Rewind

Theatre (physical theatre, devised)

  • Summerhall - Old Lab
  • 11:40
  • Aug 27
  • 1 hour
  • Suitability: 14+ (Guideline)
  • Country: United Kingdom - England
  • Group: Ephemeral Ensemble
  • Warnings and additional info: None
  • Accessibility: May not apply to all performances. You'll find more information about accessibile performances and how to book tickets in the accessibility tab below.
  • Babes in arms policy: Babies do not require a ticket
  • Policy applies to: Children under 2 years

Description

Inspired by testimonies of Latin American refugees and migrants, internationally acclaimed Rewind remembers those who endured, and those who continue to live under authoritarianism. Through energetic physical theatre, compelling live music and vibrant visuals, Ephemeral Ensemble uncovers the timeless and universal struggle for social justice. Drawing from the science of Forensic Anthropology, the first in history to investigate human rights violations, witness the investigation of a crime that slowly reveals Alicia's identity – a woman who dared to resist.

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General venue access

  • Accessible entry: Once in the courtyard, go through the double doors at ground level next to the shop shed, past the Anatomy Lecture Theatre and through the double doors, take a right; down to the end of the corridor.
  • Wheelchair access type: Level Access

  • Stairs: Information not supplied

Each venue can contain several space with different accessibly information. Visit the venue page for full venue accessibility info


How and when to make an access booking

Our access tickets service is available to anyone who:

  • Would like to book specific accessibility services, e.g. a hearing loop, audio description headsets, captioning units, seating in relation to the location of the BSL interpreter
  • Requires extra assistance when at a venue
  • Has specific seating requirements
  • Is a wheelchair user
  • Requires a complimentary personal assistant ticket to attend a performance

Yuchun Lan 96 days ago

Theatre and politics have one thing in common - you need to be physically involved. It leads to a beautiful and cruel rule: there’s also a physical limit to how much you can devote to your ideal. In the case discussed in "Rewind", the young protesters lost their lives, their bodies. But their presence is sustained onstage somehow by the actors, who dress up as archaeologists and forensic experts to discover their remains - the bones, the clothes, the material traces of loss. We are reminded of the presence of the dead by measuring their absence in a scientific manner, only to be drawn out of the vantage point of distant observation and into a close-up, the personal memory of a mother and a daughter, into the most trivial everyday life with quarrels and kisses, into an episode of protest at night, probably reckless yet energetic and youthful, comic, until it became tragic.
As the actors shift from researchers to those who can only be researched, the audience tries to handle the transition from scenes vividly remade, restored, to the fact that none of them can be recovered, rewound. Where lies the boundary between knowledge of the fact and empathy with lively experience? Which one is closer to what happened? The stage is filled with rhythmic music and dances that the youths might love to sing and dance, all the physical excitement, and suddenly - “murder”, abstract even with accurate measurements of the weapon and a detailed description of the crime. We are left with pieces put together by our imagination that look like a life they had enjoyed and could have enjoyed longer. Eventually, we can only approach something beyond our limits by applying our limited but universal experience: joy, tenderness, hope - we understand death by imagining losing them all at once. Thus the playing onstage. And it is the playing, not the cruelty, that drove me to tears - they have nothing, no body, left. No more playing.

Justine Bayod Espoz 96 days ago

As the daughter and niece of men who were imprisoned and tortured in Chile under the Pinochet regime, by about halfway through this play my blood was boiling. The suffering of individuals and whole countries was on full scale exploitation in this show. All so that an anglo audience could get a cheap rush of bleeding heart sentimentality without actually having to learn or understand anything about the people who fought, what they fought for, who they fought against or even what countries the were born in. Absolutely shameful display of everything that's wrong with how the "West" looks at the rest of the world.

Sean Davis 97 days ago

Rewind (****)
This show honors the Latin American human rights activists that have been murdered, and the forensic anthropologists who exhume their bodies from unmarked graves and work to identify them. With the initial looped soundtrack and blackouts, I thought it was going to be just another chaotic devised piece, but instead this is a well planned piece that alternates between the procedural path of bones found, and life of one victim. The guitar and trumpet serve the piece well both during a lively dance, and as a solemn requiem at a mausoleum for the victims.


This is the 30th most enjoyable of the 184 shows I have seen so far at the Fringe this year. I hope to see almost 200. You may see my other three-sentence reviews, in order from most enjoyable to worst, at my non-commercial website: https://fringefan.com/

Kate Szekely 102 days ago

Not only one of the best fringe shows I’ve ever seen…one of the best shows I’ve seen anywhere- PERIOD. Each theatrical device employed not only told the story in a compelling, engaging way, but also managed to encompass a culture, language and people. ¡Gracias por su trabajo, su corazón y para compartir esta historia!

Colin George 105 days ago

Thank you for this piece reminding us of the 'disappeared' and that the erosion of the rights to protest continues closer to home. The performance skillfully uses the limited space and makes a virtue of simple handheld lighting, an on stage musician and simple costume changes to get the message across. A well constructed piece of theatre with a strong message. Worth an hour of anyone's time.

Natalia Calderón Sergio 108 days ago

Mesmerizing… Such delicacy, such amazing team working together to give us the story with authenticity , emotion and real truth on every scene. A must see!

Jenny Spencer 110 days ago

This was absolutely one of the strongest political theatre pieces I have seen on the Fringe this year (and I have been coming for 16 years). Its worth it to see this show for the latin American music alone, which was fabulous! The subject matter is serious, of course, but since it involves recovering remains, it is not gruesome or violent--more about the activism involved and celebrated than its result in the countries depicted. The play is so well choreographed that the experience was simply riveting. The set was also very imaginatively used. I would highly recommend this 1 hour piece to anyone.


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Theatre Weekly (5/5 stars) 94 days ago

An almost indispensable work of essential humanity

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ThreeWeeks (5/5 stars) 102 days ago

Probably the best show I’ve seen so far on the Fringe this year.

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Lost In Theatreland (5/5 stars) 113 days ago

The whole crew at Ephemeral Ensemble deserves a standing ovation for Rewind – the show that is already being hailed as one not to be missed on this year’s Fringe. So don’t miss it. Go.

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Participants - for further details on our audience and published review policies, including how to add or opt out of reviews, please click here.

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Participants - for further details on our audience and published review policies, including how to add or opt out of reviews, please click here.