“This is what the Fringe is all about...”

 

Time for a “proud father” post!

 

Of course, I am deeply proud of all my children, but my pride is currently focussed on my youngest son.

 

At just 17, he and a few acting friends (from around the country), formed themselves into a group of players, called Kitsch Theatre.

 

The above play is a production of theirs, that has recently enjoyed a run at the Edinburgh Fringe.

 

My son wrote, directed, and acted in it. 

 

One of its other “stars” was a puppet of Ghandi, and according to a reviewer, “...this Ghandi isn’t content to be a bland holy man and adds in his own banter”. The puppet has also been described as, “sardonic”. 

 

I dread to think!

 

The show was a major success as evidenced (in part!) by the quotation from a review, at the outset of this post.

 

Other fantastic reviews have also been published, including the following words:

 

“Do you want to see one of the funniest theatre shows at the Edinburgh Fringe? You HAVE to see Attachment: The Leech Show. Our faces hurt from laughing. It was witty, jam-packed with gags, and one of our favourite shows so far.”

 

And from a professional reviewer...

 

“...the fast-paced action, the youthful charm and the willingness to satirise genres and the theatre industry, makes this a winning production, that augers well, for the future of the company.”

 

Unfortunately, for brain injury related reasons, I didn’t get to see it myself. Phil v2.0 isn’t very good with unfamiliar surroundings and crowds. It therefore made sense to stay away. The play had been previewed, a while ago in Manchester. I didn’t see that either, as I had Covid at the time! I am very sorry to have missed it, but my pride is a source of significant compensation.

 

As I’ve said before, I have lost very many memories of my children. It saddens me, to an enormous extent, but at least I can make new ones. Hearing and reading about my son’s recent triumph, is a good example.

 

One thing that I need to be careful about though, is doing what I can to hang onto these memories. It is not just my long-term memory that is deficient; the same is true of its short-term equivalent. I am therefore trying to take steps which facilitate retention. For example, I keep cuttings and take a lot of photographs...

 

Back to the production itself (well actually its reviews) ...

 

The professional review mentioned above, also contains these words about the Ghandi puppet:

 

“The puppet is certainly spiritual (and, in the best tradition of ancient puppetry, a dead object given life), but also has that irresponsibility that can only come from an entity that, ultimately, does not have consciousness. His appearance then, intrudes into the metadrama of Attachment and provides a perspective on the hero’s romanticism that is caustic and witty.”

 

The same review contains more general words, such as:

 

“Attachment is a play from a young company that articulates an impressive innocence: part meta-play that involves the audience in the company’s stratagem to impress a critic”

 

So, there you have it!!

 

 

To end with another quotation...

 

“...just witnessed the genius of Attachment: The Leech Show, by Kitsch Theatre. If you have come to the Edinburgh Fringe and don’t see this show, you’ve wasted your time here.”

 

 

 

 

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