Edinburgh Fringe dance and physical theatre reviews: through warm temperatures + more

through warm temperatures ★★★★

Dance Base (Venue 22) until 24 August

The slow place and low lighting of this newly extended work by choreographer Mele Broomes could so easily have given it a soporific quality. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. The soothing sense of calm it evokes has the complete opposite effect, drawing us ever closer with choreography and sound that demands our attention.

Broomes’ has a back catalogue of interesting works to her name, including the excellent VOID and Grin, and this builds on that legacy.

through warm temperatures | Brian Hartley

The subject matter may change, but her exploration of the African and Caribbean diasporic experience remains strong. For through warm temperatures, Broomes turns her attention to the healing qualities of castor oil. An unlikely topic for a work of contemporary dance maybe, but one which bears subtle fruit.

The piece opens with Broomes’ skin being lovingly coated in oil by fellow-performer Salma Francoise, until it takes on a shining, supple quality. While the oil itself lies at the centre (as the chanting of “Seed, bean, oil” testifies), there is something deeper at play here. Oil can only be administered by hands, our own or another’s, and the care that entails is the show’s beating heart.

With talented cellist Simone Seales’ providing live music and an atmospheric electronic soundscape, the dancers deliver a dynamic mix of sharp, angular moves and languid stretches.

Originally developed with three performers, the piece has evolved into something larger, yet still retains its intimacy. Kimberly Mandindo, KJ Clarke-Davis, Marios Ento-Engkolo and MC Laffitte (and, of course, Broomes herself) each have a compelling presence, whether they’re coming together as an ensemble, or performing short solos and duets.

It’s unclear what the motivation behind their pointing fingers towards the audience is: a call for our own self-care, or accusation for wrongs done? Perhaps it’s up to us to decide.

Kelly Apter

Kathryn Gordon: A Journey of Flight ★★★★

Dance Base (Venue 22) until 17 August

The migratory journey undertaken by birds each year is long and punishing. Yet there’s also something magical about the way, like people, they feel compelled to return to a place of familiarity.

In her equally magical new work, choreographer Kathryn Gordon takes bird migration as her starting point, but it’s clear the piece extends beyond our feathered friends.

Gordon hails from Shetland, moved away, then felt the draw to return. Watching many species of birds do likewise, then nest in the cliffs near her home, she created A Journey of Flight - a visually striking cross-artform piece that works on so many levels.

The stage set alone is worthy of gallery exhibition, with reams of delicate white fabric hanging above the dancers (apparently made from the underlay of Shetland’s windfarm development). Onto it, the beautiful designs of Glasgow-based artist Alison Piper are projected, filling the space with shimmering light. Scattered across the floor, a sea of paper aeroplanes lay tantalisingly, just waiting to be thrown.

Standing to one side, Jenny Sturgeon acts as both live musician and foley artist, building a gorgeous cloak of sound to wrap the performers in. Her soft, ethereal vocals, gentle string-plucking, and crunching sounds give life to the visuals and provide the perfect accompaniment to movement.

In amongst all this curated beauty, contemporary dancers Jorja Follina and Gordon herself bring a sense of spirited abandon.

Throwing the aforementioned aeroplanes playfully into the audience, they make an instant connection with each other and us. Pulled up and over, their white shirts take on a wing-like quality, echoing the birds projected around the room. Other bird movements follow, as hands interlock and bodies dip, but mimicry isn’t the goal here.

Closing the gap between people and nature, Gordon’s choreography captures a sense of shared endeavour and a desire to belong.

Kelly Apter

Delusional - I Killed A Man ★★★

Summerhall (Venue 26) until 24 August

Trans circus artist Diana Salles has not literally killed a man: the title of her solo show refers to the man she used to be before she transitioned.

Salles pours the emotional turmoil of that experience into her festival debut. It is an impressive showcase of Salles diverse array of physical talents, but it is also incoherent and unsatisfying.

Over 50 minutes, under Firenza Guidi’s direction, Salles performs a series of discrete acts. She strips out of a gothic funeral dress and glides gracefully on silks of deep red. She soars like a swan in a billowing white robe on the hoop. She strikes stark poses in a pink PVC dress under a shower of red petals. Add in a vibrant lighting and a thumping soundtrack, and this is a theatrically stunning show.

It suffers from a lack of flow and feeling, though. The individual sections are impressive, but they are inarticulate and detached. There is a lack of flow and feeling. The audience is kept at arm’s length and the show never adds up to more than the sum of its parts.

At the end, Salles speaks movingly about how transitioning from one identity to another is a universal experience, one that we all go through. It is a shame that stirring sentiment does not come through more in her show.

Fergus Morgan

Salem - The Witch Trials of Today ★★

Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) until 16 August

It’s something of a stretch to equate viral bullying in the 21st century with the mass execution of innocent victims in the Salem witch trials, but the term “witch hunt” can be applied in many situations.

In this case, it concerns the social media pile-on among a friendship group following a night out where drinks are spiked and infidelities are presumed.

An ensemble of twelve young women enact this scenario mainly through mediocre choreography, swirling in sparkly mini-dresses or stomping around in witchy hooded capes to represent the ferocious pack mentality which can amplify a lie and drive a wedge through relationships with frightening speed.

Fiona Shepherd

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