by Ed Fortune
One of the fun things about the Edinburgh Fringe is the chance to see shows that are works in progress or are intended as a showcase for young talent. Hurly Burly Play’s The Dead of Night is both these things, a demonstration of talent and skill that is quite impressive.
The show’s plot is rather fun; we have a young woman who lives to read classic novels; Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. They are still trying to figure out who they are, and their parents warn them that, at some point, they will need to stop living in fantasy worlds quite as much as they do. As they go to sleep, they step into the world between waking and sleeping, where fictional characters and monsters lie. Music, dancing and chance encounters happen.
If this all sounds a bit Mirrormask/Labyrinth/Wizard of Oz-like, well, that’s because it is. Mostly the set-up is an excuse to introduce various types of songs, dance routines and costumes. The story is deliberately vague because the main aim of this production is to showcase the talented folk both on stage and behind the production. The tone veers between dream and nightmare throughout, and it thankfully avoids using Alice In Wonderland-style cliches.
The dreaming girl, sinister showman and singing show-mistress are all especially well-cast and give very strong performances throughout. It’s very well done and a lot of fun, though like a dream, it will drift away from your mind a short time after it ends. At 35 minutes long and scheduled early in the day, The Dead of Night makes for a great start to a day’s worth of fringe shows. This modern adventure into the land of dreams is packed with talent. Catch it if you can.
You can find out more about Hurly Burly Plays here and The Space UK here.
