Showing @ Summerhall, Edinburgh until Sun 24 Aug (not 11) @ 20:30
Ross Sutherland is a poet and performer who is as comfortable in experimenting with words as he is with found video footage, and this original combination of both is imaginative and evocative. Standby for Tape Backup is a spoken word performance that is emotional, personal and takes a unique approach at looking at how we grieve and process information.
Sutherland performs in front of a large projection screen and beside a small television with an old video player underneath. He tells us about how after his grandfather died, he found his old tapes of Ghostbusters, The Crystal Maze, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and other TV shows and films from the past. Sutherland then delivers heartfelt and emotional spoken word pieces over these tapes as they are projected onto the back of the stage.
This may seem like a novelty, but the passion and integrity in the performer’s approach expresses a sincere and emotional response to his grandfather and his own troubles with depression. Sutherland takes poetry and spoken word and presents it in a unique and interesting setting. Standby for Tape Backup could well be the stand out spoken word performance at this years Fringe.