Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
4 stars
Three-show retrospectives usually come some way into an artist’s brilliant career. Ever since Shon Dale-Jones’ alter-ego Hugh Hughes first charmed Edinburgh Festival Fringe audiences half a decade ago, however, his winningly profound shaggy-dog stories have never been about being ordinary. With the chance to help Hughes develop his new show, Stories from an Invisible Town, and a screening of a Barbican commissioned film, How I Got Here, this mini-season is an illuminating insight into a uniquely off-kilter world-view.
Where Story of a Rabbit finds Hughes dissecting the meaning of life as he loses sight of his neighbor’s pet bunny, 360 is a quietly joyful affirmation of life through friendship. Rewinding back to his first show, Floating finds Hughes spinning a yarn about how his island home on Anglesey becomes cut off from the mainland, only to embark on a fantastic voyage across the seven seas as it becomes a floating republic. Only Hughes wants to jump ship, as, in-between introducing us to his wrestling-fan granny, a crazed school-master and best friend Gareth – all played by Sioned Rowlands – he slowly but surely finds his way home.
This is delightful enough, but it’s the telling that really makes Floating special. Dale-Jones and Rowlands engage with the audience throughout, passing round little personal totems while explaining exactly what he’s going to be doing with slides, music, film projections and a succession of lovely set-pieces that become a lateral bird’s-eye-view from Hughes’ head. When an elaborate scene change is needed, Hughes simply gets the audience to close their eyes in a deceptively clever rites of passage that’s about finding the crucial connections that make us tick.
The Herald, October 8th 2010
ends
4 stars
Three-show retrospectives usually come some way into an artist’s brilliant career. Ever since Shon Dale-Jones’ alter-ego Hugh Hughes first charmed Edinburgh Festival Fringe audiences half a decade ago, however, his winningly profound shaggy-dog stories have never been about being ordinary. With the chance to help Hughes develop his new show, Stories from an Invisible Town, and a screening of a Barbican commissioned film, How I Got Here, this mini-season is an illuminating insight into a uniquely off-kilter world-view.
Where Story of a Rabbit finds Hughes dissecting the meaning of life as he loses sight of his neighbor’s pet bunny, 360 is a quietly joyful affirmation of life through friendship. Rewinding back to his first show, Floating finds Hughes spinning a yarn about how his island home on Anglesey becomes cut off from the mainland, only to embark on a fantastic voyage across the seven seas as it becomes a floating republic. Only Hughes wants to jump ship, as, in-between introducing us to his wrestling-fan granny, a crazed school-master and best friend Gareth – all played by Sioned Rowlands – he slowly but surely finds his way home.
This is delightful enough, but it’s the telling that really makes Floating special. Dale-Jones and Rowlands engage with the audience throughout, passing round little personal totems while explaining exactly what he’s going to be doing with slides, music, film projections and a succession of lovely set-pieces that become a lateral bird’s-eye-view from Hughes’ head. When an elaborate scene change is needed, Hughes simply gets the audience to close their eyes in a deceptively clever rites of passage that’s about finding the crucial connections that make us tick.
The Herald, October 8th 2010
ends
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