Traverse theatre, EdinburghMalaika Kegode delivers a supernatural story about the strange disappearance of a maudlin folk singerPlaywright and performer Malaika Kegode tops and tails this show for Theatre Royal Plymouth with a message about the allure of storytelling.
In a festival city bursting at the seams with stories, it is an unnecessary observation. A more important question is about which stories we choose to tell, which resonate and which pass us by. Why, for example, did Kegode want to write a story – and it is a story rather than a play – about the strange disappearance of a maudlin folk singer?She focuses on the subsequent investigation by Meles Costas, an under-qualified true-crime podcaster, living in the shadow of a high-achieving and terminally ill mother.
And she laces her story with gothic fairytale imagery: folk songs with dark-magic properties, human-to-animal transmutation and a hint of witchcraft.At Traverse theatre, Edinburgh, until 30 August; Theatre Royal Plymouth, 2–5 September; Bristol Old Vic, 8–12 SeptemberAll our Edinburgh festival reviews Continue reading…
