Review: The Man and the Men

You do find yourself rooting for these guys to produce something astonishing - playing to far from full houses in the lovely Remarkable Arts Hill St Theatre, you hope for a ground-breaking discovery.

Perhaps, in time, this piece may find that plateau, but as it stands it has a long way to go. The challenge here is asking musicians to not only play instruments, but to convey character. This highly abstract piece places considerable demands on Ema Watson, playing The Man, and her wonderful soprano voice that is thrilling to hear. Her only ‘dialogue' in the current form is with other instruments, and this piece is screaming for more than that.

This production is a reminder that choices are made in every step of a production - and somehow the choices made here are only half-way right. There are many deliberate pauses in the piece, evoking a connection with John Cage who composed 4'33. The entire piece was silent. What ‘The Man and the Men' gives the audience is a moment to reflect against the hubbub that is Edinburgh in August; a ‘time out' that somehow connects all of the parts of being a spectator at this festival to a whole you rarely realise.

It is unlikely that this was the intention - but Cage always wanted people to really hear. This production needs stronger direction and a bit of a re-write, but it can make you really hear.

15/08/2010