July 2022

18 EDINBURGH FESTIVAL
BEST OF THE FRINGE...
A ‘special relationship’
Transatlantic collaborations bring murder ballads, classical music and clowns
THERE’S A remarkable cultural interplay
between the US performing arts and the
Edinburgh Fringe – it could even be called a
special relationship.
Pepperdine Scotland is a prime example – an
initiative which gives the best drama students
from Pepperdine University in California the
chance to work with leading Scottish creatives
to develop a production which is then staged at
the Fringe.
It’s a huge success, having won Fringe Firsts
and other awards plus a multitude of excellent
reviews for works of theatre that address major
contemporary issues.
This time round it’s the resounding and
powerful Americana: A Murder Ballad by
Morna Young, an increasingly important
voice in Scottish drama, with music by
Davey Anderson.
It plunges us into a country trapped in an
endless cycle of horror, where the law puts gun
ownership ahead of life, where media and
music glamorise killers, where mass murder
has become performance – seeking to bump up
the body count for maximum notoriety.
The issue is explored through the medium of
the murder ballad – a musical form exported
from Scotland and Ireland to America and now
deeply embedded in its musical culture.
Morna said: “I first approached Americana
with the question: how do we break the cycle?
Time and time again, we see shootings in
America and the subsequent thoughts and
prayers without meaningful change.
“Spending time with young Americans, I was
devastated to learn of the Active Shooter drills
that students practice: run, hide, fight. Far from
being a rare occurrence, active shooters are
now part of the country’s DNA.”
Another Transatlantic collaboration is the
Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience which includes
a rapper, a turf dancer and a drummer take the
stage with around 15 classical musicians from
the Royal Conservatoire.
The resulting fusion of hip-hop and classical
is stunning in its beauty and its energy. Works
by Mozart, Bach and Beethoven are
deconstructed and reimagined with funky
rhythms and rapid fire rhymes.
The show has been created by the infinitely
dynamic JooWan Kim (and the Ensemble Mik
Nawooj) who became frustrated by the
constraints of the classical tradition and says he
found himself “reborn in the river of hip-hop”.
Speaking about the Conservatoire
collaboration he added: “It’s an incredibly
exciting partnership and one that we hope
Fringe audiences will really enjoy.”
As the Fringe seeks to become more family
friendly and inclusive there are shows like
Yellow Bird Chase, from Boston, to revel in.
It’s a joyous rollercoaster clown adventure
in which a trio of maintenance workers
discover a magical yellow bird – and a madcap
chase begins.
This is the first time the show (which is
fully accessible for deaf and hard of hearing
audiences) has ventured beyond the USA,
where it has been delighting audiences
since 2015.
Like many of the US and other shows, it was
scheduled to come to the Fringe some years
ago but was stymied by Covid-19.
Indeed, it’s a mark of the immense value
people put on the Fringe that so many have
striven so hard for so long to get here.
· Americana: A Murder Ballad, Assembly
Checkpoint, 3-17 August
· The Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience,
TheSpace Triplex, 5-14 August
· Yellow Bird Chase, Assembly George
Square Studios, August 5-29
Buy tickets at: www.edfringe.com
Circus for grown-ups
Rouge: gender-bending
circus for grown-ups
CIRCUS LETS US escape the
everyday and submerges us
in new worlds of fantasy
and wonder.
Much of the best, most
imaginative and often
subversive is from Australia
– some thanks to Elena
Kirschbaum’s Highwire
Entertainment.
This year she has two
shows at the Edinburgh
Fringe that should reinforce
this reputation for quality,
acrobatic excellence and fun.
Rouge is triumphantly
returning, after a string of
four and five star reviews in
2019, when its mix of
gender-bending naughtiness
and fantastic acrobatics
wowed Edinburgh audiences.
New for 2022 is Rebel,
a rock ’n’ roll circus inspired
by the music and ideas of
David Bowie.
A live band pumps out five
decades of Bowie music –
with the fabulous twist
that every musician is also
a circus performer. It’s a
chance to witness
astounding aerial acts to
the sound of Space Oddity,
Let’s Dance and Lazarus.
· Rebel, Underbelly’s Circus Hub
on the Meadows,
16-27 August,
· Rouge, Assembly Hall,
4-21 August
Tickets at: www.edfringe.com