FringeReview Scotland 2024
ARRIVED
Adrian Schvarzstein & Jurate Sirvyte-Rukstele
Genre: Outdoor and Promenade
Venue: Surge Festival
Festival: FringeReview Scotland
Low Down
A simple story of jealousy which ends rather surprisingly which manages to straddle two timeframes – a supposed more innocent past, and a supposedly progressive future. It is poised and perfect for the audience which is attracts whilst has the look of two fish out of water but swimming with the tide more than successfully.
Review
As the title suggests, our two characters arrive in our midst, but rather than from a place, they have come from a time. Dressed like they have come from some time deep in the Second World War, that poignancy, of arriving at a destination where they are strangers is not lost.
Once in their spot, having drawn a chalk circle on the ground their music demands dance. And so, once someone is used to stand, and become the human hat stand, hats are off, jackets are off and the need for a dance partner is navigated by returning to sourcing from within the crowd once more. As he gets his partner, she gets one too and the jealousy begins. As it develops, they keep us alert to their relationship and the fun of working the crowd before the storming off, the apology and some form of reconciliation is achieved.
This is quite old-fashioned in its narrative but has a style and panache which marks it out as being a simple idea, well told. The great skill here is not just the performance but the way in which they have the absolute ability to work that crowd. Although it may be a well-worn pathway of couples’ jealousy there is little doubt that it has as its central concern, how we view people coming from afar. It feels both poignant and relevant now, as of today, in the light of growing debate over the inclusion of people who flee from other parts of a war-stricken world. There is a feeling, less of desperation, but more of joy and innocence of hoping for a better place. You feel the warmth in applauding their wonderful performances, and it is quite fascinating to muse on just how welcoming we should and could and often are if someone arrives in our community flung far from a far-away place. Ultimately it is a show about us and despite the lack of great spectacle, both performers exude such enthusiastic warmth it is hard not to be swept along by their passion and their relationship and the humanity of it. It is heartwarming and no less effective for the lack of cynicism in its performance. It may suggest a simpler time but it exudes a confidence in a more complex environment.
