Brighton Fringe Review: YES ANDERSON: TALES FROM THE TENT, Bleach

“The magic of storytelling”

Yes Anderson: Tales From the Tent, performed by the improv group Tiny Dynamite, is a show in which audiences are invited into the world of the films of Wes Anderson, with the performers creating “an anthology of linked character portraits and story fragments” based on audience suggestions.

Walking into the space, you are greeted by a tent in the centre of the stage, classified as “Ivanhoe Tent 104.” There is a typewriter in the middle, close to the audience and a large spotlight in the back. Apparently, audience members in the front of the queue had been given pieces of paper to write story title suggestions on, which ended up being the extent of audience participation, something quite disappointing for those of us who had been queueing in the back. Tiny Dynamite introduces themselves, explaining that they will be telling stories through the lens of Wes Anderson’s universes. 

The setting of the show is within the tent on stage, where a troop is stuck and decides to pass the time by telling one another stories. The characters are shadow puppets in the tent and then, once the stories begin, the performers take their places on stage. The first story is “The Provenance of the Old Armchair That Had Sailed to Ocean” and, as expected for something inspired by Wes Anderson, is full of unique and interesting characters, ranging from a fisherman wanting to take risks to a group of beggars behind a 7/11 discussing the etiquette of “taking a dump.”

There are some great moments in which other performers will pause the scene and describe what camera effects would be going on if this was a Wes Anderson film, getting loud laughs from the audience. After the first story, we are introduced to a strange character known as the Dog in “A Portrait of the Dog,” with the fun twist that the Dog is actually a human with very long hair and a long tongue who is just trying to fit in with the world. The show ends with a final story, “The Incident of the Low-Budget Brighton Travelodge,” the silliest of the three shows that also does a great job making references to the previous two tales. It is fun to see the group try to be in sync, particularly the two performers playing the hotel owners, and then make fun of themselves when they are unsuccessful, tying their mistakes into the story.  

Ultimately, Yes Anderson: Tales From the Tent is a fun hour of improvisational comedy that really taps into the universes of Wes Anderson in its style and storytelling. While I was hoping for some more audience involvement, it’s still an amusing show that will appeal to Anderson fans.

Yes Anderson: Tales From the Tent ran on 11, 12, 25 and 26 May at Bleach at the Brighton Fringe.

“The magic of storytelling”

Yes Anderson: Tales From the Tent, performed by the improv group Tiny Dynamite, is a show in which audiences are invited into the world of the films of Wes Anderson, with the performers creating “an anthology of linked character portraits and story fragments” based on audience suggestions.

Walking into the space, you are greeted by a tent in the centre of the stage, classified as “Ivanhoe Tent 104.” There is a typewriter in the middle, close to the audience and a large spotlight in the back. Apparently, audience members in the front of the queue had been given pieces of paper to write story title suggestions on, which ended up being the extent of audience participation, something quite disappointing for those of us who had been queueing in the back. Tiny Dynamite introduces themselves, explaining that they will be telling stories through the lens of Wes Anderson’s universes. 

The setting of the show is within the tent on stage, where a troop is stuck and decides to pass the time by telling one another stories. The characters are shadow puppets in the tent and then, once the stories begin, the performers take their places on stage. The first story is “The Provenance of the Old Armchair That Had Sailed to Ocean” and, as expected for something inspired by Wes Anderson, is full of unique and interesting characters, ranging from a fisherman wanting to take risks to a group of beggars behind a 7/11 discussing the etiquette of “taking a dump.”

There are some great moments in which other performers will pause the scene and describe what camera effects would be going on if this was a Wes Anderson film, getting loud laughs from the audience. After the first story, we are introduced to a strange character known as the Dog in “A Portrait of the Dog,” with the fun twist that the Dog is actually a human with very long hair and a long tongue who is just trying to fit in with the world. The show ends with a final story, “The Incident of the Low-Budget Brighton Travelodge,” the silliest of the three shows that also does a great job making references to the previous two tales. It is fun to see the group try to be in sync, particularly the two performers playing the hotel owners, and then make fun of themselves when they are unsuccessful, tying their mistakes into the story.  

Ultimately, Yes Anderson: Tales From the Tent is a fun hour of improvisational comedy that really taps into the universes of Wes Anderson in its style and storytelling. While I was hoping for some more audience involvement, it’s still an amusing show that will appeal to Anderson fans.

Yes Anderson: Tales From the Tent ran on 11, 12, 25 and 26 May at Bleach at the Brighton Fringe.

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