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Club Life

 Five stars

Once upon a time, Fred Deakin was a shy kid who started playing records at teenage parties to try and make friends. Within a few years, as a student in Edinburgh, he was running some of the best clubs in town, and had the best posters to boot. And that was before he became a proper pop star as one half of electronic party people Lemon Jelly and a professor in design.

Most of this is in Club Life, Deakin’s very personal late night show and tell concerning his life manning the wheels of plastic fronting legendary 1980s and 1990s clubland concepts. These ranged from the nu jazz of Blue to the Easy Listening irony of Going Places by way of heroically named nights such as Thunderball, Devil Mountain, Impotent Fury, and self-styled worst club in the world, Misery.

These are all revived by way of assorted potted greatest hits selections, as Deakin takes us on a tour of Edinburgh nightlife from back in the day. Director Sita Pieraccini transforms Deakin’s testimonies into a participatory paradise that takes the democracy of the dancefloor as its starting point and invites everyone to join in if they want to.

Beyond its infectious euphoria, Deakin’s show doesn’t shy away from some of his own personal travails, nor some of the unpleasantness that could descend on a good night out in the days before everyone got loved up. 

With Deakin aided by performers Abbie Kane, Ben Standish, Hana Nadira, Lily Smith and Price Jones, and set to Cameron Gleave’s video wall of iconic images, the result is part autobiography, part pop culture history and part participatory fun palace worth stepping out to. 

Summerhall until 27th August (Thu-Sun), 9pm.


The List, August 2023

Ends

 

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