Edinburgh Fringe 2016 - The Wooden Spoon

Welcome, my weary wanderers. By now you will have read my post covering my top tips for the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe. Take a break and read it. I have coffee - I'll wait.  All up-to-speed? Good. So you should have a few ideas of what to see. But, I once more psychically hear you question, what are the ones which are less favourable? Well, you tactful few, this brings me neatly to this year's metaphorical Wooden Spoon. The shows which sounded good based on their description or publicity shots but that had our internal Admiral Ackbars shouting "it's a trap!"


Dishonorable Mentions

 
Alice in Wasteland


For the small print on this review, please refer to the bottom of this blog. 


Portents and signs, I have heard the superstitious say, come in threes.

Arriving to the small and dingy venue, a queue had formed with no real structure. Some interesting style choices in terms of surrounding patrons, cars and venue decor: This was sign the first. 

A show advertised as starting at 18.00 meant doors opened at 18.00 with more tickets sold than seating available. There would be standing for some in the smoky 90s music filled dive bar: This was sign the second. 

An introductory game of "pass the bin bag": This was sign the third.

The diatribe about environmentalism which followed as a lead in was the recycled nail in the ethically sourced fully biodegradable coffin and set the scene for a ridiculously preachy and uninspiring set of scenes warning of the evils of consumerism and waste. Apparently the irony of walloping the audience with an anti-consumerist message while charging £20 per ticket and then selling merchandise such as the CD soundtrack was lost somewhere in translation. I blame "the man". 

This show was not so much a modern and stylish circus remaining of Alice in Wonderland as a show that would have been given at a school assembly to get them to recycle but in a way that would be "edgy" and "accessible" and, most importantly "down with that kidz". In the 45 minutes I shouting white rabbit who rhymed and pushed Alice in a shopping cart; the caterpillar who came out of wheelie bin and played hip hop flute; the tap-dancing white reggae Tweedle Dum and Dee who wanted us to support anarchy through synchronised choreographed moves and some sort of singing unicorn - I think. 

So what did I learn from this experience? 

1. If you want to stick it to the man, do it with jazz hands. You too can create anarchy...with TAP DANCING!

2. Buying things means you can't be an individual. Thank you kind people in your often readymade, identical circus costumes. I see the error of my ways now.

3. Everything will be ok if you just smile and wipe away your tears. So the homeless people and starving children in Africa who were playing over the singing unicorn clearly don't need food or money (because of all that evil packaging and commercialism) they just need to cheer the feck up.

Redeeming qualities of the show?

It did make me laugh. Not with it. Not even at it. But definitely near it and in uncontrollable, hysterical fits I struggled to stifle. After all that Fringe food, I needed a stomach workout.


Yokai
 
Performers in flesh-coloured Lycra create a cardboard and landscape. From these box structures and models, we see vignettes of the lives of people underneath. And a fish in a jumper. Why is there a fish in a jumper? Why is there a fish in a jumper eating soup? In the words of Willow Rosenberg "Say, you all didn't happen to do a bunch of drugs, did ya? ". That's exactly what this show feels like - as though the creators did a whole bunch of drugs while watching a lot of French films, but not in a good way. The show was not a complete loss. The use of models, changing scenery, cotton clouds and cardboard trees were genuinely effective and visually impressive. It would have made a rather unusually charming, 3 minute music video. Unfortunately, the show lasted 20 times longer than this.

Hyprov

Let me preface this by saying that I love Colin Mochrie. I want to be his friend and have him round for tea. So what I am about to say pains me and causes me no end of very British guilt.
This show was, for want of a more descriptive word, bad. Improv shows are always a risk and tend to be hit and miss, often with a leaning towards the latter. This show not only leaned towards it but listed so violently it should have been barriered off.

The premise? Improv under "hypnosis" with Whose Line and improvisation regular, Colin Mochrie.

The execution? "Volunteer members of the audience" are allegedly put under hypnosis in a long and tedious process which lasts at least 15 minutes and is being taken far too seriously. It's not interesting to watch but it presumably designed to try and convince us that this process is real and in no way rigged. From a group of about 20 people on stage, this is whittled down to around 5 who will go on to perform "improvised" scenes with Colin Mochrie.
So who were the lucky selectees? By no means were they other less known performers, venue workers and people who had been overheard discussing what lines they should put into the show at certain points. And where is Colin during this slow and dull proceeding? Your guess is as good as mine but he certainly wasn't on stage.  Eventually, he did wind his way back to us but the results were underwhelming and disappointing. Unfortunately, his talents seemed completely wasted as the "volunteers" tried too hard in his general direction and it appeared to be his job to look confused - perhaps that was a natural and genuine reaction because I think much of the audience were feeling something similar.

Combine this poor attempt at comedy and attempts to grab the limelight with a drunken, rowdy Friday night crowd (which I cannot blame on the show but it was still disruptive and irritating). I'm afraid I had to walk away following very little time with Colin.


My advice for this show? To take itself less seriously and to "hypnotise" Colin Mochrie, a star who was truly wasted. But in its current format, one to avoid. (Sorry Colin).

Small print:

Disliking this show does not mean I am without ethical conscience or hate art with a political message.  Not at all. Some of the best pieces of Fringe theatre I gave seen mix comedy, art and politics in intelligent, unexpected and often subtle ways that make us question society as they entertain. They inspire change through reason, examination and humour while not shying away from difficult For topics. For this in would particularly like to thank the following artists past and present who have stayed in mind: Dusty Limits, Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho, Bourgeois and Maurice, Le Gateaux Chocolat and many more. May you never be confused with the pretentious and preachy!