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Elf Lyons: Horses

 
Isabella Thompson Review by Isabella Thompson 5 Published: 9 Aug 2024 Pleasance Courtyard Show Dates: 31 Jul 2024-26 Aug 2024

In an astonishing and delightfully absurd theatrical experience, Elf Lyons: Horses takes horsing around to a whole new level. With impressive physical theatre and mime, this innovative show imaginatively explores the world through the eyes of a horse, inviting the us to step outside the ordinary and embrace the whimsical nature of life as seen from a four-legged perspective. More importantly however, Lyons reminds us to embrace the playfulness we once enjoyed as children, grounding the performance in a touching and universal message.

A delightful gallop through the unexpected

Lyons delights us with a carousel of horse characters presented in different scenes which are compered by ‘Treacle’: the first horse character we meet and narrator of the show. Frank, curt and forthright, ‘Treacle’ takes no prisoners, and it’s these kind of unconventional choices make Lyons such an exciting performer to watch. This is so much more than a show of horse impersonations, with buckets of dark humour, Lyons plays with the disgusting and the angelic.

A master of clown, Lyons extensive use of mime recalls black and white films as she energetically but cleanly performs multiple characters in a single scene with no set or props to fall back on. This requires an immense amount of skill and creativity which, combined with the wacky storylines, creates an enthralling performance. The stories in the latter portion of the show predominantly take place on ‘Philly Fat Farm’, an imaginary farm dreamed up by Lyons as a child in which she shared many playful memories with her siblings. Indisposed with real audio footage of interviews with her family as they reminisce about their time spent playing with horses, the show merges clowning with real sentiment without ever insisting upon itself.

Throughout the show, you find yourself becoming strangely fond of the various characters in the show, which we become familiar with through Lyons’ clever use of recall. With no costume changes to differentiate between them, it is a wonder how she manages to pull this off.

Horses is an adventurous reminder of the power of imagination and the joy of unconventional storytelling in theatre. For those seeking a theatrical experience that is both entertaining and thought-provoking, this performance is a delightful gallop through the unexpected, firmly becoming one of my top picks of the Fringe so far.

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The Blurb:

The first ever comedy show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe performed entirely by a horse. Made by award-winning Elf Lyons, performed by Treacle. 'Beautiful hind legs' (Horse & Hound). One of the 50 funniest comedians of the 21st century. 'Praise her genius and go' ***** (Telegraph). 'Lyons can't be accused of treading the conventional career path since none of her shows ever remotely resembles the next' **** (Guardian). 'Elf is funny and wise – and a hero of sanity' (Dylan Moran).