Jake Orr
[author-post-rating] (4/5 Stars)
The manic noise of fairground tunes set the scene for Tin Shed Theatre’s Dr Frankenstein’s Traveling Freak Show playing at C Nova at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This emerging company, hailing from South Wales, certainly gives other companies a run for their money with energy and commitment in this tale of freakish delights twisted within the story of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Justin Cliffe, leading the company as artistic director and freak-show leader Julius M. Barker, introduces this tale of creatures crawling in the night. With Bethilda The Bearded Lady (Georgina Harris) and Sangleve The Lobster Mind Reader (Antonio Rimola) as the side-show companions, there really is no stopping this ensemble in their physical comedy and exhausting energy that they deliver in this tour-de-force of a show.
Telling the well-known story of Frankenstein, Tin Shed Theatre gives the story a fresh approach to Shelley’s novel encased within the freak show narrative, looking at where The Monster (Aled Wyn-Thomas) has ended up after the torment he has endured by being brought to life by Victor Frankenstein. With inventive staging, and some fantastically dynamic wooden boxes (designed by Harris), Tin Shed Theatre keeps its audience rapt throughout this frolic of a performance. The energy never dips, and where stillness of storytelling comes into play, the company delivers the narrative with precision and commitment.
What makes Dr Frankenstein’s Traveling Freak Show such a joy to watch are the dynamic approaches to storytelling that the company delivers. From excellent puppetry, to physical storytelling and animated films, it’s hard to second guess where the company may throw its audience next. There’s a particular attention to detail, even seen in the sound design that puts this company above other recent graduate companies.
If there is fault to be found, it’s that whilst thrusting this company onto the Edinburgh Fringe scene with much enthusiasm, it needs a closer eye cast over it to establish what narrative the company ultimately wants to tell. Essentially, some dramaturgical support is needed to ensure that where the freak show characters begin within the performance, they are not completely lost within the story of Frankenstein. There’s so much energy given to the physicality of the freak show characters, that The Monster is almost too human, and too emotionally tugging at the audience’s sleeves. If the playful physical comedy could have been applied to The Monster’s story too, then this would give the performance a far greater level of depth.
Nonetheless, Tin Shed Theatre delivers a performance piece with much comedy and physicality, and like the Edinburgh Fringe itself, gives them the perfect platform to show off their skills. These’s no denying that this is a company to keep an eye on, and with tightening of script and through-lines of characters, Dr Frankenstein’s Traveling Freak Show could really garner this company the attention it deserves. Go and see this emerging company and get caught in its storytelling; you won’t be disappointed.
Dr Frankenstein’s Traveling Freak Show is playing at C venues until 13 August. For more information and tickets, see the Edinburgh Fringe website.