Edinburgh Fringe 2013
Menage a Trois
National Theatre of Scotland/ Claire Cunningham
Genre: Physical Theatre
Venue: Paterson’s Land, http://www.patersonsland.co.uk/
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
In a fantastic performance that is all about the relationship Claire has with these aids to her mobility she takes us intimately through creating a persona for them, how their relationship would look, what it would entail and what would not be allowed. Engaging, enthralling and simply wonderful for the entire piece captivates and holds you in its palm never letting you go until you give in and simply enjoy.
Review
We start with some terrific graphics on several gauzes that start at the front. It introduces us to how the theatricality will be managed and with a voice over that accompanies the words Claire welcomes us to the event. From there we see her create the persona, have dinner, breakfast, dance and just spend indulgent time with this new person. She also creates, with her partner, a variety of props and aids from the crutches that fall from a huge cupboard. By the end we truly believe that Claire has found a ménage.
The writing is relatively basic because that is what the piece demands. There are no leaps of narrative nor are there any complex plot twists. The story is simply best told by being simple. It therefore manages to keep us attentive without much effort. As dramaturg, Davey Anderson hits all the right notes.
The performances are what keeps us on our toes. Curated as part of the Made in Scotland series this is a simple triumph. Cunningham is a nifty mover and is beautifully accompanied by Christopher Owen. The writing may be kept simple but the choreography is inventive, demanding and of a quality that asks you to rub your eyes in wonderment.
Theatrically this was using all of the tricks to enhance the performance. This does not use graphics and projections to hide anything but to add to your enjoyment whilst challenging our ideas of confinement. Gail Sneddon has triumphed here.
One of the minor gripes that I did have had nothing to do with the performance but the strange choice made by the venue not to fill up the front rows but put us upstairs. It may be that they though a distance gave us a better view but the barrier in front of us was a problem whilst performing to an empty first three rows must also be an issue for the performers?
The value of the National Theatre is debated long and hard elsewhere and with some gusto but here I was reminded of one of the things that the National has done is to take performers that are of such exceptional ability and give them a platform that they would otherwise not have had. Here Cunningham is given the bells and whistles that commercially would have eluded here except in some token way. It is to their credit that they recognise an inspirational ability like Cunningham deserves such a huge platform.
I found this to be one of the best things that I have seen for some time that actually begins to use the graphics and projection as an additional tool rather than as something to make people feel they have had an immersive experience. It was enthralling and I would have happily sat back for another hour or so. This will go out on tour and no doubt be added to the cannon of shows the National has somewhere in the World. Like Black Watch before it this deserves to have a much wider and more international audience.
