Dahlia Katz

It’s 2014 and Ukraine is in chaos after President Yanukovych is ousted by a populist uprising. The people are angered at his decision to suspend the preparations to join the European Union, and they are disgusted by the immense corruption within his government.

What better way to encourage audiences to engage with the realities of revolution than to recreate it! The Lemon Bucket Orkestra present an immersive show which takes us along the barricades at the front line to confrontations with riot police. They feed us the food of the protestors (borscht and pierogi) and take us through the steps of the dances that maintained their morale during months of unrest.

It’s bold theatre-making. It’s also a feat of crowd control, with so many people being herded from one area of King’s Hall to another (some audience members are quite unsuspecting of the content or format of this show!). The music is fantastic though, raucous and riotous during the moments of revolution, and poignantly mournful in the second half when the fallen are remembered.

The nature of the show means it feels a little messy at times, but it’s brave and heartfelt in its execution so you can’t help coming away feeling enlightened by the experience.

Counting Sheep plays at Summerhall (King’s Hall) until August 28th (not 15 and 22) and performances begin at 14:00 and 20:00 each day.