Edinburgh Fringe Reviews: Science Fiction

With a dash of The Imitation Game and a large dollop of Frankenstein, F.R.A.N.C [★★★] is a new comedic play from John McGlade and Keir McAllister, and the tale of the perfect comedian: an Artificial Intelligence designed to read the room and change its material and the way it looks to give us exactly what we want. Those of you who have met more than one other human can probably already see what an awful idea this is.

A small cast of local comics walk us through the initial assumptions (there is a formula to all comedy) the aims (this formula can be cracked and reproduced by advanced AI) and finally to an outcome that feels way too preachy, but is dark and realistic enough to tickle our collective fancy. In all however this is an immersive and convincing story that spins its characters out well. This is a comedy about comedy that sticks to form a lot of the time: dick jokes and stereotyped characters all there, alongside a good use of tech that enhances the show.

From high-tech to no-tech, a further-flung future can be seen in Sleeping Trees’ latest show, Sci-Fi? [★★★★]. Charlie Sprog is a small-town boy; an outsider who never dreams of going to space. Of course there’s an epic quest and a hidden destiny in there just waiting to be discovered, and these are just two tired old sci-fi and fantasy tropes blown apart by this breathless show.

Sleeping Trees’ offering this year is a theatrical story full of puns, heartbreak and visual humour the likes of which you’ll struggle to find elsewhere. Where most use props, and a few use mime, Sleeping Trees use their entire bodies in ever-more bizarre and balletic attempts to create bikes, intergalactic portals, physical abnormalities and swiftly-moving scenery. A live band on-stage fits seamlessly into the show, with atmospheric, cinematic music fitting tightly with the choreography of each scene.

In amongst the highly-polished gymnastics we can spot the three comedians trying to catch each other off-guard, and having an interstellar villain giggle on stage in front of a robot army doesn’t even look out of place in this brave new world of psychedelic comedic action.