EDINBURGH 2018: Review: REVELATIONS, Summerhall

James Rowland is here to tell us a story. It's the story of how when his two best friends asked him to donate his sperm so that they could have a baby- he said yes.

Revelations is set in the same universe as Team Viking and while you don't have to have seen the previous show to enjoy this one it definitely enhances the experience. His best friend Sarah who he has known since childhood plays a huge part in Team Viking is the one who asks him to do this favour for her and her wife Emma.

To begin with, Rowland gets the audience involved in a little project that is nothing to do with the rest of the show. Having seen him perform before, I'm a little suspicious about this because I know he doesn't tend to do anything just for the sake of it... It helps him build rapport with the audience which he does very quickly. The setting of the lecture theatre in Summerhall was ideal for this piece because the curved layout of the seating made for a more intimate performance.

Rowland has a knack for building unbearable tension and he plays with this throughout the show. As the audience audibly exhales with relief at one point he displays a cheeky grin and apologises for what he has put everyone through, before warning us that it is about to get worse.

The last section of the play is performed by Rowland naked apart from two mismatched socks. He is exposed in every sense of the word as he details the trauma that he experienced. He is a gifted storyteller and a very engaging performer. Revelations is a rollercoaster of emotions and it is impossible not to become invested in it.

https://festival18.summerhall.co.uk/event/revelations/

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