Greg Holstead, Author at North West End UK

Cinderella – Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh

13Dec

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Cinderella – Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh

The story of a once beautiful town hall falling into rack and ruin but being saved, just in the nick of time, by the local community sounds like a fairytale, but here we are in the stunning interior of the revitalised Portobello Town Hall and the successful staging of the family favourite pantomime, Cinderella. Big, bold, colourful and entertaining. This Stage Door Entertainment, production of the timeless classic, could perhaps do with a bit of a reboot, riven as it is with stereotypes and outdated values, but nevertheless, from the reactions of the almost full house, still appears to hit every mark. Tommie Travers, Musical Director and co-Producer, correctly puts music centre stage, in a show which is jam-packed with banging tunes and great singing, and with a leading lady, Amy Cam...

The Snow Queen – Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh

8Dec

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Snow Queen – Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh

The Royal Lyceum’s Christmas show is always something to be anticipated and relished. Navigating a careful course away from the ubiquitous seasonal ‘panto’, it aims for the high road, a more refined magical, mirth-filled, musical path, under the helm of Artistic director David Greig’s discerning eye. After the rather wonderful, An Edinburgh Christmas Carol, last year, which I loved, I was lucky enough to obtain a ticket for this year’s The Snow Queen, albeit a couple of weeks after the official press night. The opening scene, with a magical set and some nicely shadowy projections introduces, Hans Christian Anderson’s famous tale in a darkly Scottish setting, Edinburgh to be exact, complete with icy Edinburgh castle. So far so good. Two orphan children, Gerda, played by the rather won...

Katie Gregson-Macleod – Summerhall, Edinburgh

5Dec

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Katie Gregson-Macleod – Summerhall, Edinburgh

Katie Gregson-MacLeod is probably a name you have never heard of but say it to Alexa and you might get a pleasant surprise as the Amazon music machine spits out five or six modern classics for your entertainment. This fresh meat is served up via TikTok, whose carnivorous audience launched Macleod’s career little over a year ago when her minute-long snippet of the breathlessly miserable piano-ballad Complex went viral, clocking up over 7M views in quick time. Appropriately enough, I’m at the Dissection Room at Summerhall, to analyse the small body of work that forms the touring MacLeod’s ouvre to date. It’s windowless, and airless, and unfortunately for this old man, chairless. I sit on a ledge next to the stage which I find out later is the sub-woofer. I’m still vibrating. Ominously or ...

27Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Amplifi – The Queens Hall, Edinburgh

Amplifi is a series of gigs showcasing the best in modern Scottish music, held every few months in the quirky bar space venue of The Queens Hall, Edinburgh. Performed mid-week I was somewhat surprised to find such a large diverse and enthusiastic audience, ready to heartily support the three acts on display tonight. Presented by Arusha Qureshi in association with Halina Rifai and supported by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council, and We Are Here Scotland this is a really nice initiative to support the fringe musicians and minorities looking for a stage and platform to showcase development. First up on the mini stage is Elaine Cheng, Edinburgh based composer/sound artist who takes us through an electronic soundscape featuring her own voice, rising and falling, at times ...

27Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Play Pretend – Traverse Theatre

A brand new play from writer Katie Fraser, directed by Laura Walker for Framework Theatre, a Scotland-based charitable organisation which supports emerging and early-career theatre makers. This play certainly has the feel of a development piece, a bit rough in places, but also fresh with clever ideas, enough to keep you leaning in and invested to the end. Chemistry, synergy, comradeship, trust, improvisation; all elements of acting which are extremely important and which are played out as exercises in drama schools everywhere. But in today’s society have the methods of building on-stage and on-screen relationship with your fellow actors become outdated, dangerous even. And how close is too close today? This play-within-a-play sees seasoned actor Greg rehearsing his role as Bonnie Pri...

Through the Mud – Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

6Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Through the Mud – Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

Extraordinary! The first word to come out of my lips after this exceptional performance. From the creators of ‘Black is the colour of my voice’, comes a powerful new story about the experiences of two African American women separated by 42 years, but suffering the same racial discrimination living as citizens in the, supposed, Land of the Free. Written and performed by Apphia Campbell and co-produced by Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and Stellar Quines, Through The Mud is a re conceived version of Woke, the one-woman play which won Campbell a Scotsman Fringe First Award in 2017. Although I never saw Woke, changing this from a one-woman to a two-woman play looks to have been a very inspired idea indeed. Alongside the seasoned Campbell, is the excellent Tinashe Warikandwa playing...

The Grandmothers Grimm – Traverse Theatre

2Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Grandmothers Grimm – Traverse Theatre

Having just finished a quick nine reviews at the too-short Edinburgh Horror Festival, it was somewhat ironic that my next outing, The Grandmothers Grimm, had its premiere in Edinburgh at the very same event some six years previously. The show, written and directed by Emily Ingram in association with, Some Kind Of Theatre, has been on my radar for the last few years, doing the rounds in Scotland and further afield. I have always, somehow missed it, so I was doubly delighted to finally track it down, and to corner it in one of my favourite viewing spaces, Traverse 2. Expecting great things from what must surely be a polished pebble of a show, six years old, a lifetime in theatre land, I settled back expectantly to view proceedings. The first scene, probably my favourite of the whole pl...

Stand Up Horror – The Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

1Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Stand Up Horror – The Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

As Part of the Edinburgh Horror Festival, at The Banshee Labyrinth, Stand Up Horror sees actor, writer and tour guide Alex Staniforth concocting a wild and hilarious story on the spot from audience suggestions. The small size of the audience in the tiny bar space ensures that everyone has a chance to contribute and to feel part of the action, and this is perhaps the unique selling point of this unusual, brave and inventive show. Part dungeon master, part stand-up comedian, Staniforth relies on just a few props a very quick brain and a bit of nudging in the right general direction to move the story on apace, although it is never far away from taking a very sharp turn! As the programme alludes to, every show here is bound to be very different! Staniforth’s charisma and general enth...

The Ha Ha Horror Show – The Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

1Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Ha Ha Horror Show – The Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

As Part of the Edinburgh Horror Festival, at The Banshee Labyrinth, The Ha Ha Horror Show draws a very small audience to a tiny bar, to a show that aims very low indeed and succeeds with aplomb! Advertised as ‘The return of the Great Mortar’, the mind-reading, fortune telling, death-defying magician. Unfortunately, the GM wasn’t feeling so great tonight, having been shot with a nail gun in a stunt that went wrong. In fact, he’s dead! This causes quite a bit of angst in the crowd, some of whom I’m convinced don’t realise that this is all part of the show, such is their show of concern. However, it all adds to the general confusion and hilarity. Anyway, stepping in at the last moment is the likeable Cooper-esque buffoon, Tom Short. Big Northern lad Short, I would have loved him ...

The Séance Adventure – Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh

31Oct

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Séance Adventure – Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh

As Part of the Edinburgh Horror Festival, at the historic Lauriston Castle whose high windows gaze down upon the Firth of Forth, The Séance Adventure draws a sell-out, audience who shuffle nervously, or perhaps to create heat, at the base of the imposing and grand stone staircase in the impressive double height entrance hall. It is only 3pm, but already the Winter sun is low, the clocks having just lost an hour of precious daylight. The dim is setting in. Ash Pryce’s entrance does little to lift the mood, as he beckons us, after a brief introduction, into the dark depths of the castle. Part, tour of the castle, and part interactive supernatural magic show, this is certainly a unique and original offering from the man who co-founded the Horror Festival. Pryce talks quietly and slowly ...