James Rowland is one of the reasons that I find myself eagerly anticipating the next summer as each Fringe comes to an end.
Following Learning to Fly and Piece of Work, James Rowland Dies at the End of the Show is the final part of James’s post-pandemic trilogy. All three of them find their home at the Anatomy Lecture Theatre during the Fringe. Although it’s only James’ 99th show there, this might be the first time we see him in a hospital gown, just as depicted in the poster.
The show starts with James talking about the Voyager spacecraft, the famous golden records, and a love story behind those records. Such is James’ forte that he could uncover something deeply heartfelt, even within the most monumental projects in human history. From there, he walks us through moments in his life: his love for football, his holiday in France, his favourite art installation where papers are flying away and his first encounter with Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow. With the understanding that Robin Hood, as a story, is inevitably shaped by the storyteller, the audiences and the kind of nation we all live in, James brings us his retelling of the story.
During the retelling, there is a strong light placed on the floor just in front of James. As he moves and plays all the different characters from Robin Hood, he casts a huge shadow on the big white wall of the Anatomy. There’s a quiet heroism in that shadow, a beauty that captures the essence of storytelling, theatre, and the graceful embrace of our destined end.
Although it could also mean that James spends too much of his 70 minutes on Robin Hood and makes everything feel a bit too rushed, it is still a touchy 70 minutes to witness him confront mortality, something that he brought with him from Learning to Fly and Piece of Work.
At the start of the show, he holds a pile of papers with words and drawings on them, with every story told, he drops them on the floor. As we approach the end, there is just a man with his bare hands and papers all over the floor. Perhaps, that’s how James Rowland dies: with papers of stories and people who love those stories.
James Rowland Dies at the End of the Show is running until 26 August (except 12 and 19) at Summerhall, Anatomy Lecture Theatre.
Buy tickets here.
Photos provided by Summerhall to The Student for press use.
