In an increasingly death-laden Fringe thus far, Stellar Quines' production of Quebecois writer Jennifer Tremblay's solo play is a blessing.
A woman in the spotlight confesses all concerning the death of a neighbour she became friendly with after attempting to start a new life in the country. As she obsessively prioritises the daily minutiae, the one thing that might have mattered for her increasingly sickly friend slips unnoticed off the agenda.
This is a raw and emotionally wrought piece of work, given even more strength in Muriel Romanes's production by the heart-wrenching power of Maureen Beattie's towering performance of Shelley Tepperman's English translation. In a play that's in part about the fear of losing control, Beattie lends a brittleness to the woman's guilt that feels fully natural without ever resorting to forced quirkiness.
While Beattie is a magnificent presence, beyond the words Romanes has crafted a full theatrical experience in one of Summerhall's most intimate lecture theatres. The play's already brooding intensity is heightened by both Jeannine Davies' lighting and Philip Pinsky's sound-scape on John Byrne's distressed metal set. Combined, Stellar Quines have produced a thought-provoking study of action, consequence and the foibles of human behaviour. Until August 25
HHH
Like The List, Mother To Mother is inspired by a real-life event. Part of Assembly's South African season, Sindiwe Magona's play puts actress Thembi Mtshali-Jones, above, in the frame as Mandisa, the mother of a black young man accused of killing American Fulbright scholar Amy Biehl in Cape Town in 1993. The timing is crucial here. The mob killing came mere months before a new dawn of democracy in South Africa, and the country was a tinderbox.
By setting up Mandisa's imaginary testimony to Biehl's mother, Magona cuts to the complex heart of reconciliation at a very personal level beyond ideology. Punctuated by real-life imagery, including footage of the South African government's announcement of the implementation of apartheid, Yvette Hardie's production is a significant lesson in forgiveness.
Yet, despite Mtshali-Jones' impassioned performance, one yearns to hear the voice of Biehl's mother to give it a dramatic edge which the piece currently lacks. Until August 27
HHHH
One sweltering summer, an entire community is under siege in pre-Twin Peaks small-town America. A solitary killer may be on the loose, but Lavinia can't resist a trip across the ravine with her friend Francine to watch a Charlie Chaplin film. Walking home alone after midnight, it may yet prove to be the death of her.
Culled from the late Ray Bradbury's non-science fiction novel, Dandelion Wine, Dotted Line Theatre has captured Bradbury's scarifying sense of wonder via shadow puppets, torches and a row of pop-up model wooden shacks. Assorted night-life is projected onto these by the show's four performers under the guidance of adaptor and director Rachel Warr. The result is a beguiling trick of the light that taps into the collective paranoia that ensues.
Performed in vintage costume, Dotted Line have created a charmingly bespoke homage to Bradbury, with no hi-tech special effects required.
Until August 26
HHHH
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article