Edinburgh Fringe 2012
Low Down
Through igneous low-tech creativity Milk use bicycle power and projectors to tell the story of Saint George. This is a show about men and the masculine persona; the hero that is Saint George. The story takes an interesting turn to comment on how the male gender is formed, and the pressures that young men go through both in today’s society and through-out generations referring directly to times of war when boys where forced to grow up and become Hero’s for their country.
Review
Through igneous low-tech creativity Milk use bicycle power and projectors to tell the story of Saint George. This is a show about men and the masculine persona; the hero that is Saint George. The story takes an interesting turn to comment on how the male gender is formed, and the pressures that young men go through both in today’s society and through-out generations referring directly to times of war when boys where forced to grow up and become Hero’s for their country.
We meet the cast, four men and one woman, the men introduce themselves and their manliness – ‘I have a chainsaw license!’ Stuart Wilde will play George, Adam Robertson is the Narrator and the Tiff Wear, Samuel Milsom and Saskia Solomon are useful men and woman; singing, playing instruments, filling in roles and contributing to the visuals. As an ensemble the group work really well together, its totally engaging to watch all the creative activity on stage as everyone is always present and busy with a shaky egg or pedaling the bicycle or changing the images on the projector. George and the Narrator take up the most part of the acting. George begins as a boy of 13 eating a wham bar and progresses fast into a man with shirt ripped off and ketchup St Georges flag upon his chest, he roars with testosterone and rage. The Narrator, who also plays the King, delivers it all with a 1920’s RP British accent accompanied with many a raised eyebrow and grin for charm. The whole show works with a 1920s aesthetic that brings in the war time concepts of young boys having to live up to this idea of a being a Hero, to save there country, the famous ‘we need you’ poster is used to aid the story of St George.
A dragon is terrifying the town, first it’s a sheep a day to keep the dragon away, and then it is a child a day. The town need a Hero, and so the King begins a training course to find that Hero. George is the last man standing, and feeling pumped and ready he is thrown out of the city walls to face the dragon. Through brilliant shadow work the atmosphere tumbles into terrifying as George screams ‘Where are you then! Come on then!’ his roars end in small squeals as he sits in the dark completely petrified but committed to fulfilling his Hero destiny. It has the air of young men at war about it, that makes it really affective, trying to fight back an inner terror to continue the show of bravery that they are taught men are to have.
The works comment on gender formation and expectation is really interesting and key to making it a show with substance. They mock the idea of men being Hero’s without being dismissive, it is purely an attempt to be honest, realistic and uncover the factors in history and society that have formed this man, the hero, and the saint. Milk’s story of Saint George takes a turn that revels him as a sham; conspiracy, murder and suicide follow resulting in his sainthood, as it is only in death that sainthood is acquired. This darkness after a twee and light beginning, that initially concerned me, leaves us with a lot to consider; as stated in the programme it is suicide that is the largest cause of death in young males, and it is three times higher than females – is this to do with how much pressure society puts on them to fulfill this created male role.
The show is full of music and song; the projector work is very exciting – as they overlay two, sometimes three! To create moving and changing images on the screen. More attention could be paid to the singing and musical accompaniment, as the performers have a lot of multi-tasking to perform, and so if anything suffers as consequence I would say it is the delivery of the songs. The show is full of small tricks that constantly surprise and delight the audience. It is a fantastic balancing act of visual wonder with a potent and relevant story.
