| “Surreal, Whimsical...Captivates with Sweetness, Fantasy, Humour” |
Wales at Edinburgh Fringe in the 2020s |
| Still Floating- SDJ Productions, with Pontio & Theatre Royal Plymouth , Summerhall Old Lab , September 6, 2022 |
Shôn Dale-Jones, a long-termer at the Fringe, wrote and performed “Floating” in 2005. Fringefan, by day a computer scientist in California, ranks the shows he sees. “Floating”, which earned five stars came at position 12 out of 162. His view in 2005:“The multimedia performance art tale of how the island Anglesea [sic] sails around the Atlantic was a perfect Fringe experience for me. Unlike anything else I have seen, the two performers operate a slide, overhead, and laptop projectors while acting out the story using chains, dunking their heads, outlining the whole story, skateboarding on the island map, passing around wrestling magazines, and so many other things. This is not some high concept incomprehensible show; this is a well designed performance piece that all around me loved and admired.” Fringefan saw 154 shows in 2022, ranked “Still Floating” at number 13 and gave it five stars. The credits for the follow-up are Dale-Jones writer-actor, Stefanie Mueller director, John Biddle composer and Danica Corns. The Guardian was there: “One strand of the show revisits Floating, in which Dale-Jones’s theatrical alter-ego Hugh Hughes tells a surreal narrative about the Isle of Anglesey drifting away from – and eventually back to – mainland Britain. This is spliced together with the present, in which Dale-Jones makes a visit to Anglesey – Ynys Môn – the birthplace that he left behind, and questions what it really means to make a home. “...the holiday property boom in Anglesey is leaving locals homeless while half the houses sit empty. For different reasons, those born and bred on the island are also struggling to retain their sense of home. “There’s a lot going on here. Especially in the 2022 narrative, it can be a struggle to keep track of all the different elements and map out their connections. Pertinent issues – like the impact of holiday home ownership on communities – are introduced without ever being fully explored. And because so many ideas are packed in, there’s not room to properly reflect on the relationship between then and now in the revisiting of Dale-Jones’s earlier show. Towards the end, especially, it all feels a little rushed. “Luckily, Dale-Jones is a winning performer who just about manages to hold on to the various strands, even if he can’t quite tie them together. Maybe the lesson of the show, like the lesson Dale-Jones learns when he returns to the island, is that it’s never straightforward to go back.” From North Westend: “A surreal, evasive and whimsical play that captivates with its sweetness, fantasy and gentle humour, with its characters at once sweet and grotesque and its fairy-tale dimension. In taking up the famous 2006 play, Floating, and the character of Hugh Hughes, Welsh artist Shôn Dale-Jones seems to want to build a bridge between past and present and investigate how the former can still speak to the latter. “...A meta-theatrical one-man-show that seems to want to open to a reflection rather than reach a conclusion and that conquers for the artist’s self-irony and versatility.” From the Edinburgh Guide: “His leaving Anglesey all those years ago is viewed by his somewhat outlandish former headmaster as leaving reality and causing the problem. The place is rich in myth and legend and the islanders are a breed apart with both Vikings and Romans contemplating conquest. “...The only settlers these days appear to be outsiders, with holiday residences resulting in half the houses being empty and a young couple and their baby forced to winter in a caravan. Returning to Dylan, his sculptor friend of 50 years, he finds him feeling disconnected as his native German wife has gone home, as for her Britain has disappeared, floated away. Shôn’s ailing mother is contemplating a Viking funeral, floating on the smoke to the afterlife. “...The result is a mischievous, somewhat surreal look at the basic need for a home, separate but connected things and a disorientating world where real life can feel like a fiction. Not all the threads come together, but it does evoke an otherworldly feeling.” Audience feedback: “Shon Dale-Jones combines a visit to his mother on the Isle of Anglesey with his tall tale of the island suddenly coming loose and literally sailing around the North Atlantic. From a swimming vest of oranges to a demonstration of disorientation using a cardboard box this is a wonderful, whimsical story told by a master. I gave the original “Floating” five stars in 2006, and this version didn’t let me down.” “Wonderful story telling! 2 engaging stories cleverly weaved together that succeeds in getting the audience to feel a range of emotions!” “Fantastic storytelling and exploration of some important themes. Shon moves between storylines as well as between fact(ish) and fiction, and plays with the fourth wall to great effect without ever confusing the audience about which story we're hearing.” “This is a lovely show about what it means to feel at home. Shon Dale-Jones does a wonderful job of weaving together two seemingly different stories into one tale about drifting apart and back together. Don't miss this funny and haunting performance.” Reviews cited, with thanks: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/aug/14/still-floating-review-poignant-and-troubling-return-to-an-island-adrift https://northwestend.com/still-floating-summerhall-old-lab/ https://edinburghguide.com/festival/2022/still-floating-summerhall-review-20883 Photograph: Peter Martin |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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