Until 25 August, 7.30pm/10.30pm, £13.50-16.50, The Queen’s Hall (V72), Edinburgh.
Tel: 0131 668 2019. www.thequeenshall.net
VIDEO: Whatever Gets You Through The Night: Edinburgh Fringe 2013 (Trailer 3)
Worrying about the future. Reading books abysmally slowly. Subconsciously browsing the social profiles of people I never liked or barely knew at school. Dreaming about being in soap operas. Googling abstract nouns. Going to the bathroom every once in a while. Trust me – these days, what I get up to past my bedtime is about as uninteresting to you as sex is to pandas.
But there are other people with lives more remarkable than mine whose activities in the wee hours are the very focus of Whatever Gets You Through the Night – a multi-disciplinary live event taking place at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall this week.
Part of the 2013 Made in Scotland showcase, this inspired production incorporates music, theatre, cabaret and circus as it shines a spotlight on the country during its most vulnerable and revealing time – between midnight and 4am.
“We are really excited to be bringing Whatever Gets You Through The Night to the Fringe,” said writer and director Cora Bissett, who by the way is no stranger to festival success, having scooped every major award in 2010 with her sex-trafficking drama Roadkill.
She added: “It showcases the diversity and breadth of writing and songwriting talent across Scotland, as well as incredible acting, dancing and circus skills – all woven together into one big, gorgeous, complex, funny, touching tapestry.”
90 minutes is all it takes to portray the fantastic contrasts of this fair land in bedazzling fashion.
A heartfelt goodbye on the shores of Loch Lomond, a love affair between two people who’ve only met on Skype, a stoner going through a fit of paranoia, a man searching for a lover in the ‘palace of light’ and revellers getting their hands on treasured trays of chips and cheese are among the late-night tales told by a selection of lost souls, party animals and dreamers in this devilishly funny yet intensely moving spectacle.
“It's a show which is a huge sum of many parts, and reveals Scotland in its many different lights and characters,” said Bissett.
Featuring specially commissioned works by 'post-electro' trio Errors, theatre maker Kieran Hurley, writer Alan Bissett and many others, there are also live performances by the likes of vocalist Wounded Knee, beat-boxer Bigg Taj and alternative rockers Swimmer One.
Whatever Gets You Through the Night was a sell-out sensation when it ran at The Arches in Glasgow back in June, and it’s bound to become a highlight of what’s remaining of the Fringe (how quickly has this month gone?) before it goes on a nationwide tour.
Therefore, it’s your duty to catch this masterpiece while it’s on your doorstep.
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