Maiden | Mother | Whore
★★★☆☆ Creation
Assembly @ Dance Base (Venue 22a): Tue 18 – Sun 30 Aug 2026
Review by Ed Boulter-Comer
Maiden | Mother | Whore is a happening at DB1 at Assembly @ Dance Base. Theiyā Arts Dance Collective provides completed pieces of dance but this hour is as much about thought and process as it is about witnessing finished work.
The troupe responsible for the concept, choreography and performance – Dr Nandini Manjunath, Gabriela Albornoz, Himadri Madan, Karen Watts and Tharanga Wickramasinghe – take on multiple responsibilities, moving through dance, curation of audience input and spoken word improvisation. The overall effect is not so much seeing a piece of Work in Progress as a look into the process of making.
Maiden | Mother | Whore in a previous performance at Assembly Roxy. Pic: Andy Catlin.
The roots of the piece are as academically deep as they are culturally. Creative Producer Melissa Rutnagur has instigated a production process that involves collaboration with the Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society at The University of Edinburgh. Supported by The National Lottery Fund, Creative Scotland and Dance Base, there is no doubting the ideas and sincerity behind the concept.
It begins with audience engagement where we are asked to give words in response to images found on the set.
Arroz Con Leche is a more classical performance and has some excellent synchronicity to its choreography.
Minor Acts is the name of the improvisations the company create, based on the previous audience interaction and is a look at the development process for the more polished segments.
The hour finishes with Intersections, a return to a finished piece of choreography.
breathtaking
The event is held together by the sounds of Scotland-based singer-songwriter Giulia Drummond. She is breathtaking. With a haunting, lyrical voice and a wealth of tuned and untuned percussion, she creates a soundscape that truly reflects the richness of thought behind the entire enterprise.
Whilst rightly proud of its intersectional feminist roots, Maiden | Mother | Whore is as much about the process of making as it is about the state of womanhood. It is an interesting addition to any Fringe-goer’s calendar.
Running time: One hour (no interval).
Assembly @ Dance Base (DB1), 14-16 Grassmarket EH1 2JU (Venue 22a).
Tuesday 18 – Sunday 30 August 2026.
Daily (not 24/25): 5.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Theiyā Arts Dance Collective website: www.theiya.org/theiyaartsdancecollective
Facebook: @theiyaarts
Instagram: @theiyaarts.
ENDS
