The morning show at the Fringe is highly underrated. I have wished for years that there would be more as usually it’s children focussed with the odd Shakespeare show.
This year I got excited because it finally looks like people are starting to make my wish come true and there is actually lots of variety now with shows starting at 10am for all audiences. Noted is one of those shows that starts early and packed out. In the a lot of morning shows I have attended I have been the crowd of two or ten.
The venue is a good location for viewing as all the chairs are raised which if you are not a fan of heights can be a tad daunting when you walk in as it feels like a steep drop. The chairs are quite comfy which makes up for this as well as well air conditioned (on a cooler day it can be a bit chilly so be warned).
The stage as you walk in is empty apart from an astronaut hat on its own in the centre of the stage with a handful of paper props to the side. Nothing is given away and it creates intrigue.
The show is broken into three parts with the first being the weakest of them all. The beginning is highly stylised with a welcome video that brings hype to the show and is very creative. The only issue I have is the fact that the video uses the word motherf****** and whole this is advertised as a theatre show there are many children in the audience. A different song could of created the same vibes without the extreme lyrics.
The concept of the show is that they use hand drawn illustrations to bring short comedy skits to life.
The show is advertised in the welcome video as fast paced comedy. I will definitely give it that, the first section is so over the top with speed that I had no idea what was actually happening. There was no time to process the joke and also there was so much dancing if felt like a dance troupe not a comedy act as there is no real introduction or welcome.
Also, there was a lot of mention of death and in this first act in a sombre way and felt like a potential political message which I do not think was intended. I know we are in Scotland but a Highland cow kept appearing which felt really out of place and not relevant to the scenes and felt it was overused and deliberately added due to location to appeal to the crowds and to gain sadly a cheap cheer.
The first part was so mediocre I was very much expecting the rest of the show to be the same. Then act two happened and the whole show changed for the better and flipped my opinions on their head.
Without giving much away, act two welcomes a table to the stage and a top down camera which completely changes the dynamics of the show. This is when the creativity of the show really ignites and starts to make this show a must see. It brings so much clever ways of presenting an idea or a theme that it really brings this show into the field it deserves to be – high tier. The jokes land, the narratives are much stronger and the world evolves.
When act two sadly ends the third act takes it to another level and the whole act relies on these squares that roll across the floor and a delayed camera. You can see how much work has gone into this act, the performers use headphones so they can work ahead and what you see they moving about on stage comes alive in front of your eyes ten seconds later.
Production values are astonishing in this final act and the cardio involved is insane that it is definitely a work out for the players as well as a performance.
I desperately want to give this show five stars but the first act sadly tarnishes the magic of the second and third. Go and see this show but don’t expect to be wowed by it until about twenty minutes in.
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