Between Empires continues at theSpace @ Symposium Hall, Edinburgh until 24 August.
I declare an interest – I met with one of the writer/producers of Between Empires at a recent surgery I ran and we explored the joys, challenges, and opportunities of bringing a new show to the Fringe which will, in time, be much longer, much more musically developed, and with more character exploration than is possible in an 80-minute slot performed on a sixpence.
Between Empires will be an epic sweeping tale of British soldiers, the East India Company and their influence on the peoples of India shortly before great change. It is drawn from real stories of soldiers who arrived and became transfixed and transformed by the country and the peoples they were living with – and in certain cases married and stayed. This work-in-progress gives us a glimpse of the book, and a chance to enjoy the conjunction of very western musical styles with some Hindustani vocals and instruments including the tabala, Hindustani violin, Bansuri, cello and piano.
A cast of ten, a live orchestra of six, and an inventive set design by takis (which deserves an award of its own), invest all their skill in this epic tale and give the writers and producers much to explore as the piece develops. My suggestion to all companies bringing a show in development is to let us into the process with a programme note – we come to Edinburgh to discover the new, especially when it is in development – be that a comedy or musical. At the moment the piece has too much anthemic material, too much West End musical influences, and not enough Indian traditional sounds. That orchestral re-balance is promised, and we will learn more about the real story and how a single love across cultural divides, together with the heat of opposing forces, causes drama and tragedy which should make great theatre. For now, go along, see a committed company of the highest musical quality, and feed back to the writers your thoughts for its future – they’re in the house every night.
Chris Grady
Writers: Morgan Mackintosh, Orlando Simon and Michail Palaiologou.
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