BACCHIC. To 27 August.

BACCHIC.
by Jonathan Young.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, 13 Bristo Square To 27 August 2007.
Wed - Mon. 1.30pm.
Runs 1hr. No interval.

TICKETS. 0131 668 1633 or Fringe BO 0131 226 0000.
www.actorsofdionysus.com
Review Thelma Good 11 August 2007.

Mesmerises the audience.
Human beings want idols, we have always wanted them. This updating of the Dionysus myth by Actors of Dionysus Theatre Company has a creature with healing hands who climbs a rope above the people who flock to him. He tours the world and now he’s here in his own home town of Thebes.

Tamsin Shasha mesmerises the audience with her embodiment of this charismatic creature who calls forth devotees and initiates intense rituals. We also see the story from a few of them, including the hormone-surging American and a needy frail girl.

Using one thick rope, skilled aerial work and fine physical and vocal acting Shasha conjurors up not just the man’s leading of his followers in stage-managed gatherings, but his visit to the home of his greatest critic, a fellow Theban, Professor Madeline. It’s a visit which results in the Professor taking up his suggestion that she should see with her own eyes what he does with his followers.

It’s a very powerful performance revealing in ourselves the desire for idols who seem touched with the divine. Director Jonathan Young’s script also carries us close to the dangerous world where a human shifts from having a gift to believing the hype and adulation others give so fervently.

Performer : Tamsin Shasha.

Director: Jonathan Young.
Lighting: Katherine Williams.
Composer: Simon McCorry.
Aerial Advisor: Matilda Leyser.

2007-08-14 01:09:10