Kaspar
3BUGS Fringe Theatre

To help you make your choices of what to see in the Fringe the brochure is divided up into categories and genres. For example, this show is in the theatre category with a genre of installation / physical theatre. I wish they had a category of pretentious twaddle and a genre of – well, politeness dictates I shouldn’t use the words I wish to at this moment in time, but they would describe the show more adequately.

The story of Kaspar Hauser (found in a small German village claiming he had grown up in isolation, and who later died mysteriously) is a fascinating starting point, and the first part of the story was given to us as a prologue to the show. Then we were urged to stand anywhere we wished and follow the cast around; it went downhill from there. Five actors in simple clown make-up spent the best part of an hour jerking about and falling over and constantly repeating phrases. One five-minute segment – that felt like five hours – consisted of one character putting the others into different poses. When the show was finally over, it was noticeable that the applause was started by the director rather than being a spontaneous show of approval from the audience – most people were just standing around in disbelief when we were told “there shan’t be a bow”. Good. It meant we would never have to see the cast again. There should be some public warning attached to all student experimental drama. The cast were last seen lying on a street in Edinburgh with arms thrust up in the air holding fliers for their show. Hopefully this served as a warning to everyone to stay away.



Joe Power – The Man Who Sees Dead People
Norwell Lapley Productions

Joe Power has quite a reputation in Liverpool and after his recent appearance in a Derren Brown show he now has a reputation over the whole country – although maybe not the kind of reputation you or I might hope for. And he hasn’t made himself any friends amongst the various Skeptics in the Pub groups either - you can Google that for the details if you wish. So I will admit to having been intrigued as to what he would be like, both as a person and as a medium

The venue holds just over 200: a rough count of the audience showed just over 20. As well as offering us examples of clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsensitivity (just vague impressions of things, a good get-out in case some of the details are wrong), we also got power cards (!), aura readings and psychometry.
In general, Power came straight to people or focussed on two or three, and asked who could connect with whatever. Mostly, this got him hits, and at least it’s better than throwing out random Barnum statements to the whole audience and hoping something sticks. In terms of how accurate his statements were, he was probably getting a similar success rate to other mediums I have seen. But I think it’s true to say that in general the crowd did not warm to him or his stage persona. There was definitely one person I spoke to afterwards who had his aura read during the show and who was less than complimentary. If I could be allowed to use my own psychic abilities to make a prediction – he won’t be back next year.



At the Fringe of Reason – Simon Singh
Edinburgh Skeptics and Guests

The Edinburgh branch may be one of the newest Skeptics in the Pub groups but they are also one of the most active and ambitious. They had a whole three weeks’ worth of these events, with a different guest for each show, plus a daily quiz and several debunking ghost tours as well. And that’s all just during the Fringe – the rest of the time they have two meetings per month with a different lecturer at each.

The first show of theirs that I saw was by Simon Singh. He gave us a quick overview of how he became embroiled in a libel case. He’d been investigating alternative medicine and co-authored a book on the subject; as part of the publicity for the book he wrote an article for the Guardian in which he criticised chiropractic treatments of childhood illnesses, and the British Chiropractic Association did not like what they thought he was saying and so sued him for libel. The rest of the presentation was a horrific story about how, even if you win, defending a libel case will most likely leave you massively out of pocket and very much the worse for wear – particularly in London, the libel tourist capital of the world. After much to-ing and fro-ing Singh won. Hopefully, this is a first step towards much-needed libel law reform – something which both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats promised in their election manifestos.

All told, this was a very enjoyable presentation describing a terrible situation which no one should be put in. UK libel laws can be taken advantage of by aggrieved parties who, rather than refuting allegations with evidence, simply sue, knowing the sensible course is for the person being sued to cave in instantly. Such parties reckon without the tenacity, honesty and principled approach of people like Simon Singh.



Your Days Are Numbered: the Maths of Death
Matt Parker & Timandra Harkness

Hmm, I thought, a Fringe lecture on statistics – this is going to be geeky beyond belief! Your Days Are Numbered was geeky, and that made it brilliant. How many other shows will you go to where members of the audience are upset because one of the performers will not carry out some Bayesian analysis and thus leaves us with an error of 10-11?

