Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus Reviews

The Beautiful Game

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VENUE: ZOO Playground

TIME: 2pm – 3pm, 2–26 Aug, not 14

TICKETS: £10

With a set that features a framed picture of Gary Lineker, trophies, medals and fireplace given a new life as goalposts, Next Door Dance’s The Beautiful Game is obviously a show aimed at football lovers. But it’s one that’ll likely strike a chord with anyone who was obsessive about anything in their youth. Quite literally it takes a trip down “Memory Lane” and delves into a world of freshly cut grass, half-time oranges and new boots. It is a joyous nostalgia trip that the quartet take us on.

The company’s first show in Edinburgh is a success. No boundaries are pushed particularly hard with their routines, there is a lot of heart and love for the subject and it’s this passion that makes such an impression on today’s crowd. Famous goals are recreated: Rooney’s overhead kick in the Manchester derby; Beckham’s ballsy lob over Neil Sullivan; and Paul Gascoigne’s most audacious effort. The rituals and superstitions of fans are embraced. There are personal touches too, which in the aftermath of the Women’s World Cup feels especially significant. The all female cast share their memories of football, whether founding a women’s team, or sharing a bonding experience with family members. The sport is still dominated by men, but it won’t always be that way.

There are some lovely touches throughout; a soundtrack of Oasis and D:Ream that takes us right back to the mid ‘90s when football “came home”, testimonies from fans of perennial strugglers like Mansfield Town, Swansea City and Nottingham Forest and—best of all—a very funny bit about the complexity of the offside rule. They shoot, and at the first attempt, they score. ✏

Craig Angus

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VENUE: Assembly Roxy

TIME: 2:45pm – 3:45pm, 7–25 Aug, not 13, 20

TICKETS: £11 – £14

The tensions and intimacy of a creative relationship receive a refreshingly smart, emotionally warm once-over in this circustheatre two-hander by Nikki Rummer and JD Brousse. The opening scenes play with the truth. Without wanting to be coy about it, we think we’re privy to one slant on them that actually turns out to be something else. The pair deliver their big reveal with such low-key believability—simply by talking to us in the audience—that it feels natural and makes sense.

Among the show’s mentors and collaborators is Ben Duke, an award-winning British choreographer-director whose

Notre Dame de Paris aka The Hunchback of Notre Dame HHH

VENUE: St Patrick’s Church

TIME: 8:30pm – 10:50pm, 3–24 Aug, not 10, 17

TICKETS: £16

Walk down the Cowgate this evening, past St Patrick’s church and you may glimpse a spectacle: a 40 foot-high set evoking the Cathedral of Notre Dame; big, beautiful (real!) horses hanging out amid the trees; a goat, gambolling backstage. Pass during excellent what-if-they-didn’t-die take on Romeo and Juiet—called Juilet & Romeo—can be seen at Dance Base during the last week of the Fringe. It’d be interesting to know just how much influence he had on Rummer and Brousse’s self-examinatory work. But maybe it really doesnt matter so much. What counts is how engaging the two performers are. They handle spoken text with aplomb. Well, it is their own story they’re telling us. Still, they’re sensitive and funny when it comes to words.

The valuable extra layer of articulacy in Knot is Rummer and Brousse’s high level of skill as circus artists. They’re remarkably good together onstage, with partnering that is risky but also clean and strong. (A favourite moment: a corkscrew backflip that ends with her seated on his chest.) Ultimately what they’ve accomplished here is a very entertaining consideration of how to value both oneself and each other. ✏ Donald

Hutera

the performance and you will see no elecric lights, only fire. You may hear the clanging of bells, the clatter of a horse-drawn carriage, or the mournful sound of a full pipe organ mounted high on one of the spires. It’s even more spectacular from inside.

Having been transported, set, man and beast, all the way from France, this is evidently a mammoth lo-fi undertaking. Running at two and a half hours, outdoors, it’s also decidedly unFringey – and that’s even more so in terms of dramaturgy. Expansive, digressive and often opaque, this retelling of Victor Hugo’s novel sits firmly outside of modern theatrical trends. But it stays true to the novel, making the cathedral and its gargoyles a central character and imbuing it with the capacity to determine emotions and fates, offering both sanctuary to the needy and allowing archdeacon Frollo to practice alchemy and all manner of abuse behind closed doors, away from regulating transparency.

Sure, it drags in places. The horses aren’t always required, though they do add spectacle. But there’s some nice dramatic touches – Esmerelda, for instance, is the only character who speaks no English. Played by a British Iranian actor her comparative voicelessness is tragic and telling. But the fire—a terrifying amount of it at times—makes for something entirely unique, reaching back in time and bringing forth this odd, medieval spectacle. ✏ Evan

Beswick