The Roses

He meets she. They fall in love immediately and have sex in the cold store.  Ten years on they are over the pond in California, he is hugely successful, she's bringing up the kids.  A thing happens, roles are reversed, resentment builds, marriage steadily disintegrates.

A simple enough premise.  And a thin plot that can be taken in a number of different directions, depending on how the writer and director see it, depending on the casting and acting.  I've seen some very negative reviews of this film, and that seems to come down to expectations, and sometimes ciritcising something for what it's not, rather than what it actually tries to be.  Based on a novel by Warren Adler, The War of the Roses was a hit film version in 1989.  It was a black comedy, bitter and biting in it's treatment of the fight between the couple.  And if that's what you were expecting this time around then I can understand the disappointment.

But I came to this with no knowledge of the novel or first film version,  I came from seeing a trailer that made it look a lot of fun, and the reputations of the two leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman.  I cam seeing something much lighter and funnier than those other critics came to see.  And I got what I hoped for.

There's not much in the way of drama here. although it has it's moments.  There are no real life lessons to be learned, other than maybe being thankful that you and your partner are relative 'failures' in the rat race side of life.  There are, however, a lot of laughs, a lot of great scenes, a lot of brilliant smaller parts (allison Janney's shark of a divorce lawyer ebing patiruclarly fun).  This is light entertainment, but with great acting and a sharp and witty script.  I loved it.

The Life of Chuck

Based on a Stephen King story (so you know there'll be something creepy...), this is a story told in three parts, in reverse chronology.  

Part one sees society falling apart due to a (largely unexplained) apocalypse.  As the lights go out all that remains is an enigmatic viral marketing campaign thanking Chuck Krantz for 39 wonderful years.

In part two, set a few months earlier, we get to meet Chuck, a boring accountant who suddenly launches into a street dance inspired by a busker, and hints at the disappointments of his past.

The meat of the tale, such as there is, lies in the final, and longest, segment, when we see Chuck's childhood.  Brought up by his grandparents, given a love of dance, he is surely going to be a star...

In the end there's a message.  Or you can take one if you choose to.  Individuals are special and should feel so.  Something like that.  Carpe Diem.  Something like that. It's not really clear.  This confusion, a heavy handed narration, and overuse of coincidence to link the 3 segments, leave an unstaisfactory feeling.

Which is a shame, as there are some great individual performances, notably Chiwetel Ejiofor in part 1, as the man confused by rapidly unfolding events, a man we can all identify with.  And there are some very entertaining scenes, like the adult Chuck (Tom Hiddleston) dancing to a street drummer.  But the whole is so much less htan the parts.  

Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak, Pleasance Above, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 A solo show written by, and starring, Victoria Melody.  She enters wearing, as she explains, an accurate recreation of a woolen musketeer's outfit from the 17th century.  On a hot summer day.  Suffering for her art!

Melody started off script, and seemed genuinely surprised, and very grateful, that so many people had turned up to see her final Fringe performance this year.  But she soon got going into a fascinating tale.  

Her response to life crises is to immerse herself into a new activity.  In the past this has led her into pigeon fancying and beauty pageants.  When divorce entered her life she became fascinated by the Diggers, the grass roots radical action group that sprang up in England in the mid 1600s.  With no active Diggers society to join, she did what flet like the next best thing - English Civil War re-enactment groups.  An activity she is totally unsuited to, but still gets herself involved.

The story switches to a deprived council estate in Brighton, where she gets involved in projects to improve the life of the community.  They provide meals, a space to meet, advice and help in dealing with the autorities, and space where groups can get together.  With some amazing personal stories lying behind these achievements.

The culminaion of the tale is the bringing together of these two worlds, and the surprising success that it brings.  

Melody brings all this to life with her impressions of various important characters (some of them represeted on stick portraits), some imaginative props, and audience interaction through key jangling.  It's lovely, funny, inofrmative and inspiring, and creates a seamless link btween the revolutionaries of more than four centuries ago, and modern community action groups.  

Simply wonderful.

Margolyes & Dickens: More Best Bits, EICC, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Outspoken, hilarious, talented and with her heart in the right place, Margolyes is always good valuie to watch.  This show mixed stories from her life, with short performances of Dickens characters, bring them fully to life within a few seconds.  Her ability to swap around during dialogue, to introduce the right levels of pomposity, or avarice, or innocence, the swiftly changing body language, is a mini master class.  And the intonation and expressiveness of her voice shows just why she is in such demand to record audio books.

As an added bonus there was a short Q&A session, with her tour manager reading out a few queries from the audience.  As unfiltered as ever Miriam was swift to give her opinions.  It was good to hear a prminent Jewish voice condemning outright the current criminal and genocidal actions of the Israeli government, and saying what needs to be said about the likes of Trump and Farage - she is very defintely not a fan of either of these manipulative liars.  

Wonderful entertainment, a standing ovation, and it all felt far too short a time...

LOLA: A Flamenco Love Story, EICC, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

A Spanish widow leaves Franco's Spain for London, seeking a job which will allow her to send money back to her poor parents and children.  She gets a job as a cleaner, is miserable, desperate, and then finds love.  That's about it for a plot, simply conveyed with screen subtitles over the Spanish narration.

But this isn't really about the story, less so than an opera might be.  This is the vehicle for dance and music, prinairly flamenco style, but with modern touches.  The dancing is impressive, especially the male lead.  The music is good, and the use of flute for solos was a nice touch.  The singing is traditional flamenco style, well done, but an acquired taste.

It did get repetitive at times, and I'm not sure diehard flamenco fans would be impressed by the 'flamenco lite' approach.  But overall it was entertaining enough to avoid boredom, and had several highlights in the dance..

The Poetical Life of Philomena McGuinness, Surgeon's Hall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Starring Jasmin Gleason as the eponymous Philomena, this is the story of Irish nurse, reluctantly so, in Britain during the second world war.  She has drifted into the profession, largely because her mother had been one before her, but McGuinness is a different character to her mum.  She's a bit more of a dreamer, like her dad.  She describes herslef as a poet (despite haven written no verse), others are always calling her 'flighty'.

But she's faced with the harsh realities of nursing in wartime, of trying to fit in, of making friends, and of trying to remain who she sees herself as.  If she feels a bit of a phoney at first there is more than enough opportunity for that feeling to pass.  Her experience grows, but can that poetical soul, that flightiness, survive?

This is a story about who we are, how we, and others, see ourselves.  About women in wartime, and wider society, having to be so many things to different people.  Gleason is superb in making us feel we know this young Irish woman, and in portraying several other characters along the way.  She even finds time for a bit of audience interaction.  

A tremendous acheivement, an hour of laughs and sadness and a sesne of questioning.  Highly recommended.

Iona Fyfe, Ukrainian Community Centre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

 

A solo perfromance from Scots balladeer Fyfe, piano and voice.  A good mix of material - tradional ballads, self penned compositions, a bit of Dylan and Nick Cave (in Scots), an Appalachian song.  A few unaccompanied, with just the purity of her vocals to enjoy.  Her introductions can be amusing and informative, she tried to get the audience singing along (response was muted...), and kept things flowing.  Low key but enjoyable, and I'm glad I made the effort to go.