Writings

Curious Directive: After the Rainfall ¦ Photo: Jasmine Robertson

Curious Directive: After the Rainfall

August 15th, 2012 by

Having won a Fringe First last year for the critically acclaimed Your Last Breath, Curious Directive’s second Fringe production comes loaded with some expectation. Much of this young devising company’s work explores the role that science plays in life, and in After the Rainfall, loss, colonialism, nuclear power and human ambition are thrust sharply under the microscope. […]

Read more →
Dangerologists: Work Songs ¦ Photo: Alex Perryman

Dangerologists: Work Songs

August 14th, 2012 by

There is much in the ideology of Work Songs that holds appeal for any of us who have toiled in an unforgiving job: explorations of complex status play and mind-numbing routine, and a clever examination of the tension caused by ridiculous office minutiae. Broderick Chow and Tom Wells are consummate performers in the physical theatre style, with […]

Read more →
Contact Theatre / Maxwell Golden: CountryBoy's Struggle

Contact Theatre / Maxwell Golden: CountryBoy’s Struggle

August 14th, 2012 by

CountryBoy’s Struggle grabbed my attention from the pre-set onwards and firmly held my interest through the absorbing and accomplished performance of Maxwell Golden, which combines sharply delivered multiple characters, imaginative use of physicality, and, of course, a big dash of rap. Golden plays ‘Michael’, the titular Country Boy and affable geek, and the piece is directed […]

Read more →
ThickSkin: The Static ¦ Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

ThickSkin: The Static

August 14th, 2012 by

Presented as part of the Made in Scotland programme, The Static is the third piece by ThickSkin in what could loosely be called a trilogy, the first two pieces being White Noise and Boy Magnet. What these three works have in common is an interest in investigating natural forces like electricity or magnetism, and in using them as the basis […]

Read more →
The KTO Theatre 2: The Blind ¦ Photo: Sławek Jedrzejewski

The KTO Theatre 2: The Blind

August 14th, 2012 by

The Blind is an outdoor theatre show created by the Polish company KTO Theatre and inspired by the Portuguese writer José Saramago’s novelBlindness. I’d find it impossible to review the show without making some consideration of how Saramago’s work has influenced a whole generation of new creators in performance arts and cinema. In South America, where […]

Read more →