“Joyously scrappy and unapologetically playful, ELBA is a charming celebration of the underdog.”
One of the most unique original productions you will encounter at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe is ELBA, currently playing at Just the Tonic’s Nucleus. This original work from writer, director and performer Ishan Mahabir-Stokes combines dance, comedy and music to detail Napoleon’s exile on the small island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea.
The inhabitants of the peaceful and incredibly quiet island of Elba find such conditions disrupted when a British warship drops the defeated former Emperor Napoleon on their sandy shores. Elba is to be Napoleon’s exiled home, and it is now up to the residents of the small, repeatedly conquered island to tend to the miniature dictator’s every whim.
Ishan Mahabir-Stokes’s enthusiastic protagonist open with a high-energy dance number capturing the tranquil island life. The people of Elba may not have much, but there is a joy and consistency about life on the island, which has been attempted to be conquered by legions of nations. A classically trained ballet dancer and choreographer, Ishan is a charismatic lead who brings an immediate sense of fun and levity to the proceedings, anchored by this barnstorming opening number.
The arrival of Napoleon only serves to increase the camp and humour of ELBA, with Constant Vigier packing the role with a subversive silliness and joie de vivre despite Napoleon’s precarious situation. The establishment of a bond between the two protagonists, as Napoleon reassures the islanders that he will ‘Make Elba Great Again’ with gentrification and the honey industry. Like many a political promise, the islanders do not see an improvement to their lives, instead their taxes are siphoned off to fund Napoleon’s island condos, with the dictator well and truly taking the islanders and their goodwill for granted.
Ishan Mahabir-Stokes has crafted a narrative that places the underdog at the heart of the story, and this well-written tale strikes a balance between serving as a parallel to some interesting current political and social issues and allowing the story to shine with humour that blends the absurdist and the camp. Iconoclastic gags that parody our consumerist culture and throw the period setting of Elba into comic chaos make the production feel like a light, breezy and often gleefully silly watch. References to the likes of Homes Under the Hammer give the production a cheeky sense of camp, allowing the leads to really have some fun with the narrative.
Musical numbers, including a disco-flavoured Napoleon party track, only add to the playfully camp tone of the production. ELBA presents its silliness with a welcome confidence, so whilst totally bizarre in many places, it all fits the carefree and entertaining vibe well. Not all the musical numbers land quite as well, but Constant Vigier and Ishan Mahabir-Stokes can confidently carry a tune.
Joyously scrappy and unapologetically playful, ELBA is a charming celebration of the underdog that embraces its eccentricity with infectious confidence. Ishan Mahabir-Stokes and Constant Vigier make for a charismatic double act, bringing plenty of energy and whimsy to this bizarre historical tale. A playful blend of dance, comedy and music, ELBA may be rough around the edges, but its carefree spirit and gleeful absurdity make it an entertaining Fringe treat.
ELBA runs until August 30th at Just the Tonic’s Nucleus. Tickets are available here.
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