EDINBURGH 2015 - BWW Reviews: STORYTELLER STORYTELLER, New Waverley Arches, August 22 2015

Story Pocket Theatre are producing three different shows this festival. Naturally, being a massive child, I have already seen the other two- Arabian Nights and A Pocketful of Grimms. Both of these shows centre around a storyteller who introduces the stories within the performance. Storyteller Storyteller is running as part of the Freestival and explores what happens when the two storytellers meet. Both are convinced that they are the real storyteller and won't back down.

Although advertised as 45 minutes this performance ran a little shorter at around 35 mins but I think any longer and it would have overstayed its welcome. Unlike the other productions by this company this one centres on slapstick, mime and general clowning. I have huge patience for children's shows but Storyteller Storyteller didn't quite hook me the way the others did. The storyteller is crucial to the other performances but I found the characters didn't stand too well on their own. However, most of the kids were shrieking with laughter throughout and only a couple seemed to get restless.

While this is a reasonable introduction to Story Pocket's work, I would strongly recommend checking out one of their ticketed shows at the Gilded Balloon either as well or instead of.

Timings for Storyteller Storyteller are on the edfringe website.