Whirlwind of Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe Pt1

Four days and 18 events taking in Steet Performance, Dance, Physical Theatre, Story Telling to Meditation and a dramatised reading of an online guest book. Theatre at its most exciting and diverse. The sector labelled so inacurately by the industry as Small Scale is magnificent and anything but small. Even small productions are emormous in spirit and conviction. Powerful in their intimate venues and sumbimely captured in the majority of cases, 1 hour performances. Attending curtesy of Equity representing the Small Scale Theatre Committee was a privalige.

The Equity Staff Louise Grainger and Matt Clarke worked tirelessly packing their schedules with company visits, awards ceremonies, leading workshops and when they found time seeing shows. Where was I to start. Once I had over come the overwhelming enormity of choice spread before me I dusted down my Stagemanagement sharp and finely honed scheduling skills and dived in to the Fringe Programe to plan my extravaganza of theatre. Edinburgh in 4 days, shows to see, performers to talk to after all Fran and I were there for one purpose, to spread the Small Scale Theatre Committee are listening and need voices word. Our call to action as part of the ongoing "Mapping the Field" project running at the moment.

My first production was "Hangman" at Assembly Aurora Nova by a Russian physical theatre and dance company called DO-Theatre. Hypnoticly beautiful and performed exquisitly making performers and environment dance as one with swinging lights, magical illuminated books (see picture left) and the sounds of the sea. After realising the piece was not driven by a story narrative but the flow of movement and sound I quickly lost myself in the magic. Dark and melodic the performance made all the more fascinating for me to see the costumed technician intergrated as a performer caretaker droping set peices from the grid and performing live sound effect building the show and tying the flow of the dances together.

To see their fringe programe entry - Click here

To visit their website - Click here

To be continued... video links will be posted so you too can see some magic. If you can't wait check this out. Chicos Mambo performance online