Showing @ Summerhall, Edinburgh until Sun 24 Aug @ 20:20

In his wondrous creation, Anatomy of the Piano, Will Pickvance explores the power of such an enigmatic instrument, transporting his audience across time and space. ‘Part recital, part dissection’, the show balances expressive performance with playful anecdotes. A show about music, obsession, dreams, and loneliness, in a word ‘pianosity’, Pickvance meanders through the various components (tangible and intangible) which make up a piano, a pianist and their relationship. The piano comes to life.

He opens up a magical world in which the piano descends from ‘a water-borne precursor’, and the grand and upright mark two distinct but equally enchanting species. The relationship between performer and piano is reframed as an intimate affair, with each performance something like a ‘blind-date’ for the travelling musician. Responsibility for success of such encounters is placed back on the audience. The ‘seasoned’ player, Pickvance tells us, can find beauty in any piano. It is only a crap audience that hears a crap piano.

When he was ten he wanted a space ship for Christmas. What he got was a piano. As he says, however, ‘you can go to space anytime you want on a piano.’ So we are given the pleasure of travelling with him, and his piano, across the universe. Reframing the way we think about music and performance, Pickvance reinvigorates the relationship between piano, pianist and audience.

Showing as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014