| "Full of Beauty, Wonder and Deep Understanding" |
Wales at Edinburgh Fringe in the 2020s |
| Blood Harmony- ThickSkin, Wales Millennium Centre & Co-Producers , Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh , August 31, 2022 |
From George Square in Edinburgh, a place of university buildings, to Lothian Road, site of the Traverse Theatre is a twelve-minute walk. Matthew Bulgo's debut play was performed in a basement lecture theatre. “Last Christmas” did well, including a lengthy Christmas slot at the Soho Theatre.But the Traverse is the playwright's Grail. The publicity is inbuilt, crowds flock, reviewers are plentiful. For “Blood Harmony”- co-produced by ThickSkin, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Watford Palace Theatre, and Wales Millennium Centre- the critical response was as good as it gets: Musical Theatre Review gave it the full five stars: “Traverse One stage is dressed as an attic: cluttered with boxes, ephemera from childhood, a half covered piano and a folded up camp bed among the strewn stage. The frame of the house roof is above the attic...the reunion of three sisters: Anna (Philippa Hogg), Maia (Keshini Misha) and the youngest, Chloe (Eve de Leon Allen). Anna and Maia have travelled to the former family home for their mother’s funeral. “The opening sequence is sung through in a haunting, lyrical style as the three voices are blended to perfection and the physical movements suggest being pulled in together by a strong force, centring on the home...Using the haunting songs from The Staves the subtext of push and pull between the sisters in the story and trying to establish what ‘home’ means is exquisitely realised through voices and movement with the focus pulling out and closing in to each sister in turn. “Written by Matthew Bulgo and co-directed/choreographed by Jess Williams and Jonnie Riordan, this is as fascinating a show as you will find. Full of beauty, wonder and a deep understanding of how to convey familial relationships, this production cannot be recommended highly enough. A special mention for the lighting design by Charly Dunford – the light is used as a metaphor for ‘home’ and how it chases away dark and loneliness. The different kinds of light – bare lamps, strip lights and overall washes are all so precise – an essential, integral part of the whole performance. "We almost become part of this family and leave the attic behind as the house lights come up with a sense of hope and purpose. In the end ‘home’ is about people more than ‘place’. Utterly breathtaking. The Reviews Hub: “Blood Harmony’ tells the heartbreaking tale of sisters Anna, Maia and Chloe as they reunite in the wake of their mother’s death. We see them face loss, reminisce on their childhoods and take perspective over how far they’ve come since they were last together...Eve de Leon Allen is sublime as Chloe. As the youngest and yet most mature sister; there is such a complex balance shown here, we see the innocence of youth yet she almost has a maternal instinct while caring for her sisters. The portrayal of loss is very difficult to be shown so naturally and raw, yet Eve’s portrayal of Chloe truly shows us the struggle of loss so candidly. This is a beautiful and complex portrayal. “...Eve, Phillippa and Keshini perform the musical numbers of ‘Blood Harmony’ with such beauty, intimacy and emotion. The harmonies really are the best you’ll hear this fringe. The music by The Staves captures the characters journey which such emotion and plays into popular music genres or style, making it a contemporary feast for the ears. The music really pushes and enhances the story of these three sisters. “Matthew Bulgo’s script for this musical play is so powerful with his intricate approach to the sister’s own journeys...so many layers to this text.... a beautiful, moving, and heart-warming journey.” that features a talented cast, wonderful script, and gorgeous music. Theatre Scotland: “….Blood Harmony's success rests on two factors – a dramaturgical appreciation of what the music can do, and a cast of expertly sketched characters. The sisters – overachieving and distant Anna, free-spirited and freewheeling Maia, and responsible baby of the family Chloe – as well as their mother, the aching gap they all circle around, all make perfect sense. “...The role of music in the show, then, is what makes Blood Harmony particularly special. Each element of the direction and design work outwards from the songs, and from the emotional knots that the characters are able to express when singing. Rather than trying to make the music part of the real world of the funeral, the grief and the conversations around it, directing/choreography team Jonnie Riordan and Jessie Williams have the sisters break and burst through the attic into song and into a more abstract space, where they can climb up the roof, sit amongst the stars, and walk through walls. “...Hayley Grindle's careful and intelligent design becomes simultaneously a playground, a stairway to the stars, and an empty frame waiting for Maia, Anna and Leah to fill. Whats Onstage: “Keshini Misha, Eve de Leon Allen and Phillipa Hogg draw such breath and life out of their respective characters that it lifts these initial blank slates into fully dimensional women with lives, weaknesses, and an overwhelming adoration for their family. The one left behind, the youngest, largely left to look after their ailing mother, Eve de Leon Allen carries a tremendous weight in her movements, a bubbling cauldron of emotional turmoil ready to overflow, needing to communicate with her sisters the hurt she feels. “...the cast harmonise beautifully in ensemble numbers...”Blood Harmony” is a touching, beautiful musical on grief, but also its sister emotion of legacy. “ Reviews quoted, with thanks, from: https://musicaltheatrereview.com/blood-harmony-edinburgh-festival-fringe/ https://www.thereviewshub.com/ed-fringe-blood-harmony-traverse-theatre-edinburgh/ https://theatrescotland.co.uk/2022/08/14/blood-harmony-traverse-theatre-review-by-lewis-c-baird/?fbclid=IwAR0pokL1u_tbWqJDFP5NSRupAfh2NsxqgaQndT0WTbyU7tH9ZndEjj2nZnk https://www.whatsonstage.com/edinburgh-theatre/reviews/blood-harmony-traverse-fringe-staves_57107.html |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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