REVIEW: Ane City, Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh Fringe ✭✭✭✭

Mark Ludmon reviews Taylor Dyson’s show Ane City from theatre company Elfie Picket at Assembly Roxy at Edinburgh Fringe

Ane City Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh Fringe

Four stars

Book Tickets

The motto for the city of Dundee is, “One city, many discoveries”. In Taylor Dyson’s likeable new show, bearing the more Scottish title of Ane City, a young woman, Tay, goes on her own journey of discovery during a night-out with her friends.

The show captures the feelings of disconnection recognisable to anyone who has left home for a new life. Aged 20, Tay is returning to her family and friends in Dundee after relocating to Glasgow to attend university, and her home town looks small and depressing in comparison to the bright lights and bars of the big city. Her friends back home are moving on with their lives and Tay is distressed to find there are distances that are more than just geographical. As the booze flows, Tay’s troubles tumble out, revealing her to be at a crossroads in her life.

Performed by Dyson herself, the show takes us on a vivid rollercoaster ride of vodka-fuelled partying through the streets of Dundee, shifting from busy Nethergate pubs to the steps of the McManus Art Gallery. With guitar accompaniment, Dyson throws in snatches of song, from ABBA to her own music, accompanying her own lyrical storytelling. As the title suggests, she makes liberal use of Scottish words which, for an Englishman like me, brings added beauty and poetry. Ane City is a simple concept, engagingly told with freshness and clarity, marking out Dyson and theatre company Elfie Picket as ones to discover.

Running to 26 August 2019