Greg Holstead, Author at North West End UK

5Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Austentatious – McEwan Hall, Edinburgh

The eleventh year of Austentatious at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in what has become their regular slot; 13:30 at the glorious 1100-seater McEwan Hall. Full, on the day I attended, and with limited tickets for the remainder of this short run, tells you plenty. The Uber talented troupe presents a completely improvised play daily, in the style of Jane Austen, with each show a previously untold (and never to be told again!) novel. The audience are asked to shout out potential titles until a ‘suitable’ one is reached. Todays unearthed gem was, The Unbearable Hotness of Being. Never has needlework been so hot in Hampshire! When a recently orphaned brother and sister arrive in the county by hot air balloon they become the talk of the manor. The handsome brother is soon s...

Edinburgh International Festival Opening Concert – Usher Hall, Edinburgh

5Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Edinburgh International Festival Opening Concert – Usher Hall, Edinburgh

The opening of the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival by Nicola Benedetti marks the beginning of an exhilarating 24 day, 160 event celebration of opera, dance, music and theatre in the Scottish Capital. Following last years’ tentative, ‘Where do we go from here?’, we start this year with the more upbeat, ‘Rituals that unite us. And the opening concert tonight could hardly be a better example of the statement. Spaniard, Osvaldo Gilijov’s extraordinary reinterpretation of Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion was commissioned in 2000 to mark the composer’s 250th anniversary. Now, almost a quarter of a Century old and having been performed around the globe, it (finally!) has its first Scottish outing. But this is no Solemn biblical narrative, no, this is a shock of rhythm and colour, in mult...

I Sell Windows – Assembly @ George Square

4Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

I Sell Windows – Assembly @ George Square

A tricky review to write, and only a three-star rating. Whilst most shows at the Fringe this year will be some good, some bad, this show is certainly at the extreme end, it is both very good and the very bad. Let me explain. First, the very good. Two-time NAACP (US based National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) award winner Kacie Rogers provides an acting masterclass. A one-woman monologue extraordinaire. She does not put a single step wrong in this dense script, playing multiple characters to a tee. It is an authentic, emotionally charged performance. The story is a coming-of-age tale which follows a young aspiring American actress as she tries to make her way through the acting maze, whilst trying to handle her personal relationships and put money in the ban...

Kevin Quantum: Anti-Gravity – Guilded Balloon, Patter House

4Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Kevin Quantum: Anti-Gravity – Guilded Balloon, Patter House

With a great time slot in a beautiful magical space (dark red walls and mythical themed golden plaques) in a very central location and a carefully curated child-friendly show, Kevin may have got everything just about perfect this year, particularly for the family market. Sold out and with a wide and varied demographic, the ever-likeable Kevin is on excellent form interacting to great effect with kids and adults alike in a show which is surprisingly high on humour as well as magic in what I see as a significant change for the better over previous years. High on audience participation and interaction right from the start, this show keeps you on your toes and scratching your head, the hour certainly flew by. Having spent half of his adult life studying physics and half studying magic, Magi...

Ambitious Underachiever – Speakeasy @ Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh

4Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Ambitious Underachiever – Speakeasy @ Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh

Mychelle Colleary was a big deal on the jazz circuit of NYC about ten years ago, with regular gigs and invitations and guest appearances. That all changed one clear sky day when a big blue truck ran into her little car, and she suffered a traumatic brain injury. Years later and still suffering the after effects of the ‘blue blur’ Colleary has at least chalk one milestone off her bucket list, appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe. This may not be award-winning or groundbreaking, but it is a sweet show, which paints a simple timeline of Colleary’s career to the present day, the traumas she has suffered and the songs that made life worth living. Funny, self-deprecating and deeply personal with music by Sondheim, Strayhorn and others but sprinkled with original songs by Colleary herself....

