Fringe review: THE MAIDS, MOO SOO Theatre - Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Moo Soo Theatre Group brings a physical theatre piece that explores domestic service called The Maids to Assembly George Square. The concept is very original as it explores the power dynamics between two sisters who are maids through dance.

The two performers, Eun ji Lim and Eseul Kim, are highly expressive - each movement is approached with detail and care and is not only dynamically performed with their bodies but also with their facial expressions. The two have great chemistry as they explore the shifting power dynamics between the two sisters.

The pacing of the show, however, is slow from the get-go and for the first thirty minutes, it is difficult to stay focused as the choreography isn’t particularly dynamic and doesn’t really develop until the latter half. The show does strengthen in the second section as the tempo increases and dynamics shift between the sisters. A particularly engaging scene takes place as the two sisters run to grab washing basins off the stage, plunging them into the centre as they quite literally dive into them with their dresses and bodies, mopping the stage chaotically and creatively as they play with one another taking joy in the eruption of the water and soap on stage. This is the strongest section in the show as the choreography is imaginative, playful and dynamic, taking us from the slow and rather muted atmosphere of the first thirty minutes into a more upbeat, playful and dynamic atmosphere. The section quickly and sharply transforms into rather shocking violence between the pair as one sister takes a section of fabric forming it into a rope as she attempts to strangle her sister. The show would benefit as a whole from more scenes which are equally dynamic in their choreography and more clear in the emotional core of what is happening between the two sisters on stage.

*** Three stars

Reviewed by: Viv Williams

The Maids plays at Assembly George Square at 1.05pm until 27 August.