Ordinary Decent Criminal
Cometh the Fringe, cometh Mark Thomas with a new play in his signature entertaining agit-prop style. Frankie Donnelly is the Ordinary Decent Criminal **** at the heart of this Paines Plough production at Summerhall. Frankie is a man who quit drugs but couldn’t give up the buzz of dealing and now finds himself languishing at His Majesty’s pleasure along with a colourful cast of characters brought to vibrant life by Thomas, from abused Kenny and traumatized Bron to De Niro, the white Muslim who runs the prison. Thomas humanises these cons, lets them tell their back stories and allows them some hope for the future.
Youth In Flames
From Fringe veteran to newcomer. Mimi Martin has been attracting rave notices for her solo Fringe debut Youth In Flames **** at Zoo Playground. Unlike many of the personal stories extrapolated into an hour of Fringe theatre, this one feels like vital testimony. Her lead character Millie is raised in Hong Kong where she enjoys the carefree and privileged life of an expat teenager who thinks local culture means drinking bubble tea. She just wants to party with her best friend Jesse but, as a native Hong Konger, their focus is elsewhere, on the protest movement springing up around controversial new extradition laws. Millie starts on the sidelines but gravitates to the thick of it, as she comes to realize what is at stake for many HK residents – their freedom, democracy and very identity as a special administrative region.
The Horse of Jenin
For sheer topical impact though, you can hardly beat Alaa Shehada’s The Horse of Jenin **** packing them in at the Pleasance Dome. In Palestinian culture, the horse is a symbol of freedom so the people of Jenin rallied round a huge horse sculpture designed by German artist Thomas Kilpper in the summer of 2003, built with the help of local teenagers using salvaged detritus from the Second Intifada, including the door of a bombed ambulance. Shehada was barely into his teens at the time so he grew up with that horse as a beacon, and also with his friend Ahmed, one of many characters he brings to life so beautifully in his touching, funny and impactful story of a life lived defiantly under constant oppression.
Ordinary Decent Criminal, 11.50, Summerhall, until August 25
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/ordinary-decent-criminal
Youth in Flames, 19.00, Zoo Playground, until August 24
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/youth-in-flames
The Horse of Jenin, 14.20, Pleasance, until August 25
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-horse-of-jenin
