Saturday 25 August 2012

The Blind - 16th August 2012

A children's show about a huge vegetable, an acapella modern opera about a dying boy falling in love with the Moon, how on earth could I follow that? Well, how about an open-air virtually unspoken Polish dance show ending in a mini monsoon.

A few years ago we were impressed by a very physical Polish "Coriolanus" here and tonight we weren't disappointed. Although you can never take the Edinburgh weather for granted it is normally trying some site specific open-air performances.

Our first realisation that the show had started occurred when various performers rushed from the audience and began Central American style dancing. The tone of the piece soon changed following the intervention of military force and the use of tear gas. From here on the performers were generally restricted to moving either with white sticks or on hospital beds. This may sound odd, and indeed it was. What it never was, however, was dull!

The events may not have been easy to watch but it was always interesting and often beautiful. As it ended I stated I didn't really understand what was happening but I still loved it. A loud and ryhthmic soundtrack always gave something for your ears to feast upon while your eyes followed what was on show in front of them.

The performers were extraordinarily vibrant throughout the show and a cloudburst towards the end may have dampened the bodies of audience and artistes alike , but never their (or our) spirits. This is an outstanding antidote to being boiled alive in stuffy, sweaty, claustrophobic venues.

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