Philip Simpson: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
★★☆☆☆ Becalmed
Just the Tonic at The Mash House (Venue 288): Wed 13 – Sun 24 Aug 2025
Review by Rebecca Mahar
Fringe newcomer Philip Simpson brings a performance of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner to Just the Tonic at The Mash House for the final two weeks of the Fringe.
Written and first published at the tail end of the eighteenth century, the Rime is something of a play-within-a-play of a poem, a long ballad wherein the titular Mariner stops a guest at a wedding in order tell them of a voyage he sailed on long ago, full of misadventures and supernatural encounters before a final return home.
Promotional image for Philip Simpson: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
The Rime is a spectral and adventurous poem that lends itself well to performance, but Simpson’s rendition, directed by Matt Galloway, falls rather flat. The spirit is there, with Simpson appearing garbed in a facsimile of a sailor’s tattered garb, with haunting look and glittering eye; a clear passion for the words.
However, Simpson’s delivery seldom varies from the monotone and relies a bit too much on emphasising Coleridge’s end-rhymes. Where choices have been made about emotions that ought to be embodied, it’s sometimes possible to pick out what Simpson and Galloway were going for, but the performance of these choices is too tentative to come clear. Similarly, where physical action has been blocked, it stutters and feels prescriptive rather than motivated.
challenge
The animated recitation of such a lengthy poem is a challenge even for an experienced performer, and for a first foray onto the stage, it has proved a bit much in this instance. Simpson shows promise in this mode, however, and with a bit more rehearsal and confidence perhaps will return for another poetic outing.
Running time: 40 minutes (no interval).
Just the Tonic @ The Mash House (Attic), 37 Guthrie St. EH1 1JG (Venue 288).
Wednesday 13 – Sunday 24 August 2025.
Daily: 12 noon.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Book here on EdFest.com.*
All proceeds from this show will be donated to Pancreatic Cancer Action Scotland. To learn more and donate: https://pancreaticcanceraction.org.
*affiliate link.
ENDS
