#edfringe2016: Ghost Quartet: Summer Hall ★★★★★

Dave Malloy - Photography by Ryan Jansen

A 9pm showing of Ghost Quartet, by Ghost Quartet, was how I spent my last night at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Set at the Roundabout, a large tent at the back of Summer Hall, encased musical curiosities and explorations of ghost stories read to fringe audiences in a spectacular blend of music styles. Jazz, slow rock, gospel, ballad or emo, call it what you want, but one thing's for sure and that's that the music is a collection of crafty creativity you've never heard of before. 

The music and lyrics were composed and written by New York-based Dave Malloy, and he has accolades to boast. Success from his off-Broadway hit Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 grabbed punters attention, and Ghost Quartet is a testament that his individual score writing prevails. 

There in a carpet floored, round swirl of eager music lovers, Molloy, Gelsey Bell, Brittain Ashford and Brent Arnold took to the small circle stage facing each other with a wide range of peculiar instruments at hand. This included an erhu, dulcimer, ukulele, Celtic harp, metallophone and their exhilarating, harmonising voices.

As the marketing suggests there are moments where audiences are left in the dark, encouraged to listen to the music for itself and pay attention to the pivotal details of the ghostly tales. However, the performance as a whole isn't linear or perhaps it is and I may have missed the punch; there are patchy mentions of a broken camera, a talking bear, a Thelonious monk, an astronomer, a man that dies in a subway and lost sisters reunited, but all seem unrelated, and somehow related. 

Arnold is an intelligent cellist. Malloy is the man with a capital M - a pioneering rhythm-maker, while Armold and Bell produce the most amazing vocal sounds that can bring you to tears in their solo ballads. 

Engaging talent, enthusiasm, and passion are harmoniously harnessed by Ghost Quartet. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who loves soul and the idea of clapping and stomping until their hands and feet hurt, to the sound of loud percussions instruments. 

Edinburgh Fringe 2016 has ended, but click here to find more information about Dave Malloy and hear samples of Ghost Quartet here.

***** Orpheus at the Battersea Arts Centre - A kaleidoscope of Django Reinhardt, Paris, Cabaret, Love and Greek mythology

The Orpheus Gang

 There is a lot to say about Little Bulb Theatre’s brilliant production of ‘Orpheus’at the Battersea Arts Centre but one thing is for certain and that is this kaleidoscope of mixed performances and musical scores inspired by Jazz musician, Django Reinhardt, will catapult an audience to magical Paris faster than the Eurostar. Although Reinhardt is the 1930’s maestro and protagonist who embodies Orpheus (Dominic Conway,) the show is electrifyingly sharp it manages to squeeze in its own creative assemble with added classical edge including Debussy, Brahms and Monteverdi. Parisian cabaret would not be complete without sound bites of Edith Paif that is emulated through Yvette Pepin (Eugenie Pastor,) our hostess who also portrays Eurydice to illustrate the Greek tale. It is a play inside a play.

Yvette Pepin (Eugenie Pastor)

The grand hall is home to Robert Hope James’ historical organ that dates back to 1901, which the Master of the Keys, Charles (Charlie Penn) plays ravishingly through Bach’s Toccatoa and Fugue in D minor. The stage turns into Bar De La Muse where front row cabaret tables, red wine, champagne and camembert are available for an authentic red velvet experience. Within the first few minutes the audience get a run down of the mythology played out fervently but with great amusement. Orpheus does not say a word but Conway’s talent on the guitar needs no explanation as his dexterous fingers speaks volumes much like Reinhardt own musical expertise.

Orpheus (Conway) and his lyre with Tom Penn & Shamira Turner, Clare Beresford and Miriam Gould

A skillful and versatile troupe come together including the strong arms of our actors stage hands, (Tom Penn and Alexander Scott) and the sweet vocals of the triplettes de’antiquite, (Shamira Turner, Clare Beresford and Miriam Gould.) Not only can these guys act, deliberately in an odd way, they can also sing operatically in additional to playing musical instruments. They partake in several plots as artists of the cabaret stage as well as the mythology in elaborate costumes dressed as Parisians, animals and creatures of the underworld. The triplettes de’antiquite jump around as fern, rabbits and Cerberus. Scott and Penn bounce around with attempted ballet jete - the lousy and comedic variation - with paper birds in their hands. 

The Lovers

In Act 2, Scott plays a conniving Hades in mask and cloak showing off his musical mastery with the clarinet, but Penn puts on an androgynous Persephone who beguiles the audience with an unexpected sorrowful falsetto voice. His soothing presence calms a hyped up room and renders everyone speechless.  Yet, as Conway strums his chords harder and everyone puts their fire and might into progressively bashing and blowing their instruments louder they build up a momentum that gets the audience’s adrenaline pumping which diminishes the moment Orpheus turns around. Eurydice grasps and poof - she is gone.

Poof! And she goes!

Orpheus comes as part of the Battersea’s Arts Centre season of Gods, Myths & Legend. Think of Bottom from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night Dream, think cabaret and tragic love story. ‘Orpheus’ is a jam-packed show which theatregoers won’t have a moment to reflect on as they will be too busy enjoying it.