Theatre
Eddie and the Slumber Sisters
Corn Exchange, Haddington
Mary Brennan, four stars
IF THE comforting warmth of bedtime cocoa had a voice, it would sound like the Slumber Sisters. Their acappella harmonies don’t dwell on lullabies,however: the trio ‘s mission statement, as they monitor the world’s snoozy-time, is the upbeat 1940’s number “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the positive” – which means eliminating nightmares with happy dreams. Like their boogie-woogie role models, the Andrews Sisters, these three - Natalie Arle-Toyne, Colette Dalal Tchantcho and India Shaw-Smith - are entertainingly sassy, vocally well-matched, briskly successful. Until nine year old Eddie sets off alarm bells in Slumber HQ with nightmares that leave her a dozy day-time wreck.
If there is a witty flourish to the fantastical Slumber zone, there is a harsh and troubling reality to the root cause of Eddie’s sleepless nights: her beloved Gran has died and the wee girl is lost in grief - her (unseen) sobbing Mum is out of the support loop, can the Slumber Sisters help? Writer Anita Vettesse and director Gill Robertson take the bold, but wise, decision not to dodge the pain and bewilderment that are engulfing Eddie. And if the Slumber-solution has a decidedly odd-ball, quirky feel to it - let’s just say that gran’s beloved Elvis is back in the building! - Eddie’s journey towards peace of mind is genuinely affecting with Chiara Sparkes making her emotional rollercoaster really reach out to young (ages 8+) and old alike.
With composer Danny Krass and designer Karen Tennent conjuring up the dream-time realms of Slumber HQ and Eddie’s bedroom - close-up audiences encircling the action- this touring production by Catherine Wheels (with National Theatre of Scotland) brings inventive humour and compassion to an upheaving issue that concerns us all. Elvis’s Love Me Tender - superbly harmonised by the cast – is a final note that makes the heart squeeze...
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 here