Mistero Buffo is a play by Dario Fo and Franca Rame which has been translated from Italian to Scots by Joseph Farrell. It is directed by Ben Standish and co-presented with Ayr Gaiety, in association with the Italian Institute of Culture in Edinburgh.
An audience are seated with the expectation that they are there to see a production of Hamlet. The stage is set, the skull is in place. The actor (Lawrence Boothman) bursts into the room with ideas of telling a different story. If the audience don't like it, he'll continue with Hamlet.
It's a whirlwind performance from Boothman who shifts between different characters and storytelling methods. From lyrical prose to physical comedy, he switches technique at rapid speed. The stories are biblical and medieval but it can be difficult at times to follow the repetitive Scots tongue.
It's a bold and provocative piece that was described as "blasphemous" by the Vatican. Running just slightly over the one-hour mark, this brilliant but frantic performance becomes a little grating.
Photo credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
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