We are a nation and a current series of generations where our childhood and knowledge of history is emphasised by the brilliant Horrible Histories books by Terry Deary and the beloved show shown on CBBC (but let’s be honest: when was it ever for the kids!).

So when invited to a show that has changed this to “Herstories” I was definitely intrigued and excited. Horrible Herstories is a hilarious and unbridled take on female history, flittering between different parts of history in a sketch-show-like manner. The premise basis itself on a group of men who are all hammed up and one dimensional and hilarious versions of the gender. All called Phil, they are unaware of anything to do with women, let alone their place in history, and the mick is very much taken of them. This is where it leads to them learning just what an impact woman had and what they had to put up with.

Like any sketch-show, the sketches are small and to the point. They don’t need to be long to be absolutely side-splittingly hilarious and it was in a way brilliant to see the occasional man in the audience not quite get the quip or feel uncomfortable. It was a shake up of the comedic kind but also a political stance with no inhibitions.

The performers were all brilliant; just like the television programme, they could all turn their hand to a huge range of characters – from the typical news reporter, the egotistical man, the girly girl women. And it all worked brilliantly. They were fully in each character, supported with minimal staging and costume, but this didn’t matter; in fact I would say it enhanced this. We didn’t need sparkle and flashy theatrics; all we needed was the brilliant writing and comedic approach to true history.

As this was the last night and they had run for a month, there were moments of corpsing and if you have read any of my former reviews, you know that I love this. I think it shows the comradery of the actors, the fun they are having and as a performer myself, I know that a long run is always met by silliness and a euphoria in the end. It was clear that the performers had a great connection and were having fun, celebrating the end of a successful run of such a brilliant production.

Horrible Herstories seems much in its infant stage, but what a brilliant place it is at this point. It is witty, funny, clever and an absolutely brilliant production, that can only go from strength to strength.

(3 / 5)

Set in the basement of the Edinburgh Army centre, NMT Automatics production of Troy & Us is very apt for such a setting.

Tempus Fugit: Troy & Us is the story of a British soldier, his wife and his tours in Afghanistan. It addresses their progressive relationship from marriage, to war PTSD, to a baby and all the other bits in between. It is a raw and poignant production, mirroring the story of Andromache and her soldier husband Hector in the Trojan war, this production shows the pain of war and that this is a phenomenon that is almost as old as time.

Tempus Fugit is a combination of short dialogue meeting physical theatre and dance; the moments where we are transported into the past to look at the Trojan War are signified with beautiful mask work to break the difference in scenes. Focussed mainly around plain brown boxes that create furniture, barriers, sculptures and buildings, the performers move effortlessly between and with one another, showcasing euphoria, pain, war scenes and so much more. It is accompanied by music and storytelling recorded narrative to enhance the scene and show the juxtaposition but the similarities of the past and the present.

The performance is beautiful and there does seem to be genuine (or at least realistic) emotion and connection between the characters, whether they are the modern characters or the Ancient Greek ones. They effortlessly flick between the two and moments can be recognised that have cleverly been shown earlier on in the production, mirroring the modern day equivalent with the same movements and emotion.

However, for me, the scenes were all too quick. It felt like we flittered from scene to scene very quickly, whether that was from Troy or to the modern day, and I felt it needed a moment of stillness, or just a breathe. The fast paced nature left me wanting something meatier to hold onto for just a moment before we were catapulted to the next element. To really revel in and feel the emotion and the, what is a beautiful and painful story to engage with, it would have been nice for some different levels in energy.

Tempus Fugit: Troy & Us is a unique and interesting approach to real stories and of a kind of life only a small amount of people experience. It shows the truth of the feelings and thoughts behind war but it also needed to let us have a moment to internalise the story and feel it for ourselves.

(3 / 5)

The world of Greek Myths is full of tyranny, of hypocrisy, of sex, of comedy, of sheer power and grotesque storytelling. They are the stories that have most been carried through time, updated and mirrored in popular culture and continue to be apart of society. This is very much what we get from Myths Unbound Productions and their production of Prometheus Bound (Io’s story).

Taking a new approach to Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound, Myths Unbound have updated and changed the viewpoint of this tale. An ancient Greek tragedy, this story focuses on the competition between the God’s, the injustice of punishment for helping humans to progress and, by taking it from the point of view of Io, a mortal plagued by the God’s doings, looks at what it means to be a human as opposed to a higher being that society trusts the judgement of.

