Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog

Gig theatre was one of the features of the Edinburgh fringe this year. I went to two, but missed this much lauded show now at the Bush Theatre.

Hull based Middle Child’s story spans thirty years from the birth of Leah and Chris on the same day in 1987, Thatchers Britain, shooting forward ten years to Cool Britannia, when they have both lost one parent, for very different reasons, and it looks possible the remaining parents might get together. Ten years later in Broken Britain they are at work or university, with the parents still alone. We meet them finally in 2017, Brexit Britain, one married with a child and the other turning into a bit of a bitch, under the influence of her former school bully, both struggling in their relationship with their respective parent. Oh, and there’s an asteroid.

The gig bit consists of songs as commentary, their style reflecting the periods, played by composer James Frewer and the cast members at each corner of the playing area, with the audience on four sides. It was well performed, with a particularly charismatic performance from Matt Graham as the MC, but it was let down by poor, muddy sound and a weak, rather pompous ending. Before that it had been an enjoyable 75 minutes, but didn’t quite live up to expectations.