Sawdust Symphony ★★★★★ Zoo Southside (Venue 82) until 25 August IIIII - about the art of letting go ★★★★ Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows (Venue 360) until 24 August PACK ★★★ Assembly @ Dance Base (Venue 22) until 25 August Sawdust Symphony is that rarest of things at the Fringe - a show like no other. It’s hard to imagine anyone else dreaming up the concept, let alone having the skill and talent to execute it. So plaudits galore must be laid at the dusty feet of Michael Zandl, David Eisele and Kolja Huneck, each of them graduates of circus school but who any local joiner would be lucky to have.
This love affair between carpentry and clowning has given birth to the most witty, fascinating, bizarre and, at times, enchanting production. The action plays out on a large set made up of wooden planks, but all manner of things are going on below, hidden from view. Long nails pop up out of nowhere (leading to a hilarious ‘whack-a-mole’ routine), trap doors are opened and closed to reveal heads and hands, and hammers are expertly thrown and caught.
There’s also sawdust, lots of it - which is sprinkled like fairy dust or stuffed inside clothing, depending on how surreal the section is. Whether they’re competing with each other to build a chair, fashioning a circus tool on a lathe, or covering themselves in glue, Zandl, Eisele and Huneck exhibit precision timing without a hint of bombast. A unique show that’s an absolute joy from start to fini.