Edinburgh Fringe 2023 – Reviews #4
By Brian Merriman

Otto and Astrid’s Joint Solo Project

Piccolo Theatre at Assembly, Georges Square, Edinburgh
Time 7.25pm – Duration: 60 minutes

‘Otto and Astrid’ are the Prince and Princess of Art Rock and the two halves of Berlin’s ‘Die Roten Punkte’. This is an hour of great fun and original rock music. Tormented, orphaned siblings are determined to pursue solo careers, but due to ‘logistical challenges’ must do their own solo shows, on the same stage.

The sibling rivalry goes back to childhood and this childhood theme drives the comic plot that is peppered with rock songs for the entire show. You learn to sing along about kittens and snacks, and do not go home until you hear “Party Explosion”.

It is pure alternative pantomime at times, dividing the audience, encouraging partisan responses and many wonderful slapstick comic turns. Behind that deliberate froth, is super talent. Otto looks like an overly made-up Michael Jackson and Astrid is a woman not to be messed with. They have a repertoire of original songs, so well played and delivered.

The quest for reconciliation between these orphaned siblings sees demarcation, isolation, mess and excellent musicianship. Astrid really rocks the drums and Otto is a multi-talented guitarist, both of whom give their all, to send home an audience of all ages rocking and rolling and wanting more…a lot more.

Baklâ

Summerhall, Edinburgh – Time 1.00pm – Duration: 60 minutes
Written and Performed by Max Perry.

Baklâ is quite a story. We meet ‘Max’, the son of a British father and a Filipina. He is definitely in this story, culturally the latter but for those rarer qualities on this Fringe circuit, his enunciation, diction and projection are flawless.

Max Perry is a physical actor, who uses his whole body to communicate, either through dance, seduction or aerial skills. Baklâ is an insult in the Philippines – it feminises men and masculinises women. It is not a kind expression. Neither is colonialism.

His episodic story flits, seamlessly bridging history and the present, from self-exploitation, race and colonisation in a moving reminder of race and dominance that resonates and impacts.

The Spanish invasion of the Philippines is not a dominant feature of Western history books. His reminder about forced conversion to Catholicism, loss of culture and loss of identity is profound. The fact that the Philippines was a transaction at the end of the 19th century is a shock to some.

Max’s use of the stage, the audience, religious imagery, his body, a mirror and his rich text weaves a tapestry of colour, humour and power that makes the hour of this theatre seem all too short. Max Perry is an actor, an athlete of the theatre both physically and intellectually, and he has quite a story to tell. Go see it.

Antonio!

Produced by Butch Mermaid Productions

The Space @ Surgeon’s Hall – Time 17.00 – Duration: 45 minutes
Written by William Duignan and Ania Upstill (Director)
Cast: Andy Manning, Ania Upstill, Evan Michael Smith, Felix Crossley-Pritchard

What have I been to? Every year, Edinburgh re-invents Shakespeare, but none in such an innovative and entertaining way. We arrive to the soothing tunes of ‘Greensleeves’ and that’s the end of the serenity. There are five of Shakespeare’s ‘fools’ on stage.

A band of merry musicians ‘The Fools for Love’ hurl their comedy and rock from the stage concentrating on the many ‘Antonio’s (Duignan) used in Shakespeare’s text, and roll them all into a kilted, moustached rocker who tells us through original songs how Antonio had his stories from his globetrotting ‘borrowed’ by the Bard to great comic and romantic effect.

This piratical crew can sing. The band of 5, can play, and they entertain! There is a story of Antonio’s unsuccessful romantic life, though not for want of encounters. This New Zealand and New York based company has a lovely mix of accent and diversity. The setting is queer, the stories are queer and the music and comedy are spot on. Shakespeare as you’ve never quite seen or heard it before, but you really should. Highly entertaining.