| 19 August 2011
It promised to be the spectacle of this year’s Fringe, the dynamism of parkour brought to the Edinburgh stage. And while the stunts are no doubt impressive, and the bodies on show even more so, there is something that feels a little empty about Free Run.
Free running has crept inexorably into our consciousness over the last decade or so, becoming a staple of Hollywood movies and even cat food adverts. Edgy TV shows, such as Misfits, have used it in major plots, because there’s something undeniably cool about watching someone push their body to do interesting things within an urban environment.
This is where Free Run struggles. Constrained within Udderbelly, with scenery that in part resembles those tortuous horses they used to make you vault over in gym class, something of the magic is lost. While the tricks and flips excite the audience, few fail to evoke more than a couple of seconds’ gasps and applause. The performers often have to ask through gestures for the reaction they desire.
Where shows, such as Into the Hoods, succeeded was in creating a storyline that would get the audience invested in the plot, while Brazil! Brazil! was a vibrant spectacle that could stand on its own merits – and the merits of its pumping soundtrack. Free Run's dance-based soundtrack doesn’t have the warmth to pull you in, while an interesting segment based around the idea of a dystopian future where robots chase free-spirited free runners around is largely wasted through long periods where nothing happens other than projected video.
As the last segment proves, it doesn’t need every performer on stage jumping around at once to hold the audience’s attention. Perhaps a better use of resources would allow the stage to be held by a performer at all times, saving the confusion of an audience watching an empty stage.
Free Run, Udderbelly, 3- 29 August (not 16, 22), 6.20pm
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