We’re all going to die at some point but of what, and when? The popular media make various pronouncements about things that will shorten our lives. For example, eating 50g of processed red meat per day will lead to a 20% increase in the likelihood of bowel cancer. It’s a scary-sounding statistic but, as was pointed out in the show, meaningless by itself. To be able to react appropriately to this we need more information: how common is bowel cancer? By looking at causes of death tables we find that there is a 5% risk of dying of bowel cancer, so eating 50g of red meat every day changes this risk to a not-so-terrifying sounding 6%.

The talk as a whole was a wittily-presented look at our innate inability to grasp statistics and our consequent lack of understanding of risk. For example, there is a vanishingly small risk you will die whilst reading this review, but I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over it. And one lucky member of the audience ended up with a free drink – what are the chances of that?!



Aleister Crowley: A Passion for Evil
Purple Media

The Great Beast himself appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe – what a coup!

This one man show looked at the life of the self-styled wickedest man ever. Crowley, down on his financial luck, is on a theatre tour performing ritual invocations; we are treated to the tale of his life and eventual downfall as he waits to go on stage. Most of the main events are included but highly edited (the show only lasts an hour after all) and the performance is adequate. There are some fictional elements added for dramatic effect, including the show’s ending. Overall it was decent enough: for any follower of the life of Crowley there is likely to be little to appeal, but of all the Crowley-based productions I have seen at the Fringe over the years it was by far and away the best.



At the Fringe of Reason – Charles Paxton
Edinburgh Skeptics and Guests

Another of the many events the Edinburgh Skeptics in the Pub are organising (basically I could fill up this review with just their talks, but I won’t as there are a lot of other things on!).

Edinburgh Fortean Society member and FT contributor Dr Charles Paxton is a statistical ecologist based at St Andrews University. But that’s just the day job. Charles’ passion is sea monsters, in every form; this talk focussed on the Kraken (and yes there was discussion on the pronunciation).

We were treated to a historical overview of sightings with potential identifications. Charles is a meticulous researcher and has been able to dig up sightings which the most ardent Krakenologist is unlikely to have heard of, and goes back as close to the original source as he can get – much time is no doubt spent poring over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore. In terms of presentation, Charles’s enthusiasm is infectious. His delivery convinces you that no matter how long you give him to talk he will always have enough interesting material to fill the time and a bit more besides. And so it was with this presentation – a scant hour was all we had and it left all who attended wanting more.



At the Fringe of Reason – Chris French
Edinburgh Skeptics and Guests

Professor Chris French is probably well known to you all – he runs the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit (APRU) at Goldsmiths College, University of London and edits the UK Skeptic magazine. You may also recall him from Shirley Ghostman.

Chris kept us entertained in an overly-hot cellar in a pub for an hour, with an introduction to the work of APRU and an overview of his own TV appearances: he once shared screen time with a dowser who, asked why his success rate was no better than what would be expected by chance, explained his abilities were a gift from God and when they don’t work it’s all down to the fact that God likes a bit of a joke! Chris obviously likes a bit of a joke as well, as his humour-filled lecture showed. Like many of the lectures in this series there was standing room only, but no matter how uncomfortable it was everyone enjoyed the show. Many of the areas that Chris covered also included references so anyone wishing to follow them further could quite easily do so. Many years ago I used to live a few minutes walk from Goldsmiths, where Chris and the APRU now hold regular monthly lectures; regrettably, I’ve now moved, otherwise I’d be there every month to see lectures of this quality.



Haunted
Dance Box Theater

A dance-based interpretation of the story that inspired The Exorcist – what could possibly go wrong? Well fortunately the answer is nothing! Interpretative dance can be a risky show choice at the Fringe but the Dance Box Theater succeeded in being more hit than miss. The piece was created and performed by Laura Schandelmeier and Stephen Clapp, with live music performed by Chloe and Leah Smith (of Rising Appalachia) and, on percussion, Kofi Dennis. The start of the show gave us a gentle unease, fitting in nicely with the subject matter – as we walked into the theatre the musicians were wandering through the seating area using their voices as instruments to welcome us to the show. Once we were all seated the dance started, complete with narration. Whilst there were no head-spinning and spouting of pea soup incidents there were visual representations of the famous spider walk scene and a number of attempts at exorcism. Dance, music and some clever narration effects blended together to produce a powerful piece. My only criticism was that in general if the narration had been replaced with a different story the whole would have fitted together just as well – there was very little that made it specific. Still, if you like good dance and powerful music this is definitely one of the better Fringe offerings in the genre.



