Showing @ Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh until Sun 24 Aug (not 11, 18) @ 20:50
Physical theatre, spoken word and projected illustrations combine to give an innovative and personal story that make up the confessional Shame. John Berkavitch narrates a personal story about love, friendship and loss and is joined onstage by three performers who dance, antagonise and act as secondary characters in the tale.
Berkavitch is a comfortable storyteller. He draws the audience in through his disclosing and confident narration. The performer goes back to his childhood and delivers spoken word pieces with vigour, integrity and panache. The projections in the background set the scene and almost work as comic book panels, giving us a visual insight into the locations and everyday world the story inhabits.
What makes Shame such an interesting and memorable show is the physical and edgy performance from the three dancers. They work as figments of Berkavitch’s imagination and cause him torment throughout. They combine break-dancing with physical theatre to heighten the passion in the narrative and create visual images that will linger in your mind after you have left the theatre. It’s a very courageous piece of writing, through exposing the truthful moments of his life he is ashamed of, he almost challenges the audience to re-examine their own reprehensible pasts.