EDINBURGH FRINGE 2017: War Pig ★★

War Pig

Zoo (Venue 124)

Saturday 26th August 2017

War Pig was a production that I didn’t buy a ticket for until the day of the performance, and though I did read some reviews beforehand which did not paint the performance in the best light, I took a punt and ventured to watch the show, though I wish I backed out after reading the reviews due to the nature of what happened during the production.

The story of War Pig is set during the war, where young private Juan and private captain Fidel Castra are alone far away from the front line. The synopsis states that the production is a mix of violent moments to much more light-hearted sequences, and though this is true, it's extremely messy with long blackouts and a very uneven mix of slick performances from the two performers throughout. Some sequences work well, with highlighted movements involving a waving matchstick being for instance a nice gesture, the terrible use of a fart gag, nudity for the sake of using nudity, and sexual movements involving humping a audience member, very distasteful and leaving you feel a bit sick. The performers themselves also do not help when trying to form a friendly alliance with the audience; Being stared at throughout the whole performance from a performer whilst they are making grunting noises or having fake blood dripping from his mouth whilst he is screaming is not how I pictured spending my Saturday evening at The Fringe.

Overall, War Pig is a production which'll stay in my head for a very long time but for all the wrong reasons; an incredibly distasteful production indeed!