not simply because male novelists were taken more seriously but also that she didn’t much care for the work of female writers. However, this rapport gets a little lost as she essays other figures in Evans’ life. The piece loses its chatty intimacy and becomes more of a swiftly potted biography — albeit one with a MCU-like cameo appearance by Henry James at the end. Rory Ford