Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Alice Diamond And The Forty Elephants
Young Pleasance
Genre: Drama, Physical Theatre, Theatre
Venue: Pleasance Dome
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
High octane youth theatre production, telling a tale of an all female criminal gang, giving a glimpse of future talent.
Review
World War I saw unimaginable devastation, the political and ideological scars of which were felt across the globe for much of the 20th century. Around one in eight British serving men died during the conflict, significantly altering the balance of UK demographics, especially in urban areas.
An inadvertent by-product was the nation’s new-found dependency on women, hitherto overlooked by patriarchy but now substituting men during and after the war, driven inexorably by the suffragette movement. Including, history recalls, criminal gangs.
When the men organising the criminal activities centred around Elephant And Castle, in London, volunteer for the armed services, their woman-folk are tasked with continuity. It’s probably fair to say that most believed the often cited “it’ll be over by Christmas” mantra.
But the conflict lasted four and a half years. A long time for a new paradigm to establish itself. Enter Alice Diamond.
Hitherto frustrated by lack of opportunity and voice, she takes to management with gusto, finessing the men’s previous less than subtle methods, increasingly profitability and providing a more economically viable upstream supply chain. This would have proven impossible without leadership and management skills, plus of course a ruthless steak. The 40 Elephants refers to her foot soldiers, operating from Elephant And Castle.
When those men fortunate enough to make it back alive and physically unharmed return, there is an immediate dramaturgically interesting source of conflict. The men assume they will pick up where they left off ; the emboldened women have other ideas.
Young Pleasance’s track record on productions and fostering talent is renowned. There is a glitterati of alumni that have emerged from the group and there is no doubt that many of the cast and crew from Alice Diamond And The Forty Elephants will push on to success within the industry. However, this production fell a little flat.
The physical movement was typically strong, but seemed to be at the expense of character and relationship development, which at times needed substantial improvement. The production seemed too intent on leaning into the Peaky Blinders franchise, rather than finding and trusting its own clear voice.
The scope and ambition of this production was beyond admirable, as boundless energy filled the room. We have most definitely not seen the last of this talented crew and anticipate their next outing.
