ED2022 5/5 Reviews ED2022 Theatre Reviews

Ode To Joy (How Gordon Got To Go To The Nasty Pig Party) (Stories Untold Productions, Written By James Ley) 

By | Published on Monday 15 August 2022

Though Beethoven’s EU anthem gets a look-in part way through, the title of James Ley’s raucous three-hander sums the show up perfectly. This is an unbridled paean to euphoria, whether in the form of the body-pounding beats at notorious Berlin nightclub Berghain that innocent Edinburgher Gordon experiences, or the deep sexual pleasures he achieves with local hookup Cumpig, or – crucially – the ultimate joy of his own self-acceptance, in all his contradictions.  ‘Ode To Joy’ explodes onto the stage with an all-consuming energy that Summerhall’s Demonstration Room can barely contain, and with brilliantly vivid, larger-than-life performances. It’s funny, shocking, dirty and deeply moving, a celebration of hedonism, of friendship and love – at a time when we need them more than ever. 

Summerhall, until 28 Aug 
tw rating 5/5 | [David Kettle] 

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