Bruce Robertson

Press, 11 February 1986, Page 8

Bruce Robertson

Bruce Robertson at the Great Hall, Arts Centre, last evening. Reviewed by Roger Flury. Bruce Robertson was heralded as “musician extraordinaire” on the noticeboard outside the Great'Hall. To a great extent, the performance justified that title. For well over an hour, Mr Robertson played a wide radge of unusual wind instruments. With the help of some friends and a sophisticated electronics system we were treated to the sounds pf.the Indian flute, small Chinese flute, jaw harp, dulcimer, and an army of percussion instrum Of te particular interest was the flute fashioned from an albatross botte. By .making J 1 ? 6 ?! tfejftiertronically delayed)

echo, Bruce Robertson often created sounds evocative of open spaces, mist-covered mountains, and deep valleys. Sometimes they were melancholy or contemplative. At other times, such as when he was joined by a percussion group and dancer, the effect was hypnotic. Other items to stand out were a duet for two players on one modern flute — surely a bit of a health hazard — and a duet for two flutes by one player. The sounds that emerged from these instruments often reminded me of the sort of soundtrack which accompanies travel documentaries. Mr Robertson would be capable of providing such atmospheric background music single-handed.

It was a pity that the late start and slightly disorganised presentation forced me to leave before the end in order to meet the newspaper’s deadline.

The first half of the evening was given over to a group with the unpromising name of Null and Void. They made a spectacular entrance by jumping from the balcony on to the stage. From then on it was downhill all the way. Their act combined music, jokes, poetry, and juggling, but it needed far more polish and much stronger material to succeed. The audience, however, was generous with its encouragement The performance was presented as part of the Festival of Fringe Theatre which continues with a different show each evening uns Thursday.