These Mechanisms

Aug 21 2025 | By Marion Geoffray More

★★★★☆ Joyous and inspiring

Assembly @ Dance Base (Venue 22), Fri 1 – Wed 20 Aug 2025
Review by Marion Geoffray

Choreographer Robbie Synge directs Edinburgh-based performer Christine Thynne in These Mechanisms at Dance Base, her first solo dance show at the age of 80. The pair, who have collaborated previously, present a poetic and energetic movement piece that defies gravity and preconceptions.

There is no fixed narrative; instead, Synge, who co-created the piece with Thynne, favours sensory and emotional exploration over dramaturgy. The result is an organic performance that unfolds through free-form experimentations between Christine, the set, and her “lovely little helper” (as she calls him), Calum Paterson—the composer who accompanies her with live music from the side of the stage.

Christine Thynne in These Mechanisms. Pic: Amy Sinead Photography.

In a large white space, simply yet beautifully lit by Emma Jones, Christine effortlessly dances with and around cumbersome scaffold boards, bulky stepladders, and heavy containers filled with water. There is a playfulness—almost childlike—in Thynne’s exploration of her own lively body as well as the other inanimate bodies on stage.

Thynne radiates energy and curiosity, fooling around and contorting herself into positions you would not expect from an octogenarian. She gyrates, climbs up and down, taking risks both artistically and physically, while also embracing her own physical limitations and abilities.

chemistry

The undeniable chemistry between the two performers creates moments that are equally funny and touching. They are both highly expressive: Christine with her body and funny direct address, Paterson with looks, smiles, and live music.

Paterson skilfully echoes her movement through tunes—on guitar, for instance—providing the rhythm and momentum that drive the piece forward. His soundtrack, composed of electronic beats, and visceral sounds (her breath, her voice, a thump), is recorded, looped, and remixed into an infectious, energetic score.

Calum Paterson and Christine Thynne in These Mechanisms. Pic: Amy Sinead Photography.

The final balancing act has the entire audience holding its breath—a moment suspended in time, where age and gravity no longer matter—before erupting into applause at the climax.

This is an earnest and joyous performance, exhibiting the mechanisms of both body and mind. An unexpected ballet between human and instrumental forces. A reminder to breathe—and to live life to the fullest.

Running time: One hour (no interval).
Assembly @ Dance Base (DB3), 14-16 Grassmarket EH1 2JU (Venue 22).
Friday 1 – Wednesday 20 August 2025.
Daily (not 4-6, 11-13,18): 5.15pm.
Tickets and details: Book here on EdFringe.com.
Book here on EdFest.com.*