This production has an edgy-ness to it. No toga’s or golden crowns but a gothic, alternative take. All in black, there are little elements added to the immortal beings to differentiate them using colour and make up that Tik Tok stars would admire, along with their differing personalities and interactions, to show these staple characters and their impact to the story. Simple changing of jackets helps to double up on a character and with this and other parts of the writing, Myths Unbound take a comical view of breaking the fourth wall and playing upon being self aware as a theatre production – the same actor is acknowledged and the confusion of the characters; we are addressed and yet Io asks “who are you talking to” which for sure brings comical moments. The only difference is Io who is dressed in a cream to create the dynamic between the humans and the Gods. This was quite refreshing, showcasing that the Gods aren’t so “heavenly” and actually the darker part of the tale, despite their idolisation.

Despite these interesting elements, I found it hard to engage. With such a complex story, it felt that you probably had to know the tale well to understand their changes to the original story. A story I’ve not heard before, it therefore left me a little confused and some elements I wasn’t sure were fully explained. Not a criticism, but the performer playing Prometheus was of slight distraction with his uncanny performance and looks similar to Captain America’s, Chris Evans.

Overall, the aesthetics of Myths Unbound Productions, Prometheus Unbound (Io’s Story), were refreshing and a modern take on such an ancient story. I just found it slightly a hard storyline to follow which, I can completely understand could plainly be to my own lack of knowledge.

(3 / 5)

In this tiny shipping container, we are welcome by an almost “ying and yang” symbol from two bodies in a box, amongst torn paper. What unfolds is emotional, fun and shocking altogether.

Sandcastles is about a unique friendship between two girls. Meeting as children, they grow up together and grow apart, as one stays to the town she has always known and the other moves across the world. Sandcastles takes on the trial and tribulations of female friendships, of long term friendships, of belonging and feeling displaced.

Focussed around this box, it took a long time into the production for me to realise that this was a representation of the sand box that these two characters meet in, building sandcastles as children. Two very opposing types of people, their comradery comes from the lack of inhibitions as children. As they grow up, they get drunk and hold eachother’s hair, they kiss boys and bundle around their local town and soon there is a realisation on their differences; the fear and the anxiety from one of leaving a place she knows and the other of someone who feels as if she doesn’t belong any where physical.

The friendship between these two seems natural, it seems uninhibited and naturalistic to an extent. Both performers did their characters justice, bringing a reality to this environment somewhat void of reality. You feel included somehow, even if this is between only two people and it makes you re-evaluate your own friendships.

The box of paper became extremely significant; the performance featuring around, in, on, by, using this box of paper, it doubles up as many things and signifies much of their friendship, centralising it. The choice to not use sand by white paper added an angelic and ethereal element to this story.

My only criticism was that there felt like a lot of content bundled in and a slow pace. Some elements could perhaps be condensed or not used at all, feeling more like buffer content. It also needed a little change of pace, something to break this and give it a little momentum.

Sandcastles is a really beautiful play and certainly can be relatable to female friendships, general friendships and growing up. It just needed a different dynamic occasionally to keep the pace interesting.

(3 / 5)

This surreal and funny production was the first show I saw of this fringe. Late at night, the room was nicely packed for something billed at this time and rightfully so.

The Rodney Buzzard tapes: Evidence of an Honourable Man touches upon the recent phenomena of True Crime. Utilising quintessential themes of these documentaries, a group of amateurist drama nerds and a criminology nut embark of telling this fictional story; full of satire and tongue and cheek of these shows, this production is hammed up and as absurd as it can get, which makes it all the funnier while they endeavour to find the truth about this serial killer.

It begins with, what I can only describe as something from The Mighty Boosh – very much looking as if they were inspired by the Betamax character from this shows third season, a tape enhanced monster, almost slimy in appearance appears, creating movement and shapes that are comedic but also slightly intimidating. It very much didn’t give anything away to what the rest of the hour would entail; whether this would be frightening or fun.

The story continues to be as absurdist and bizarre as this initial introduction. The premise being that a criminology enthusiast has coaxed his drama friends into re-enacting a series of experiences, from not only him but also the serial killer. There is very much a sense of making fun of themselves, of the situation they are in but also of drama students in general and so this is a particular element of comedy that fits with a good chunk of the fringe audience.

Unfortunately, while fringe is very much a place to explore productions, it did at times feel as if there was too much content and so lost some of the comical factors in this. This is something all theatre makers continue to face when creating something new and so isn’t the biggest of issues and i’m sure will be challenged in each rehearsal and performance as all productions do.

The Rodney Buzzard Tapes was a lovely surprise for a first production viewing of 2022 fringe. With a little more challenge of their content, this piece could hit every element of comedy and bizarrest intent, with ease.