Greg Holstead, Author at North West End UK

12Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Food – The Studio

I am one of the ‘lucky’ ones chosen to be seated at a gargantuan table fully laid out with plates and glasses and cutlery, with about 30 other guests, the rest of the ‘audience’ are seated around us on three sides. Geoff Sobelle dressed as a fancy waiter struts around us, in charge of proceedings. He pretends to light a candle and pulls it on a cloth into the middle of the table. Of course, it is only a little pretend candle; no one is allowed to use a naked light in theatre land these days. In fact, as he pulls it, it falls over, so we can all see that it is a little battery powered prop, there is a ripple of laughter. Sobelle shrugs with a grin. Any so it begins. As the lights drop lower and lower and we are asked to close our eyes and are taken on a journey with Sobelle’s sonorous vo...

Macbeth by the Sea – The Space on the Mile

11Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Macbeth by the Sea – The Space on the Mile

Second up in my Macbeth marathon this Fringe was this lightweight absurd piece by American group John Hancock Productions. With an open mind, I allowed the onslaught to commence, and commenceth it did. More Spamalot than Shakespeare, this one would have had the bard rolling in his grave, and not necessarily with laughter. Whilst there were moments of fun and pith from the four strong cast, led muscularly by Ric Walker in the titular role, this was still pretty thin gruel. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are trying to relax in a seaside resort after the murder of Banquo, but confronted in turn by his ghost, the witches and an incompetent masseuse (out damn knot!) hotel manager who is a weird mixture of Faulty and Renee. You get the picture. The picture that probably looked great on th...

11Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Late Bloomers Tales – The Jazz Bar

Italian Jazz and soul singer, Anna Vanosi, is fast become a Fringe regular since she came here 4 years ago. Her soulful voice and playful storytelling brighten up the subterranean room of The Jazz Bar. She is no stranger to the venue throughout the year, but during August it seems to be where she lives! This set is as much a coming-of-age tale as a musical show, Anna draws her life out with lyrical richness, always finding the right song to tell her story, from tourist guide to traveller through Asia, to full time singer, and all dedicated to her Italian Grandma who has always been her guiding light. The songs when they come are rich and beautifully sung, aided by two talented backing musicians. Time is different for different things, Anna’s asks, ‘how long does it take water ...

Macbeth: Sleep No More – The Space @ Niddrie Street

11Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Macbeth: Sleep No More – The Space @ Niddrie Street

A cleverly shortened and in places rewritten version of the Scottish Play which takes nothing away from its power and fascination, performed very nicely by a four female cast, in what is normally a male heavy production. All four actresses do very well to play a screed of different characters, but none shines brighter than Victoria Adler, who is scintillating in whichever body she is inhabiting. Alder’s sword fighting scene with Amy Floyd’s slightly pedestrian Macbeth is one of the highlights of the whole show, with audience members visibly shrinking back and pulling up legs from the thrusting and whirling bodies as the contest progresses to its inevitable bloody climax. Absolutely riveting stuff! Perhaps a bit more cut and thrust in the lines department would not have gone amiss...

Matilda Jr – Edinburgh Academy, Magnusson Theatre

11Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Matilda Jr – Edinburgh Academy, Magnusson Theatre

A lone pink teddy bear sits centre stage under a yellow spotlight, behind it a bare scaffold. Do not expect lavish sets, this is a stripped back and shortened, junior, version of this family favourite. But worry not, what it loses in artifice it more than makes up for in oodles of acting, singing and dancing talent, from juniors and adults alike, and a sound system to die for. The well appointed auditorium is full and child heavy, crisps and haribos are munched, capri suns slurped. There is an expectant murmur from the packed crowd, and why not, this is after all a totally sold out run by Edinburgh crowd favourites Captivate, old hands at putting on fabulous fringe productions. A child walks out and picks up the teddy bear, is joined by another and another until, by my calculatio...

Blueswater Presents – Live at The Jazz Bar

11Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Blueswater Presents – Live at The Jazz Bar

Recently having celebrated their 10th anniversary, this is a serious five-piece blues band with long-standing Fringe credentials, with over 750 Fringe shows and in excess of 20,000 attendees in the bag already and ready to defend their (self-awarded) title as the hardest working band at the Edinburgh Fringe. And if this performance was anything to go by in a packed Jazz Bar, I think it is a fair description. Sweaty, loud and proud. A really enjoyable and raucous ninety minutes of musical mayhem. Expect, Baby Please Don’t Go, Who Do You Love, Blue Suede Shoes and Gloria, to name just a few of their extensive set list. If you are looking for a good time, dancing and singing along to some rhythm and blues standards, you can’t really go wrong here. Don’t expect high art or quiet contemplati...

Hello Kitty Must Die – Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance 2

11Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Hello Kitty Must Die – Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance 2

Following the global phenomenon that was ‘Six’, hatched right here at the fringe six years ago, the same Tony-winning production team are doubling down on this Musical, a mash-up of Asian Feminism with a killer’s touch. Unfortunately, this looks more like a show in development rather than the finished article. Not only is the action slow and dull, the acting and singing are not much better. Starting like a modernised version of Six with five American performers of East Asian origin, standing in formation, clad all in black, it aims, it claims, to demystify the Western myth of the ‘Hello Kitty’ trope. Erm, okay… I am already bored, and we are not even through the opening number. The show proceeds to tell the story of Fiona Yu (Sami Ma) a 30-year-old American Lawyer, and virgin....

11Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Thrown – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Set against the backdrop of the obscure art of Backhold wrestling, Glasgow writer Nat McClearly teams up with director and performer Johnny McKnight to create this none-too-subtle play about racism in Scotland today. Backhold wrestling, a bit like Sumo in a kilt, still thrives at Highland games around Scotland, and as Scotland wrestles with it’s own national identity, this play questions if we really are ready to welcome in outsiders or are we still a colloquial, backward-looking and fundamentally racist nation. Each of the five characters in this play has their own motivations and stories to tell and demons to deal with: Coach Pamela is military in her instruction, ‘validation comes from within’ yet her own identity fears are just barely hidden and ready to burst out. Imogen, a ...

Spring Awakening – Greenside @ Riddles Court

10Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Spring Awakening – Greenside @ Riddles Court

Dynamic Theatre presents the story of the sexual awakening amongst a group of teenagers at a strict religious school in Germany in the late 19th Century. As you might imagine, this requires a delicate directorial touch and sensitive staging approach, all of which Dynamic passed with flying colours. This production also includes scenes of a sexual nature as well as teen suicide, which perhaps could have been better advised by the theatre staff. The singing quality in this production is really excellent as evidenced from the first opening number, Mama Who Bore Me, with some beautiful harmonies. The acting is also particularly strong given the challenging environment that the teenagers find themselves in, repressed and abused by the adults at seemingly every turn. If that all sounds rat...

Crizards: This Means War – Pleasance Dome

10Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Crizards: This Means War – Pleasance Dome

This was – The funniest show I’ve seen at the Fringe this year! They say you are your own worst enemy… well not during wartime. The UKs lowest energy double act, as they like to call themselves, are back. After a very successful Fringe in 2022 as Cowboys, Will Rowland and Eddy Hare take on the much sillier subject of war. Guitars in hand they strum their way into explaining that whether or not any of this is a good idea, they are going to do it anyway. The classic double act sees the serious Hare try, with mounting frustration to tell the true story (allegedly) of his granddad and the important role he played in winning the war. A fine example of the genre, deadpan Hare and mischievous Rowland, eyes shining, replete with dimpled cheeks and wide grin thinks up ways to parado...