Barry and Stuart – 98% Séance
Barry and Stuart

Wow! BAFTA award nominees Barry and Stuart (The Magic of Jesus and Tricks from the Bible) have returned to the Edinburgh Fringe after a one year absence – if this what they do after a year out I hope to see them again in 2012!

In this show, they approach the Victorian séance as sceptics, and reveal how some of the effects could have been carried out. Then they ramp up the ante with a number of effects you don’t see on a day-to-day basis. Part of the reason is some of these effects are risky – risky in the sense they don’t always work. I am not psychic myself but I will make a prediction: on average one effect per show will not work. That is not a criticism, if you want to try something different you have to take risks and that’s what we see throughout the whole show, risks. When they work, which 98% of the time they will do, it’s spectacular. If you want to see a magic show that works 100% of the time watch a video of David Blaine; if you want to see two magicians presenting a well thought-out tale with a strong and logical narrative and some great effects then go and see Barry and Stuart.



The Call of Cthulhu
Michael Sabbaton   

Not all of my Fringe choices involving Lovecraft have been successes. In fact, many have ranked as some of the worst theatre I have ever seen. Still, this one at least starts well – the only actor commits suicide. I suppose when you have the indescribable horror that is Cthulhu then there’s not much left for you in life.

This show is a one-hander capably performed by Michael Sabbaton. A minimal stage set heightens the tension as Sabbaton – playing every character himself – tells the famous story of descent into inevitable suicide and madness. This is a suitably atmospheric show about how Cthulhu affected the lives of a number of people. Definitely the best Lovecraft adaptation on the Fringe. Ever.



Ian D. Montfort: Touching the Dead
Tom Binns

Tom Binns, perhaps best know as Ivan Brackenbury from Radio 2, has a new character, the “actually psychic” Sunderland medium Ian D. Montfort. Montfort does of course have a spirit guide but, unlike most mediums, this spirit guide is not a Native American. No, it’s Geoff, a metal worker from Rotherham. Naturally, to start communicating with the spirit realm and to connect to the appropriate member of the audience, Montfort and Geoff need to reveal some details about the spirit coming through: “Does it make sense to you, can anyone recognise, I have here – an elderly relative who’s passed over to the otherside. Does anyone here have an elderly relative who has passed over? Ever?” The show could almost be a Barnum statements bingo session. Anyone who has ever seen a medium will recognise the statements, the feeding back of information previously given and just, well, the spirit of a séance. This is an absolutely brilliant show and you will never watch a medium in the same way again. On the day I saw the performance the show was beset by so many problems (audience members unable to read due to lack of glasses, others unable to recognise what page of a book they were on through stupidity etc) but Binns rises above them all, asking once if we were all stooges sent along by Joe Power! A laugh-a-minute show and a powerful performer – I look forward to seeing what he has on offer next year.



How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse: Reloaded
After Dark

I saw How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse last year and it was certainly one of my highlights of the Fringe. So this year they’re back with a new show destined to save your life when the Zombie Apocalypse arrives (which it surely must). 2009’s show featured a lot of excellent improv which of course makes it harder for the cast. This year there is more structure to the show – although there is still a Q and A session in case you have any particular zombie worries. While there is little improv there is still plenty of opportunity for the audience to be involved, particularly in dying: the audience is tested to see how well prepared we are for the zombie hordes, and incorrect answers or stupid questions mean death.

Actually the show is not that harsh, you merely have to take your name badge off if you die – this is, after all, simply a seminar from Dr Dale Seslick of the School of Survival. Anyone who has ever had to suffer through a seminar on quite frankly anything will recognise the format, but this is one seminar you can warm to straight away. A great cast takes us through a range of scenarios and disco dances, all achingly beautifully performed. One piece in particular requires special mention. Dr Dale, Judy, Donald and Tristen end up in a situation where confusion and disaster must surely reign but, thanks to top-notch rehearsal and timing, all is saved: the facts that if we are bitten we will end up dead, that there is no cure, and that the only way a zombie can be killed is to destroy its brain, are all communicated to us in a memorable and hilarious way. To give you a hint, one audience member was heard to describe it as “like Michael Flately but with words” – for maximum effect that should be said in a Yorkshire accent. I’m not going to give more away than that, to find out you’ll have to go and see the show, it will be worth it.

