Sunday, December 22

Author: Beth Eltringham

Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet – Pleasance at EICC
10Aug By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet – Pleasance at EICC

Two households, both alike in dignity In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unlean, And booze makes one of the lovers rather quite mean! Shit-faced Shakespeare are at it again, turning another Shakespeare classic into comedy gold as one of our leads is absolutely bladdered. We join a cast of incredible, traditionally trained actors as they put on a condensed version of the well known play Romeo and Juliet, or at least they attempt to do so. Each night a different cast member will increase the difficulty of both their job and their peers by getting drunk, and if the audience doesn’t think them drunk enough more alcohol will simply be provided leaving you with a version of Romeo and Juliet like y...
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Little Ward of Horrors – The Space @ Surgeons Hall
10Aug By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

Little Ward of Horrors – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

The idea of Little Ward of Horrors sounds brilliant: a sketch show led by health care students regarding working in the medical field and NHS. Mix in some Little Shop of Horrors songs with the lyrics swapped out to fit the theme and you’ve got yourself the potential for a very funny show. It’s not to say that this humour was not delivered, after all the team had some very funny moments but unfortunately the show did not quite live up to its full potential. The musical side of things really could have worked, there’s some fantastically changed lyrics in there that fit the theme brilliantly, but the delivery of the numbers felt full of nerves and in need of some more showmanship. Other than the members of the team who were playing the live music (very impressively may I add) the mu...
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MATES: The Improvised 90s Sitcom – The Space @ Surgeons Hall
10Aug By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

MATES: The Improvised 90s Sitcom – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

MATES is an improvised theatrical performance which takes it’s inspiration from the 90s sitcoms we all know and love. Complete with the over the top characters, stereotypes and of course a New York back drop. Unlike the classic sitcoms this team doesn’t need a laugh track to tell its audience when it’s funny. These three talented performers had the audience laughing from the get go with their charisma and overall likability. Just like the characters from everyone’s favourite sitcoms, this cast are charming, funny and a little goofy at times, you really do feel immediately that you’re amongst a few mates. In this improvised performance the audience choose the name of the episode by shouting out random words or locations for a double bill episode of this amusing sitcom. Once selected t...
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Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel – Underbelly Bistro Square
9Aug By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel – Underbelly Bistro Square

Witty, outrageous and almost Austin, Austentatious is a hit! Back from its successful run on the West End Austentatious brings you a Jane Austin novel like you’ve never seen before (literally! they make the whole thing up as they go along). With an excellent cast featuring Rachel Parris, Graham Dickson, Amy Cooke-Hodgson, Lauren Shearing, Charlotte Gittins, Daniel Nils Roberts, Joseph Morpurgo and Cariad Lloyd, these comedy masters are sure to put on a good show. As with most improvised performances at this fringe, the plot it created using audience suggestion, so come prepared with your best Jane Austin novel name suggestions. I’m afraid our selected one of the day was a little long for me to remember but what ensued was a lot of talk of trysting (if you know what I mean) , door kic...
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The Rejects – The Space on The Mile – Space 3
8Aug By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

The Rejects – The Space on The Mile – Space 3

We all struggle with rejection, some more than others but it’s how we deal with it that counts. When One (Robyn Reilly), Two (Jess Ferrier), Three (Abi Price), Four (Lex Joyce) and Five (Isla Campbell) all go for the same job, they know the chances of success are limited. After the nerves of the interview a drink is much needed leaving these very different personalities to hash it out over who’s truly worthy of the new position. We’ve all been in that interview, the one where you’re saying all the wrong things out of sheer nerves, praying the interviewer will see your potential shine through, give you the job despite your stutters. You can’t be too honest, but you also can’t lie or seem over enthusiastic about the position. From beginning to end this production presents characters that ...
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The Dead Ducks – The Space @ Surgeons Hall
8Aug By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

The Dead Ducks – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

You can expect the weird and somewhat wonderful as The Dead Ducks troupe take the stage for a sketch show that takes place within a dead grandmother’s funeral, acting out scenes in which said grandmother has written in her will. The Dead Ducks are a comedy sketch troupe from the University of York, bringing another one of their sketch shows to the Fringe after a successful run last year. Made up of 6 young performers, the sketch team create the kind of strange content you would expect to see in a student’s showcase relying heavily on the element of absurdity to gain laughs. Whilst there are a handful of pretty funny scenes in this show, personally the set up did not quite hit my funny bone as often as I’d have liked it to, but that’s not to say they didn’t have other members of the a...
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Topless: The One Woman Musical – Open Top Deck at Big Bus Betty
5Aug By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

Topless: The One Woman Musical – Open Top Deck at Big Bus Betty

Who doesn’t love an open top bus tour? Maybe not of the wrong city (yes, this bus tour is of London from the comfort of Edinburgh!), but for this show it’s not the site seeing that takes precedent rather the emotional roller coaster in which your guide is going to take you on. Your tour guide Sandie is sure to show you why it’s best not to mix business with your personal life in this one woman musical. Based off the original play Topless by Miles Trednnick (my favourite play and worth a read alone) this dark comedy shows Sandie a tour guide with a messy relationship history as she tells her unsuspecting tourists just how she dealt with her cheating husband, but unlike the previous play back in 1999 she does some of it through song. Set in the very intimate setting of an old open ...
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The Death of Molly Miller – Underbelly Cowgate
5Aug By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

The Death of Molly Miller – Underbelly Cowgate

Ever wondered if a social media influencer and a thief could get along? Perhaps for the most part just not when the thief has the influencer tied to a chair! The Death of Molly Miller is a dark satire which delves into the stereotypes of reality TV social media stars and desperate thieves, demonstrating that you can’t always judge a book by its cover. When Thomas (Matthew Greenhough), a desperate burglar, breaks into famous social media star Molly Miller’s house, he ends up in deeper water than he’d expected as the star arrives home early. Miller (Esther-Grace Button) is loud, dramatic and overly unlikable, surprisingly putting the audience onto the side of nervous yet humorous thief Thomas. Despite their differences the characters work very well together giving a real back and forth...
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Murder She Didn’t Write – Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance One
4Aug By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

Murder She Didn’t Write – Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance One

Have you ever fancied watching a murder mystery where even the murderer doesn’t know its them until halfway through the show? Well then, this murder mystery improvised phenomena may just be right what you’re looking for. Taking all the classic elements of a typical ‘who done it’ murder mystery but shaking it up with the plot, characters and murder weapon being decided upon by the audience right at the start of the show. It’s a wonder how the Degrees Of Error theatre company manage to come up with a fully-fledged play that still leaves it’s audience gasping with shock when the truth is revealed. With the events of the play being decided upon during the show I feel no fear in revealing the plot of our performance:  Donald Trump’s trial and the tiny shark. To even shape such a ...
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Titanic the Musical – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
21Jun By Beth EltringhamNo Comments
Scotland

Titanic the Musical – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

We all know the story of the Titanic, a tragedy on the seas brought about through malpractice, ego over practicality and safety. The name of the show alone is sure to bring in the masses, generations of people interested in the ships’ story and downfall. A whole audience entering the theatre with the expectation to cry, an expectation that I’m afraid fell short. The music of this show is without a doubt beautiful with an incredibly talented cast of vocalists and performers, each song alone could work well if not for the over use of ‘I want’ ballads in succession of each other throughout act one. It is clear the production set out with the plan of showing the multiple classes on the ship, trying to give its audience a multitude of people to build a connection with before some of their un...
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