Caroline Worswick

26Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

The Two Horsemen – Aces & Eights

Whenever I am ‘fringing’ (yes, let’s make it a verb), I like to go along to see some improv. The quick-witted repartee, the verbal jousting is exciting, and watching The Two Horsemen saddle up, mount, and strap on their jousts, I know that we are in for a helluva ride. Liam Brennan and Tom Jacob-Ewles are the two riders that make up The Two Horsemen, and these two fablers tour, playing the medieval tavern circuit, with the aim of making it big in showbiz weaving fantasy tales assisted by suggestions from the audience. Below is a selection of the happenings that went on:- The intro came from Bubonic Bobby who oozes infection from every pore, and then duo begin with a suggestion of a fable about The Ugly Duckling who is secretly Macbeth, Brennan relished the role of the ugl...

23Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Body 115 – The Hope Theatre

In an extremely warm theatre, I watched poet and writer Jan Noble, create imagery with verse, a necromancer of inventive poetic speech, searingly powerful, and infinitely watchable. Body 115 is a homage to Dante’s Divine Comedy, delving into the underworld with its decay and death. Jan Noble’s one-man show sees Body 115, who is one of the long unidentified victims of the King’s Cross fire in 1987, the 31st victim, who lies in the earth, has memories of fire, and an horrific death. Following the dramatic nature of The Divine Comedy, body 115 becomes Virgil, who guided Dante, and represents human reason. For those unaware of Dante’s Divine Comedy, it is a poem written by Dante Alighieri, during the 14th century, which is divided into three parts, the Inferno, Purgatorio,...

Remember The Before – Hen & Chickens Theatre

23Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

London

Remember The Before – Hen & Chickens Theatre

An unnamed couple try to pick over their relationship memories, but why do their memories differ? An intriguing peek into this couple’s relationship history, who have been given numbers and not names (one is played by Sarah Pearcey and two by Jed McLoughlin). Written by Jed McLoughlin and directed by Pippa Dykes, the story arc gives plenty in terms of intrigue. Jed’s character (One) buzzes, as his extrovert nature wins over his partner when they first meet, he is funny, lovable, and larger than life, whereas Sarah (Two) is more reserved, but loves his outgoing nature. The couple clearly care about each other, but it is unclear whether they have a future together, as their shared experiences don’t appear to have evolved into shared memories. It asks the ...

ShakeItUp: The Improvised Shakespeare Show – Gilded Balloon Teviot

7Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

ShakeItUp: The Improvised Shakespeare Show – Gilded Balloon Teviot

There is nothing I like more than spending an hour watching an improvised show, and I always make sure that my Edinburgh Fringe Festival visits have at least one impro show on my list. This time it’s the turn of ‘ShakeItUp,’ who create a show entirely from the suggestions given by the audience, then perform the show in the style of a Shakespeare play. Now, I have to admit to being a regular visitor to impro shows performed by ‘The School of Night’, who set the bar very high in terms improvising Shakespeare, so I was keen to see whether this troupe (for the want of a better name), could surpass my high expectations. So today, the audience was offered the choice of a history, comedy or tragedy play, and comedy won by a close margin. Next, the name the person yo...

The Trials of Galileo – Greenside at Infirmary Street

7Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

The Trials of Galileo – Greenside at Infirmary Street

In 1633, Galileo was put on trial by the Roman Inquisition, and he was found to be ‘vehemently suspect of heresy’ and put under house arrest. All his theories and efforts to educate were treated as an act of rebellion against the church. The fact that Galileo had been approved to write about his theories by the Pope made no difference to the outcome. Written and directed by Nic Young, this play delves into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the trial, which was conducted in Latin, and where he was threatened with the rack if he did not confess to something that he quite clearly was not guilty of. Played by Tim Hardy in this one man show, Galileo now has the opportunity to put his side of the story across, during the trial he was spoken to in the third p...

7Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

Boudica – Greenside at Infirmary Street

This play is a modern interpretation of the life of Boudica, who was Queen of the ancient British tribe of the Iceni, who led a failed revolt against the Roman Empire in AD 60/61. At this point in Boudica’s life, her husband Peter (King Prasutagus in the ancient world), has recently died, and Boudica (Jo Scherer) and her daughters Gallia (Bella Yow) and Aoife (Lila Patterson) are at the funeral mourning his loss. Following the funeral, Boudica hears from Cato (Buster Van Der Geest), that there is no Will, and therefore, as her husband had run up debts within the company, her husband’s assets now belong to the company. Cato has replaced Boudica within the company so now has control of the company, and her finances, but offers her what he feels is a sweet deal to help her daug...

Lucy & Friends – Pleasance Courtyard, Forth

6Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

Lucy & Friends – Pleasance Courtyard, Forth

After going to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre recently and seeing Lucy McCormick play Saturninus in their production of Titus Andronicus, I thought I would see what Lucy does without the constraints of the Bard’s pen work, and The Globe’s policies to rein her in. This was my first experience of McCormick’s alternative side, and the two could not be more different. McCormick likes to greet her audience as they arrive, mingling with them, and I guess the title of the show gives you a hint as to the reason for this, we are to be her friends! Some members of the audience are given jobs to do, she is short-handed, so needs help with some tasks, this inclusion within the show creates an amazing atmosphere within the audience, as we see fellow audience members (sorry, friends), become...

The Real William Shakespeare…As Told by Christopher Marlowe – Greenside at Riddle’s Court

6Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

The Real William Shakespeare…As Told by Christopher Marlowe – Greenside at Riddle’s Court

The elusive Christopher Marlowe (Nicholas Thorne) is a character from history that intrigues us today, how did he die at age 29, was it a bar room brawl or was he murdered? Was Kit Marlowe the real author of the Bard’s plays? Many books have been written on this subject, and we are no closer to knowing if any of the theories are true. Matchmaker Theatre Productions have put forward another theory, from the pen of Shaul Ezer. What if he was killed for being a playwright? The play examines Marlowe’s colourful character, building an image of a homosexual, atheist poet, playwright, and spy, living his life like his backside was on fire, running from one hairy situation to another. Ezer brings in a character called Laura (Kirsty Eila McIntrye), who lives ...

The Brief Life and Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria – Pleasance Dome

6Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

The Brief Life and Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria – Pleasance Dome

What a cracking beginning to my Edinburgh Fringe Festival! After seeing Out Of The Forest Theatre’s Call Me Fury at The Hope Theatre in London in 2019, I was compelled to pay a return visit to their newest play. Here is a rough synopsis. Boris III became King after his father abdicated in 1918 after World War I, he married Princess Giovanna of Italy and in 1937 his son Simeon was born. Neither Boris, nor his father Ferdinand were Bulgarian due to the Turks occupying Bulgaria for 500 years, but they carried the burden of taking care of the people of Bulgaria now that Bulgaria was independent. Here is where the play begins, with Boris III, now married and the country is peaceful. Until of course World War II began! Boris (played by Joseph Culle...

6Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

Tennessee, Rose – Pleasance Dome

The Tennessee in the title refers to playwright Tennessee Williams, the writer of such greats as The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire, and Rose was his sister, who has also been described as his muse. Tennessee, Rose examines the relationship between Williams and Rose by travelling through time with Rose to her childhood, and how her experiences shaped her future, leaving her with scars, both mental and physical. It is very easy to think of this show as a play about a playwright and his sister, but this play is so much more than that. The lack of understanding of mental health meant that Rose’s treatment was severe, without any care for her feelings, but only on the impact that her unguarded action and speech had on others. Clare Cockburn has written a rem...