Reviews 2001

Look below for Carita’s reviews in short of festival performances and other goings-on.

Dracula

S of A productions

Venue 88, C Underground, Niddry Street South

Aug 4-26 (not 14), midnight; £8 (£6)

There is almost no one in Western society who is not familiar with Dracula, whether it be Bram Stoker’s classic character, Gary Oldman’s camp but sexually charged interpretation or Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of the most famous Transylvanian count in history.

Described by one member of the audience as “subtitles for those hard of understanding” this particular production not only tampers with a classic but manages to tear out all the pages, burn them and jump repeatedly on the ashes. Not because their story is so unique that they simply can afford to rip the book to pieces, but, in fact, because it isn’t. Bram Stoker’s book, famous as it may be, makes for awful theatre, yet S of A productions has cherished every one of his words, not leaving out anything.

With half the cast hamming up their performances, and the other half playing it deadly straight, the audience was not as mesmerized and fascinated as they were bored and unsure whether to laugh or cry. Some did both, and after the interval a full house had turned into an audience of five.

Director James Gilbreath has to be credited for a few innovative ideas. Well, two innovative ideas. But the fact that mirrors in the play are portrayed beautifully, plus that one scene is viewed as if it was filmed from above – this is simply not enough reason to stay awake past midnight. Described by The Stage as “Definitely fringe theatre at its best” – well, that it is not. Back to top

Nicky Silver’s Raised In Captivity

Festival Theatre USC

Venue 25, Drummond Community Theatre, 41 Bellevue Place

Aug 5, 9, 12, 16, 19, 23, 7pm; £5

In a way that only Nicky Silver can, Raised In Captivity takes up themes of homosexuality, family relations in turmoil and incest. The play introduces you to a pair of dysfunctional siblings who have just lost their mother in a freak accident. Benjamin has lived in celibacy and debt since his gay lover died 11 years ago, and his hysterical sister Bernadette is stuck in a marriage she thinks is perfect but is slowly falling to pieces. Benjamin’s psychiatrist has been abandoned by her husband and all her patients, and punishes herself both physically and mentally. And Bernadette’s husband hates teeth – which is quite unfortunate, as he is a dentist. Doesn’t sound like a bundle of joy, does it? Well, you’re wrong. Nicky Silver has a talent for making the most miserable situations seem funny. The snappy dialogue and strong performances from the company has its audience in stitches, and what you are laughing at is so tragic that you can’t help but feel guilty about what you’re finding amusing. Raised In Captivity is tragicomedy at its best. I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for an unforgettably captivating night at the theatre. Back to top

City Of The Dead

Black Hart Storytellers

Venue 213, Royal Mile

Aug 5-31, 8.30pm, 10pm; £5 (£4)

Standing in a graveyard in the middle of the night, you have to ask yourself if this really was a bright idea. What isn’t helping is that you are standing inside a tomb with about 20 other people – and the girl next to you just fainted. No, I’m not making this up: the only recorded sign of poltergeist activity in Edinburgh is in the Covenanter’s Prison, at the back of Greyfriar’s graveyard, and we’ve just decided to pay this supernatural force a visit. An American girl standing nearby is convinced she is an inductor, i.e. a person who is very sensitive to supernatural phenomena and can, in a worst case scenario, create her own poltergeist. When the girl faints the other one exclaims “Oh my God, I hope I didn’t cause that!” Whether I believe in what I saw or not is debatable, but after standing on 350,000 dead people, I wasn’t too inspired to do further investigating.

City of the Dead is a fairly amusing but not quite extraordinary experience, until you get to the graveyard, and this is where it all begins. The joyful legends of Edinburgh are shattered and you’re run through horrendous stories of the disease-ridden, dirty city the Athens of the North used to be. And then of course you have the Mackenzie Poltergeist. No matter what you believe in, there is enough hype on this tour to make even the worst sceptic feel uneasy. If you don’t believe me, go hang out with the poltergeist, and then tell me I’m wrong. Back to top

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