Kissing a Fool at Edinburgh Fringe ★★
★★ Kissing a Fool | Frankenstein Pub | Aug 9-13 | 6pm
A messy, discordant hour telling the painful side of the George Michael saga with occasional moments of weird wonder.
This abstract show belongs to the late night and feels a little strange in the primetime of a 6pm slot. It is a dark dance theatre saga, the tragic story of pop star George Michael’s battles with real life despair and the music industry.
The show is very serious in tone and needs to lighten up a bit to really understand why people love George Michael. It does the complexity and down-sides of his career well, but there are few highs in this pierrot-style, sad clown nightmare.
Performers Dylan Aiello and Scarlett Stitt are clearly talented dancers and thinkers – and everyone looks amazing – but perhaps there needs to be far more focus on what draws the audience into the show i.e. the joys of George Michael’s music. Music aside, the soundscape is unnerving and jarring to the ear, with unnecessary table slamming throughout.
A cabaret hour ideally needs a little more variety of tone. The show does feel very insular, with an art school hipster vibe, rather than a fabulous tribute to a legend in the vein of Ashes to Ashes (the Bowie cabaret tribute) at Wilton’s Music Hall.
I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like free, cheap & offbeat London, especially: cabaret, art, theatre, pop-ups, eating out, quirky films, museums, day trips, social enterprise & much more.