And for those unable to make the show don’t worry, they’ve got a book out, Dr Dale’s Zombie Dictionary: The A-Z Guide to Staying Alive. I would urge you to buy this book: it could save your life.
Another of this year’s Fringe highlights.



At the Fringe of Reason – Chris French and Caroline Watt
Edinburgh Skeptics and Guests

This was advertised as a debate between Anomalistic Psychology (Chris French) and Parapsychology (Caroline Watt), but it was a bit of a failure from that point of view: how can you have a debate between two people who share very similar views and methodologies? Both are good speakers and passionate about their research into the anomalistic world of parapsychology. Both spoke well and, after an introduction to their own areas of research, the whole thing was thrown open to questions from the floor; as the audience was, largely speaking, knowledgeable on the subject to start with, the questioning was a bit more in-depth than is common at these events. One particular fact that Chris brought out was that the field of parapsychology as a science may have over 100 years of history, but in that time the number of experiments carried out is still only the same as those carried out in about two weeks of psychology.

After this session, I'm reassured that the field is safe in the hands of Caroline and Chris and others of their ilk. Now if only there was a bit more money available…





At the Fringe of Reason – Richard Wiseman
Edinburgh Skeptics and Guests

Richard Wiseman is a stalwart of skeptic events and other lectures. Part of the reason for this is that you know he can be relied on to give an interesting and enjoyable presentation - this was no exception. Loosely based on his book The Luck Factor, we were treated to an array of magic effects and illusions, as well as some psychology that will help you change your luck and get your wallet back if you lose it (leave a picture of a baby in it). A popular show, people were actually sitting on the stage to try to accommodate the number of attendees. My absolute favourite thing that Richard has ever done was included as well – the fire walk challenge (this was a video, I hasten to add, not an actual attempt to burn down the Banshee Labyrinth Pub’s cinema - a pub with a cinema, why would you ever want to leave?). As part of the Tomorrow's World 'Big Science' event, Richard organised a group of firewalkers to attempt a record-breaking walk. Physics tell us that 15-20ft is do-able; psychics tell us it’s all in the mind so any length can be done. Richard asked several psychics to prove their claims by walking a 60ft pit of fire - they were severely burned after the 20ft mark. Strange that.





Pete Firman: Jokes and Tricks
Pete Firman

I saw Pete Firman last year and enjoyed the show, so I was looking forward to this one. The tone of the show was similar, gentle humour and good magic, and it was a good show - but I can’t help thinking it should have been great. The big disappointment was the end. He did a really great effect, a paintball bullet catch – surely an end-of-show trick? People leaving with that in mind would have had memories of a great show. So the applause started, but he quietened it down and said he'd under-run and could fit a few more bits in! None of which were as powerful as the bullet catch. If you’re planning on doing something like that at least tell us you’re doing extra stuff because we’ve been a great audience. And finish with the bullet catch and have us leaving on a real high.

Please don’t think I didn’t enjoy it. I did. From the handkerchief through the microphone stand, to the cooking in a shoe, it was all good stuff - he just seemed to be sabotaging himself!





Morgan & West: Time Travelling Magicians
Morgan & West

It's a simple enough premise: Morgan and West are two time-travelling magicians from the Victorian Age wanting to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe, but they arrive 10 years after their booking so they have to make do with the audience they’ve got in front of them – us.


The whole show can best be described as fun. They have a nice enough patter and involve the audience in a non-threatening way, but there was something lacking. The show could just do with tightening up: it was as if they had 40 minutes of material but suddenly found they had an hour to fill. If this had been a 40-minute show it would have been excellent; as a one-hour show it was merely good. They did have a nice line in the old bullet catch and the needle swallowing was infinitely better than any other similar trick I saw on the Fringe this year (see in particular the next review). All told the show was full and the audience enjoyed themselves: what more can you want? Well personally, a more polished show next year – I’m sure they can do it. And they’ve got a time machine so they can spend as long as they want rehearsing to get it right!





S1L3NC3: Mind Reader
S1L3NC3

What if you had a mind reader who doesn’t speak throughout the course of a whole show, and the sole communications are via messages written on a note pad? It's an interesting idea, particularly when the brand of magic is mentalism. Except this mind reader does speak. Every time he gets a volunteer on stage he can be seen chatting away with them explaining what they are required to do. This really weakens everything he does. If you’re going to be a silent magician then be one!


