I’ll be totally honest: I was really, really starting to feel super-down about this year’s Fringe. Sure, I was enjoying some shows, but nothing was really grabbing me by the scruff of the neck and giving me a good shake and saying “See? This is why you love this stuff. Remember?”
Today, though… phwoar.
- Beautiful Words
- Satori
- Red Ink
- Hotel Tokyo
Satori gave me those anything-is-possible goosebumps, the ones I get when I see someone completely committed to a craft that I love whilst being absolutely unable to imagine the effort required to perform it. That put me on a bit of a high, and I left that show thinking it was my pick of the Fringe thus far… but then came Red Ink.
Now, it probably benefitted from the fact that Shannon whispered “You’ve got the best seat in the house” in my ear just before the show started, leaving me on tenterhooks; but the taut, electric feel of Red Ink was absolutely superb. It crackles with expectant energy, with a perfect cast and a constant feeling of threat, of danger.