A ‘special relationship’

Transatlantic collaborations bring murder ballads, classical music and clowns

THERE’S A remarkable cultural interplay between the US performing arts and the Edinburgh Fringe – it could even be called a special relationship.

Pepperdine Scotland is a prime example – an initiative which gives the best drama students from Pepperdine University in California the chance to work with leading Scottish creatives to develop a production which is then staged at the Fringe.

It’s a huge success, having won Fringe Firsts and other awards plus a multitude of excellent reviews for works of theatre that address major contemporary issues.

This time round it’s the resounding and powerful Americana: A Murder Ballad by Morna Young, an increasingly important voice in Scottish drama, with music by

Davey Anderson.

It plunges us into a country trapped in an endless cycle of horror, where the law puts gun ownership ahead of life, where media and music glamorise killers, where mass murder has become performance – seeking to bump up the body count for maximum notoriety.

The issue is explored through the medium of the murder ballad – a musical form exported from Scotland and Ireland to America and now deeply embedded in its musical culture.

Morna said: “I first approached Americana with the question: how do we break the cycle? Time and time again, we see shootings in America and the subsequent thoughts and prayers without meaningful change.

“Spending time with young Americans, I was devastated to learn of the Active Shooter drills that students practice: run, hide, fight. Far from being a rare occurrence, active shooters are now part of the country’s DNA.”

Another Transatlantic collaboration is the Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience which includes a rapper, a turf dancer and a drummer take the stage with around 15 classical musicians from the Royal Conservatoire.

The resulting fusion of hip-hop and classical is stunning in its beauty and its energy. Works by Mozart, Bach and Beethoven are deconstructed and reimagined with funky rhythms and rapid fire rhymes.

The show has been created by the infinitely dynamic JooWan Kim (and the Ensemble Mik Nawooj) who became frustrated by the constraints of the classical tradition and says he found himself “reborn in the river of hip-hop”.

Speaking about the Conservatoire collaboration he added: “It’s an incredibly exciting partnership and one that we hope Fringe audiences will really enjoy.”

As the Fringe seeks to become more family friendly and inclusive there are shows like Yellow Bird Chase, from Boston, to revel in.

It’s a joyous rollercoaster clown adventure in which a trio of maintenance workers discover a magical yellow bird – and a madcap chase begins.

This is the first time the show (which is fully accessible for deaf and hard of hearing audiences) has ventured beyond the USA, where it has been delighting audiences since 2015.

Like many of the US and other shows, it was scheduled to come to the Fringe some years ago but was stymied by Covid-19.

Indeed, it’s a mark of the immense value people put on the Fringe that so many have striven so hard for so long to get here.

· Americana: A Murder Ballad, Assembly

Checkpoint, 3-17 August

· The Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience,

TheSpace Triplex, 5-14 August

· Yellow Bird Chase, Assembly George

Square Studios, August 5-29

Buy tickets at: www.edfringe.com