Chanbara at The Fringe

We got to our seats in the Pleasance Courtyard's auditorium just before the lights dimmed. The 300+ seat venue was packed with people of all ages, eagerly awaiting the spectacle that includes Taiko drums, Samurai swords, fake trees, smoke machines and lots of young Japanese performers play-fighting across the stage.

The high-energy show brought back memories of the year I spent learning Kung Fu, especially the staff sequence (my favorite weapon). I really enjoyed it, though I could have done without one skit that was supposed to be funny (a teacher puts his students through their paces and they do silly things to him and each other) but was really just corny. Even so, Chanbara was well worth the money.