@ Summerhall, Edinburgh until Sunday 23 August @ 22:35 (not 17 and 18)
The Made in Scotland Showcase presents the best in performing arts from Scotland and is spread over several venues during the Fringe. Included in this showcase is Alien Lullabies – Songs From a Decaying Future. The show is a vocal performance from Fiona Soe Paing, who provides the music to the surreal and at times disturbing animation from Zennor Alexander. The vocalist stands to the side of the stage, swaying to upbeat electro pop rhythms whilst passionately singing into the microphone. Next to her is a screen onto which the animation is projected.
The animation utilises CG (Computer Graphics) and is experimental, non-linear and dark. The visuals paint bleak science fiction landscapes, where we are taken into unnerving distorted rooms, nightmare fairgrounds, deranged nightclubs and a surreal train with a pig as a passenger. The character of a decaying doll makes an appearance throughout the show and adds to the unnerving nature of the animation. The lighting and rendering of the CG brings out the dark and despondent elements and is a perfect match to the music of Alien Lullabies.
The performance is very much an enjoyable one, except at times it is difficult to tell if we are watching an animation with a live soundtrack or a music concert with interesting visuals. Alien Lullabies works best when this was not ambiguous and Fiona Soe Paing acknowledged and interacted with the video. This created a synergy between the projections and the music which made Alien Lullabies an interesting and visceral animation experience.
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