Edinburgh Fringe 2018

Four Go Wild in Wellies

Indepen-Dance

Genre: Children's Theatre, Comedic, Dance and Movement Theatre

Venue: Dance Base, Grassmarket

Festival: Edinburgh Fringe

Low Down

Review

Four Go Wild in Wellies is part of this year’s Made in Scotland programme at the Fringe and, though  aimed squarely at 3-5 year olds, is jolly good entertainment whatever age you are.  It’s a creative, yet essentially playful look at how social structures evolve, how friendships are established, broken and then mended.  This short, twenty minute piece also explores the different outcomes that can result from collaboration or competition, or somewhere across what is a pretty broad spectrum.

As the rain pelts down on another fine Edinburgh summer’s day, Dance Base Studio 3 offers a warm (and dry) welcome to the few, rather damp souls that have braved the elements.  On-stage it’s autumn, leaves scattered on the floor with four neatly piled sets of warm clothes strategically placed in front of four identical single person tents.

But what’s this?  Three of the tents are dancing and one is leaping athletically into the air.  Then a stockinged foot emerges from each tent flap, then the other foot, then a hand and, finally, a face as our quartet of dancers emerge to face the day.  First up is getting into the lovely, warm, brightly coloured clothes in front of them which allows the dancers to explore the humour behind clothes themselves – why do we wear trousers on our legs and coats on our bodies?  Could they work the other way around?  And why does a hat need to be stuck on your head?  And surely it’s much more fun to wear your wellies on your hands?

So the story slowly unfolds, through dance, movement and mime exploring not only friendship but just how inventive we can all be through play and interaction with each other, leading to a touching denouement as the dancers returned to their single person tents.

This subtle, moral tale was told to the backdrop of David Goodall’s evocative score, one that flows from jaunty and melodic through to melancholic and back again.  And dancers Adam Sloan, Blair Fluker, Emma Smith and Julie Spence have a pleasing rapport with each other as they weave their way around the stage telling their story.

It’s entrancing.  And it held the attention of its small (physically and in terms of numbers present) audience, no more so than a two year old who sat, completely transfixed for the full piece on her mother’s knee, eyes following the action intently, her face bedecked in a mix of smiles and wonderment.  Now if that doesn’t persuade you to go, nothing will.  It’s a real hidden gem.

Published August 13, 2018 by Tim Wilcock