Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus Picks

Donald Hutera picks the very best shows from Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus at both EIF and the Fringe

Hard to Be Soft: A Belfast Prayer

The Lyceum, 21–24 Aug, times vary

Two festivals ago Oona Doherty stunned Fringe audiences and critics alike with her solo Hope Hunt & The Ascension Into Lazarus. This year the Northern Irish dancer-choreographer is back with Hard to be Soft: A Belfast Prayer, addressing conflict and gender. Earlier this year I asked why she makes dance. Her response: “We’re in great need of kinetic empathy”.

The Crucible

Edinburgh Playhouse, 3–5 Aug, 7:30pm

Seeking Unicorns

Dance Base, 13–18 Aug, 1:15pm

As the Fringe’s only truly dance-dedicated venue, Dance Base is dear to fans of movement-based creative expression. 2019’s most unique Dance Base offering might well be Chiara Bersani’s delicate, sensual and thought-provoking solo Seeking Unicorns, in which the 98cm tall Italian artist forges a wondrous personal connection with an elusive and misunderstood mythical creature.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, Scottish Ballet bring this adaptation of Arthur Miller’s gutsy, still-relevant 1953 dramatisation of the infamous Salem witch trials. Here the choreographer is the American Helen Pickett; having danced for a dozen years for William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt, her pedigree is good.

Super Sunday

Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, 2–24 Aug, 9pm

Billed as one of the Circus Hub’s most ambitious productions yet, Finland’s Race Horse Company bring a purportedly spectacular rollercoaster ride through the wild and daring imaginations of the six-strong cast that devised it. A dystopian fairground is the setting for a series of often black-humoured stunts.