Edinburgh Fringe 2015

Follow the Faun

Andy Black

Genre: Comedy, Dance, Dance and Movement Theatre, Interactive

Venue: Spotlites

Festival: Edinburgh Fringe

Low Down

Review

I’ll admit it, I was leery. I mean, I love to dance, I LOVE to dance but that poster…and that description…what is this show? So I went, heart slightly in hand, worried I would not fit in with the Rave savvy club culture I expected but willing to try.

I needn’t have been so hesitant. What followed was a forty-five minute acid trippy escapade of movement, music, lights and human connection. Nervously escorted two by two into the secret chamber by a glitter clad, sequined and lace bound beauty plucked straight from the pages of a fairy tale, our pulses were already racing before the giant, cloven footed, horned Satyr, a thing from a dream or maybe a nightmare, strode in and bid us follow without question his every movement.

Music pumping, arms waving, lights flashing, young and old, he bid us rid ourselves of our inhibitions and join him on a magical journey. I’ll admit, I wasn’t totally there but somehow this hedonistic conqueror won myself and the entire room over in a heart-racing, pulse pumping dance of ecstasy, leaving us giddy, light-headed and possibly pregnant.

Somehow this mammoth man and his blithe spirit sacrificial concubine (I shan’t explain) managed to bring this entire room together in a massive celebration of dance, fantasy and gratification of our most carnal natures without so much as an unkind or degrading word. I’ll confess, as a trained dancer who spent many years and several hundreds of American dollars to have a dried up crone tell me I had great feet and huge a**, I would have preferred the Faun any day of the week.

I would love to have experienced this show in a more conducive venue with a little more space to spread our wings, yes, at one point we all had wings, since though I felt unencumbered by the concerns of my mortal shell, I did very much fear that my celestial self was in imminent danger of punching out my neighbors, and with the ability to invite a larger crowd, I suspect that the energy would be not just infectious but transmogrifying.

This bizarrely sublime experience probably isn’t for everyone but I’d recommend it to anyone who has a little tension in their life, and let’s face it, at the Fringe, that is everyone. It’s cheaper than a massage, safer than a prostitute and far more fun than a drug addiction so shake up your life, boost your blood pressure and lose your inhibitions. You’ll be grateful for the follow. Just wear leggings…and comfortable shoes.

Published August 25, 2015 by Heather Bagnall