This new dance-theatre production from the independent choreographer Sally Marie is something special. A key part of the Edinburgh Fringe’s Welsh dance strand, it was inspired by the life of Morfydd Owen.
Born in the Welsh Valleys in 1891, Owen was a gifted and prolific composer who died (under somewhat suspicious circumstances) at the age of 26. Marie has honoured her memory by creating an intimate, impressionistic and involving portrayal of the romantic entanglements of three highly accomplished, real-life individuals from an earlier era.
The piece is exceptionally well cast. Uncommonly thoughtful yet utterly dynamic, Faith Prendergast is the embodiment of music as Owen. Tiny but titanic, this dancer has greatness in her. As does Daniel Whiley as Owen’s troubled husband, Ernest Jones, a friend and biographer of Freud. His quirkily detailed dance, executed as Jones delivers a paper on the erotic possibilities of the anus (!), could be the most unselfconscious nude solo I’ve seen.
Karl Fargerlund-Brekke is Eliot Crawshay-Williams: military man turned politician, private secretary to Lloyd George and Churchill and the other love of Owen’s life. He may not possess his fellow dancers’ technical facility, but he shows a touching grasp of his role.
Made for her company, Sweetshop Revolution, Marie’s subtle show follows an episodic and even musical structure. Almost all of what we hear is Owen’s own work, either played live by the pianist Brian Ellsbury or sung with heart-piercing sweetness by Ellen Williams.
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The dancers give strong, beautifully nuanced performances as complicated real-life characters. Although it’s unlikely the audience will know much about these characters, Marie is banking on our willingness to invest time and interest in them.
Her faith is justified. As a director she has a gentle, instinctual touch and whether playful or passionate, tender or dramatic, the dancing — devised by her and the cast — reveals something about who these people are.
Box office: 0131 662 6892, to Aug 31. Then touring Sept 8-Nov 22. sweetshoprevolution.com