This is the first year I have been to two weddings at the Edinburgh Fringe. The first one was real the second a comedy farce. Both equally brilliant though.

the marriage of alice b toklas by gertrude stein: a farce brings to life to real-life relationship between American novelist, playwright and art collector Gertrude Stein and Alice  B Toklas during the early 1920s. Stein is documented to have collected famous friends along the way.

Picasso and his wife along with his mistresses, Hemingway, Henri Matisse and Ezra Pound to name but a few all make an appearance during the farce as cameo parts in the storyline as they did during Stein’s lifetime.

The cast of four perform over 30 different characters during the 80-minute play. There’s never confusion about which character is talking as the dialogue is clear and introductions happen throughout the performance.

The staging is fascinating when you first walk in. The chairs all have picture frames attached to the back. As the performance develops it becomes clear that they represent the artwork Stein would have collected and displayed from her famous artist friends.

I knew absolutely nothing about Gertrude Stein before I saw this play and it’s a fascinating portrayal of someone who was clearly ahead of her time in her thinking and lifestyle.

Sadly although Stein and Toklas marry in the play it’s certainly not met with acceptance from everyone especially her brother Leo. These legal implications have a detrimental impact on toklas after steins death.

This particular play hadn’t been on my radar. A chance meeting with barsha in a restaurant intrigued me to review and I am so pleased to have done so. Edinburgh Fringe is all about the chance connections and meant-to-be moments.

For more information about the marriage of alice b toklas by gertrude stein: a farce please use the link below.

Five Stars.

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-marriage-of-alice-b-toklas-by-gertrude-stein

https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5378/

Cast

barsha – gertrude stein

jenny lee mitchell – pablo picasso

grant neale -earnest hemingway

alyssa simon- alice b toklas.

Notes

All lower-case names are purposely written this way to follow the flyer’s layout.