theatre

HOME

☆☆☆☆

Geoff Sobelle’s Home defies categorization—it makes such excellent use of a variety of performance art genres and influences to make its point. Most interesting, and perhaps most relevant to this review site, is the evident magical influences. Many of the most obviously magical effects are used to add charming moments of humor, and even beyond these it makes original use of magic tropes. Any plot to Home is more of a suggestion or theme than a storyline, as its purpose does not seem to be to tell a traditional story, but to convey a feeling of Home-ness to the audience.

The motif of disappearing and reappearing dominates the first section of Home. This appears as a sort of larger scale of a magician’s sleight of hand. Instead of playing cards disappearing, reappearing, or suddenly changing identity, it is the human actors doing those things. This illustrates a central message of Home, that while a house might stand for generations, the people who would call it a home are in comparison constantly changing.

A second main segment of Home is instead monopolized by that classic component of magic shows, random audience member participation. The audience members who are brought up on stage are well taken care of. The nature of the performance allows the actors to give the participants instructions without distracting the rest of the audience from the show. By the end of this scene there are so many members of the audience up on stage, and the participation has extended so far into the seated masses, that it is as if Sobelle has welcomed the entire audience into his house party.

It is worth mentioning the primary set piece used in the production. Home is a multifaceted piece of performance art, and a key aspect of that is the house that the majority of the action is set within. It is an incredibly elegant and precise construction. The house set is so perfectly suited for the choreography of the performance, it is clearly a very well thought through design.

If the goal of Home is to convey a sense of Home-ness to the audience, it has succeeded in this impeccably. Its whimsical reflections on the nature of what makes a house a home are always captivating and, by the end, ultimately heartwarming.

 

Home can be found at King’s Theatre during the 2018 Edinburgh International Festival from August 25-26

THE VANISHING MAN & THE EXTINCTION EVENT

☆☆☆☆☆

“A magician is an actor playing the part of a magician.” So say Jean Robert- Houdin, the 19th century French conjurer considered the father of modern magic.  And so be David Aula and Simon Evans. Their two, interconnected shows, The Vanishing Man and The Extinction Event, are billed as theatre but are filled to the brim with magic, and it’s impossible to tell what’s the most amazing part. It’s very, very hard to weave magic tricks into a compelling, coherent story, or at least is must be because it’s very, very rare to see it done well. This is one of those rare times. Both The Vanishing Man and The Extinction Event would be excellent examples of great theatre even without the magic, even on just the strength of their stories, but the physical element of illusions puts them onto a whole new level.

These shows, which are better reviewed together rather than apart, are also better viewed together rather than apart. Although they can technically both stand alone, the emotional impact of the second one, the Extinction Event, is much stronger for seeing the former. The pertinent background is shared at the beginning just in case you haven’t seen them both, but that information packs so much more of a punch when learned over the course of a show than in a quick sentence of catch up. In The Vanishing Man, a magician and his friend take us through the mysterious case of the fictional Edwardian magician Hugo Cedar, and his greatest and most terrible trick- vanishing without a trace (or much of a trace) off London Bridge. This long dead magician and his story have an immense effect on the two magicians, and like any magic show, not all is as it seems. In The Extinction Event, these same men dip into the impact of machines on our lives, the implications of them for magic, and the possibilities of hypnosis. All done with such astoundingly intelligent storytelling and incredible heart, it may actually make you cry.

Almost as notable as the stories themselves is the unique way Aula and Evans have of engaging their audience in interacting with the shows. The instructions are almost impossibly efficient and effective, and make every single member of the audience invested in the performance and leave no one feeling embarrassed or really singled out.  Not counting the audience, these are two man shows, and Aula and Evans also excel in their chemistry with each other. Their pacing is flawless, their relationships relatable, and their performances a perfect match.

The Vanishing Man and The Extinction Event are the cleverest shows at the Edinburgh Fringe twice over, and are as beautiful and entertaining as they are smart. To put it in no uncertain terms, they are absolutely unmissable.

 

The Vanishing Man can be found at Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) during the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe at 14:10 from August 16-27

The Extinction Event can be found at the same place and dates at 15:40

More information on The Vanishing Man and The Extinction Event and their performance dates can be found here