Fringe Reviews

THE BUTCHER BABES* * The New Theatre

The most shocking thing about this tragicomedy, based on 2005’s gruesome “Scissor Sisters” killing and featuring black actors wearing “white face”, is surprisingly not its subject or its style, but its running time. Told from the perspective of the victim Rafah (names have been changed, or rearranged), Bisi Adigun’s production for Arambe has arch intent: to reassert a missing African voice and reclaim a cultural horror story.

But over four rambling acts, the salience of the idea dissipates while Gabriel Uche Akujobi’s Kenyan immigrant prays, drinks, prepares a meal, and even spends several minutes on a customer support line. By the interval, it still isn’t clear if the play has actually begun. While cultural detail is established and the ghoulish murder constantly prefigured in meat metaphors and spoken ironies, the reported events are neither subverted nor illuminated, merely delayed. “Too much of nothing and too little of everything,” one character says dismissively of Gaelic football. That, sadly, also goes for the play.

Runs until Saturday

– Peter Crawley

NEVER LOOK IN THE MIRROR WHEN YOU’RE DANCING * * * *

Smock Alley Theatre

We’re near the end of the Fringe, so have you seen enough angsty shows full of, like, really important messages and delivered in a this-is-my-big-chance-so-I-don’t-care-if-you’re-bored-for-two-hours kind of way? Maybe you need a time-out in Smock Alley, where HaveMoreFun (there’s a hint in the name) have a delightful 25-minute charmer that’s a simple tale told well.

There aren’t programme notes to digest or post-show discussions to tell you what you should have seen, just a little box of raisins thrust into your hand on the way in.

Kay Scorah’s story of her ballroom dancing parents and a stool made of orange crates reminds us how stories about real lives resonate with our own hopes and dreams. Jessica and Megan Kennedy play the dancing parents tirelessly and Scorah recounts the tale with a winning combination of childlike ease and barely suppressed pride.

Runs until Saturday

– Michael Seaver

DANCE IN PROGRESS DOUBLE BILL * * * *

DanceHouse

In spite of the billing, /This Is/ (sic) isn’t a dance-in-progress anymore, but a fully-formed piece that sets new standards for Croí Glan Integrated Dance. Choreographer Adam Benjamin is a veteran creator for disabled and non-disabled dancers and has never focussed on the politics of different bodies onstage. Instead, he gives unwavering attention to the movement and /This Is/ displays this creative guile, particularly in the seductive quintets where the performers continually merge and split into short duos and trios. His craftsmanship was well-rewarded with committed performances from the five dancers.

/A Study in Absence/A Study in Presence/ is a bit more rough and ready, and is still finding itself as a work. Nevertheless, Nick Bryson’s exploration of the immediacy of juggling and the perceived inaccessibility of dance is performed with a mixture of charm, dexterity and just the right amount of self-reflection.

Final performance tomorrow

– Michael Seaver