Catherine Cohen: Come For Me – Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh

4Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Catherine Cohen: Come For Me – Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh

As a Cohen virgin I really didn’t know what to expect. What I got was a sweet hour of blissful humour and catchy, clever songs, backed by live music at the hands of a mysteriously talented woman. Or should I call her, a destruction machine, an angst-filled cluster-bomb, dressed as a sweet singing Disney princess who’s slain us all from song one. Hitting here and here and here, with looks and flicks and strings of words that seem to land with tiny implosions. Littering! She points towards me. But it’s not me it’s the guy next to me. Thank God! Not that she’s a roaster, she’s far too nice for that. But still, you do not want her sharp wit, her hot intellect upon you like the Eye of Sauron. Or maybe you do!? Anyway, no, she’s pointing at the professional photographer to my left. ...

The State of Grace – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

3Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The State of Grace – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

Aussie, Michaela Burger (A Migrant’s Son) is at her core a consummate storyteller, and no stranger to the Edinburgh Fringe. Through the mediums of video, music, song, prose and acting she returns to Edinburgh Fringe for the 4th time, supported by House of Oz to tell the story, the legacy, of fellow Adelaidian, Pippa O’Sulliven. Pippa, AKA ‘Grace Bellavue’ a sex worker, rose to meteoric fame and notoriety on social media before her untimely suicide at just 28, in 2015. Michaela has clearly researched hard, into the archive of Pip, talked to her parents and friends and traced the considerable digital footprint that Grace left. Pippa’s dream, to ‘Build the Grace Business’, learn Physics, savour food and make love did not turn out quite the way she planned, but from this evidence she had qu...

Crispr! The Musical – Roman Eagle Lodge, Edinburgh

1Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Crispr! The Musical – Roman Eagle Lodge, Edinburgh

And so it begins, the 78th Edinburgh Festival Fringe! The ethos of the Fringe, which dates back to 1947, dictates that anyone can take part, with a story to tell and a venue willing to host them, and (of course!) pockets deep enough to afford it! So here, first up, a musical about gene editing technology! Haha!, well this is perfect for Edinburgh! The EdFringe programme blurb provides a description of the show - Two struggling genetics researchers are determined to create the world’s first super-soybean, but a rival lab will stop at nothing to defeat them. Featuring original songs, dance, action-packed battles and shocking twists, Crispr! the Musical is a high-energy romp……..Duane Stanford and Lina Zikas, portray three pairs of characters whose stories converge into a climactic battl...

Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience – Scottish Events Campus (SEC), Glasgow

11Jul

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience – Scottish Events Campus (SEC), Glasgow

Van Gogh, the man, who tried to be an art dealer and failed, tried to be a Pastor, like his father, and failed, and tried to be an artist and failed. And eventually gave up on life at the age of just 37, having sold one painting in his life, shooting himself in the chest with a revolver on 27th July 1890, and dying two days later. What would Vincent make of this remarkable exhibition, 134 years on. I wonder? A 50-minute train trip from Edinburgh, a refuel at the superlative Paesano Pizza (well worth the 20-minute wait), and a pleasant 30-minute walk by the river Clyde, on a surprisingly dry day, for Glasgow, brought me to the Scottish Events Campus, nestled between the pneumatically impressive Ovo Hydro and the iconic SEC Armadillo. Glasgow’s creative hub. Better known for live music...

Lea Salonga – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

3Jul

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Lea Salonga – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

A rare opportunity to see one of the greatest singers of our time, a true icon of musical theatre and a Disney princess twice over. The singing voice of warrior, Mulan and Princess Jasmine in Alladin, but perhaps best known for her role as Kim in Miss Saigon for over fifteen years, Salonga has a long list of stage and screen credits, spanning over 35 years. When Salonga took on the role of Kim in Miss Saigon in 1989, aged just 18, she went on to become the first Asian performer to win a Tony and one of the youngest to win an Olivier. In the 1990’s she played Eponine alongside, Michael Ball’s Marius in Les Misérables. The rest, as they say, is history. Most recently starring in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, in London’s West End, she has taken time out to tour the UK, for eight perfo...