Élizavièta Bam
Gateway Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Tom Ogg

Elavizavieta Bam is a young French woman who is pursued by an unwelcome suitor. Her parents are a funny pair, with the mother an operatic dramatic and her father amusingly eccentric.

There are not really any themes explored, nor much of a meaningful plot that I could decipher; for this is an exercise in surrealism, and a very good one at that. The actors present on this stage are very good.

There is a thread of clarity providing a guide as to roughly why a particular scene is taking place, but predominantly one waits for the next amusing piece of theatre. Absurdity, irrationalism and madness are all given a work out for this production.

Movement and dance is used well in the production to give a sense of the unreal and dramatic, with variance and style. The set is a fun looking thing that resembles a wall with windows and so on to be adjusted for each scene (even the stage hands were wearing bowler hats).

This is an fantastic production, literally.

1 August to 25 August.

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