He starts off with what should be a powerful effect, Russian Roulette with several staple guns., but he completely undersells it, and also as it’s the first thing he performs on stage there is no rapport built up – we don’t really care too much if he does staple himself quite frankly! If this had been performed as a finale then perhaps we would be with him.


On the night I saw him he didn’t have it easy – four people walked out (from an audience of twenty) loudly proclaiming it to be boring, which is unfair and untrue. Still, when he decided to do a razor blade swallow he did it with only two blades: sorry, but this is one effect where more is better - two looks poor, ten looks great! A prediction effect fell somewhat flat when he asked an audience member to finally reveal what was in the envelope she had had for the whole show. She had? Didn’t see that being given to her.


S1L3NC3 is, basically, a good idea, but it needs a decent director to iron out the kinks.



Toby Hadoke - Now I Know My BBC
Toby Hadoke

Now I Know My BBC is a love story of two parts. Part one is Toby’s love of all things TV, particularly virtually anything by the BBC (I know where he’s coming from with that), and part two is how he met and fell in love with a wonderful girl at school, and of course, as is the nature of these things, she was unobtainable.


It’s easy to make fun of television and, particularly with the older programs, to get cheap laughs with jokes about wobbly sets. That would be too easy and indeed beneath the talents of Toby Hadoke. After touring his Moths Ate My Dr Who Scarf for four years, Toby has returned with a new show which is just as full of humour and love for his subject. Some lazy reviewers have labelled it a nostalgia fest, but that just shows they weren’t really paying attention. Yes it talks of old programs, but also of new ones, and there is plenty of sage nodding of heads as we recognise ourselves in different parts of the show.

This is a performance that will have you smiling in agreement, laughing out loud and feeling another’s love for all things televisual. And the girl? Well you’ll have to go and see it yourself to find out what happens there.





Pedal Pusher
TheatreDelicatessen

Pedal Pusher is a physical theatre production on obsession and the lengths and sacrifices people will go to in pursuit of a dream. In this instance, as the title suggests, we are talking cycling, specifically the Tour de France and the rivalries between Lance Armstrong, Marco Pantani and Jan Ullrich. It’s a rough ride but by God it’s worth it. An hour-and-a-half of lycra-clad men jumping on and off chairs doesn’t necessarily sound like the sort of thing I would normally choose to go to, but this was an awesome spectacle. The use of staging and minimal props brought the races alive with great imagination, the performances from the three actors were strong throughout, and the murky world of competitive cycling was exposed, drugs and all. The material was taken from documentary footage and interviews and well put together, and just goes to show how destroying any single-minded pursuit can be. A triumph.






And finally, an event from the Edinburgh Book Festival...

Story Machines: The Last Chapter with Alan Moore and William Nicholson
Charlie Fletcher

Oh dear God. How brilliant was this? Alan Moore of graphic novel fame (From Hell, Watchmen and many, many others) and William Nicholson (screenwriter of Shadowlands and Gladiator to name but two) were being interviewed by Charlie Fletcher (the Stoneheart trilogy and others), as part of a mini festival within the main Book Festival, where Fletcher was allowed to bring together some of his favourite writers and get them to talk about their job. This final session was looking at the power of the story and how we can put our storytelling powers to good use.

It started off with Moore discussing in what ways magic could be said to be real and how we all inhabit public areas and the private self, and how in the public areas ideas float around waiting for the right time (Fort’s "A social growth cannot find out the use of steam engines, until comes steam engine-time"). Moore told us how his plots come from this common idea space; Nicholson, meanwhile, has no idea where his plots come from – they just pop into his head when he is on the sofa.


There was much discussion on the power of language, both as written word and in a literal sense, as well as discussions of free will and the barriers we throw up to success. With Moore I could just listen to him read a telephone directory – he has such a cadence to his voice. Oh, and he listed some magazines he always read – New Scientist, Private Eye, Viz and Fortean Times - this means Alan Moore has read some of my work! How cool is that? There was a signing afterwards (just with Moore) and he spoke to everyone there for quality time, something they will all remember and treasure, and it was just as interesting eavesdropping on other people's conversations. The next time he speaks I want to be there. Sheer brilliance.