Funeral
ZOO Southside
Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed have been Fringe mainstays for the past twenty years, typically creating provocative pieces conceived to engender debate/create arguments, but their latest show Funeral is a much quieter work, a meditation on saying goodbye while holding on to memories. This is not about private grief – though audience members are encouraged to remember loved ones – but a communal rite at which you will meet every one of your fellow audience members.
As always, it would spoil the impact of the show to say too much about it but once again the company – numbering six actors on this occasion – have transformed the main hall of ZOO Southside with sound, lighting and sensitively deployed props. The positioning of the audience has much to do with the shape and sense of the piece – although there is no pressure to participate, it makes sense to engage as the cast lead us through a series of soothing rituals from handwashing to hymn singing. Everyone will have their own response to each action, and there almost certainly will be weeping. But there is also a cup of tea or coffee afterwards should one choose to stay for the wake.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/funeral
Lady Dealer
Summerhall
In contrast, there is a lot of noise at Summerhall’s ROUNDABOUT venue. This tented dome is now a firm Fringe favourite, hosting a succession of in-the-round performances. Actors may have to work harder to eyeball their 360-degree audience and stay orientated but the buzzy atmosphere created is the worthwhile pay-off.
Lady Dealer blasts out the Beastie Boys – a favourite of protagonist Charly (Alexa Davies) who needs constant stimulation to take the edge off the pain of a break-up. Her particular buzz is selling rather than consuming drugs, specifically the wheeler-dealer merry-go-round she helms from her flat. But when the phones go silent following a power cut, she is forced to engage with the moral and emotional vacuum that creates.
The Last Show Before We Die
Roundabout@Summerhall
The Last Show Before We Die *** is more episodic cabaret than fully-fledged play. Ell Potter and Mary Higgins are best friends, roommates and co-creatives. Their theme: endings. It’s a broad topic from which they have fashioned a piecemeal entertainment involving messy physical comedy, spoken word, music and a host of voiceovers from interviews they conducted with friends, acquaintances and outright strangers musing on what endings mean to them. Despite connecting audience members with a length of twine in one set-piece, the show doesn’t especially hang together.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/last-show-before-we-die
