Fringe Review: THE DISTANCE, Main Hall at Summerhall
Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic
At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, there are so many one-person shows. Therefore you have to do something unique to grab the attention of audiences and The Distance is most certainly doing that. Ben Norris tells a story inspired by his own experience as a GB athlete, exploring what happens when suddenly the one thing you were good at in life is stripped away. But this isn’t just a play - this is a play and an intense workout combined into one.
Ben Norris is a great actor, bringing to life a whole host of different characters with a variety of accurate and convincing accents. He has a great stage presence and performs the show well to the audience on all three sides of the stage. He is incredibly likeable, which makes the pain and struggle all the harder to watch. Not only is Norris a brilliant actor but in this show, he demonstrates his incredible stamina. For a significant amount of the show, he is running very fast on a treadmill. If he’s not on the treadmill, he’s climbing all over a metal frame around the treadmill (or hanging off it or balancing in what looks like uncomfortable positions!). Somehow, he never looks out of breath - the words remain crystal clear and he never stops to catch his breath.
Norris’ writing is descriptive - we know exactly where we are at all times - and brilliantly paced. It is less poetic in style, which may be disappointing to fans of his work on The Choir of Man, but this just makes this play grounded in reality.
The Distance is a remarkable feat of endurance for Ben Norris and it simply must be seen to be believed.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Jacob Bush