Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019 Reviews 1 - Enough - Traverse Theatre / How Not to Drown - Traverse Theatre
Enough
Traverse
Theatre
Four
stars
Something
is stirring in Stef Smith’s new play, in which flight attendants Jane and Toni take
stock of their friendship, only to come out fighting. No more than is probably normal,
mind you, for a pair of forty-somethings permanently in motion and on the verge
of discovering their domestic lives aren’t as blissful or as free-spirited as
they thought.
If
such a scenario sounds like old-school kitchen-sink, Smith has transcended such
potential pitfalls to create a dramatic symphony of words. This mixes dialogue,
interior monologue, some sharp one-liners and a wash of psycho-sexual surreal
imagery put through a latter day feminist filter.
Louise
Ludgate and Amanda Wright are majestic as the pair in Bryony Shanahan’s production,
their words bouncing back and forth between them. As Kai Fischer’s set seems to
self-destruct, Jane, Toni and a million other women rise up like air, the sky
no longer the limit.
Until
August 25
How Not to Drown
Traverse
Four Stars
There is more than one
moment in Nicola McCartney and Dritan Kastrati’s new play when you suddenly
remember that the situations Kastrati is bringing to life in Neil Bettles’
production are things he actually lived through. These moments jolt the
brilliantly stylised choreography into a devastating self-portrait of real life
on the emotional frontline.
Kastrati’s flight from Kosovo
during the fallout of the Balkan War aged 11 is a dazzling whirl from late
night boat rides with dodgy mafiosi to the Kafkaeque indignities of the UK care
system. Kastrati plays himself, his parents and umpteen others alongside four
other actors who move in a fluid unison that world leaders could learn from.
Performed on Becky
Minto’s wooden raft of a set, Bettles’ co-production between the Traverse,
Thickskin, Tron and Lawrence Batley companies is a heroic evocation of human
triumph. As Kastrati looks backwards to map out how he got here, it’s what
happens next that counts.
Until August 25
The Herald, August 8th 2019
ends
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