Edinburgh Fringe 2025
You’re An Instrument
House of Oz and The Sonicrats
Genre: Children's Theatre, Live Music
Venue: Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
You’re an Instrument is a captivating 50 minutes that fully engages kids – and adults – in the science of sound and the joy of making sounds using cutting edge technology.
Review
You’re an Instrument is a captivating 50 minutes that fully engages kids – and adults – in the science of sound and the joy of making sounds. It is a must-see for anyone with curiosity and a willingness to have fun in a new style. It is science meets physical theatre meets clown, all wrapped up in a unique sonic experience.
The Sonicrats are Alon and Ciaran, real-life PhD Monash University music technology researchers and professional performers from Melbourne, Australia. When not delighting audiences with their tricks of science, they are cutting edge tech designers and inventors whose work is critically important for people with mobility challenges.
This show provides an opportunity for kids to understand the relationship between movement and sound. It is a lesson in electronics, showing how ordinary objects can be put to music. There is a tissue box, a stuffed animal, a pair of gloves and more. Each makes a variety of sounds when manipulated in various ways, from swinging overhead to tossing the item to holding it in different positions.
Alon and Ciaran, dressed in white lab coats, begin by demonstrating some real percussion instruments: an egg shaker, a vibraslap, maracas and even a drum head. They then encourage the audience to make sounds, giving each child the chance to come up with something original (of course, one child suggests a fart sound). They enlist an adult volunteer from the audience to try making sounds with just his body movement. That turns into a clownish Buster Keaton-style routine, where every movement of this man becomes a new sound effect. There are effective lighting cues to go along with the changes in the soundscape.
The audience joins in by shaping the stories, shaking their bodies when directed, and making “music” with everyone. By the end of the show, everyone is engaged in the merriment, from the smallest kid to senior adults. The big reveal of how this magic is created is shown at the very end but – no spoilers here. You have to come see for yourself.
You’re An Instrument has been performed to over 3,000 kids throughout Australia. It is listed for kids aged 5 to 12, but even younger ones were mesmerized, and the adults laughed and happily played along. It is truly a fun and fascinating day out. This is their Edinburgh Fringe debut.
