FringeReview Scotland 2024
Surge Festival
Surge
Genre: Outdoor and Promenade
Venue: Merchant City Festival
Festival: FringeReview Scotland
Low Down
Curated but not controlled, this is a street festival in the outside sunshine in Glasgow which is collaboratively managed and encouraged. With a tremendous range of artists who are supported by a slick group of volunteers and professionals we have much more variety in street art than you may encounter in the Royal Mile in August in Edinburgh. There were no unicycles, fire nor tumbling, but an opportunity for the interactive and thinking of street creativity to have agency and opportunity to challenge, engage and entertain.
Review
In the east end of Glasgow, there is a majesty about the buildings and an artistry held amongst them. From the murals which adorn car parks, to the trees under threat which are growing and grieving below them to the Panopticon, venue of Stan Laurel’s first stage foray, this part of Glasgow has much to offer as a backdrop. Sprouting from there, over three days of creative joy is the Surge Festival: a late July, wonderfully curated celebration of street art. And so, this year, I, along with my youngest paraded along the streets, between stalls and vendors to witness some of the art on offer.
It began by diving into the indoors where there were two beetroots – the Lo Fi Hip Hop beetroots – extoling the merits of hip hop and vegetables to an assembled crowd of young children who were equally enthralled and mystified whilst their parents looked on with the hope that, for at least a few minutes, their charges would be entertained. And they mostly were.
Back out to the sunshine we encountered a slow-moving spaceman, who was able to wave and engage with every little youngster in his tracks, and quite a few younger ones not quite close enough. In the event of a chase, competition was never going to be fierce.
Our first long stand was to watch Jazzville productions’ The Most Dangerous Animal in the World – more detail in another review – before noting the poise and grace of Nikhita Devi as I, Honeypot, moving amongst us. Her progress was at a similar pace to the spaceman but with an altogether different vibe. Here was a more astute observer as she motioned along the street. Whilst we did not witness any interaction with the crowd it was fascinating to watch the environment change as she drew nearer to groups. There was an interesting moment when they became cautious, then intrigued and then seemed to will her on her merry way.
Just as we were about to move on, The Arrival, well, arrived. Again, as we saw the whole performance, I have reviewed it separately, but then we, via some fairly excellent cannoli’s, found ourselves at the witness rather than the performance end of Bed of Roses. With a young student or two this was an opportunity to see how Surge are working on the development of Scottish street theatre. These young actors got a valuable experience in how to work a live audience. In front of them. Without theatrical trickery to hide them. Their interactions with the crowd were a beautiful sight to behold and they acquitted themselves with great aplomb.
But genius was just around the corner. Literally. Frame is that type of concept someone, somewhere would have said it was too simplistic to be successful. But it is simply, not. In an alleyway sit some chairs. Give people headphones where they can hear music and voiceovers which interact aurally with the visual action in front, and it is a meta skilled thing of great inventiveness – theatre out of the ordinary. As the audience watch the end of the street which frames the intersection with another street, performers with big boards, simply follow the people walking along the street. From the bemused people who became self-conscious because there was a crowd, seated, watching them, to the ones who decided to wave to see what might happen – people waved back at them. This was so theatrical, so spontaneous and simply genius.
We went off for our final performance in the Ramshorn graveyard, as we were unable to squeeze into A Portal in Candleriggs – another student influenced co-production – due to the queues – but got way laid by Wattle and Daub. Two heavily made-up women of an uncertain age have a boogie, lose a nail, stick it in their coffin. It promised much but didn’t quite deliver, with potential writ large all over it as a concept, we watched twice for the short segments but would love to catch them again to see how it develops or expands its performance of material already in place.
And so, having caught Rhyze to Morph to end our day, we skedaddled. Eclectic, varied and vibrant, this was a delight to see and be part of. And you were part of it. It felt like an overflowing expression which found an audience amongst us and part of us. Whilst I did not catch all of it – music acts were all around us – I saw enough to compel me to return next year and subsequent years. Or perhaps it is wishful thinking, that this expression of freedom should be exported, to Ayr, Aberdeen, Hawick, Inverness, Kirkwall or heaven forfend, Edinburgh…
