Greg Holstead, Author at North West End UK

8Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Supposing – Traverse Theatre

Supposing you fell down a hole. Supposing, shortly afterwards, you began hearing voices, seventeen of them in fact, a kind of Greek chorus taking up residence inside your head. And supposing you became convinced that falling down that hole had somehow allowed you to see into the future. Written and directed by Zinnie Harris, Supposing takes this curious premise and turns it into a clever, funny and increasingly unsettling examination of reality, marriage and what happens when nobody believes what you believe to be true. At its centre is Nicole Cooper as Sally, married for fifteen years to Richard, played by Richard Conlon. Cooper establishes an immediate connection with the audience, helped enormously by one of Harris's simplest and most effective theatrical devices. On Alisa ...

Spamalot – Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh

12Jul

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Spamalot – Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh

There are some shows where you spend your time analysing every directorial choice, every dramatic beat and every performance. Then there are shows like Spamalot, where after about ten minutes you simply surrender to the sheer joy of it all. Happy Sad Productions' latest musical is exactly that kind of evening. Based on the classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the musical lovingly embraces absurdity, gleefully mocking both the original film and the conventions of musical theatre itself. It's a show that positively encourages performers to throw caution to the wind, and this company responds with infectious enthusiasm. One of the production's greatest strengths is its scale. A large ensemble fills the stage with energy throughout, ensuring that even the smallest roles have ...

The Burns Project – Royal Lyceum Theatre

7Jul

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Burns Project – Royal Lyceum Theatre

There can be few figures in Scottish history as difficult to bring to the stage as Robert Burns. Poet, radical, celebrity, serial womaniser and national icon, he remains a figure whose mythology is almost as powerful as the man himself. The Burns Project, now returning to the Royal Lyceum following a successful Fringe run and subsequent touring, sets itself the ambitious task of stripping away that mythology to present Burns as a complex human being. It succeeds in many respects, but ultimately falls short where it matters most. Presented in the intimate surroundings of the Lyceum's Henry Irving Room, the audience gathers around a large dining table while Burns moves through the space, his life unfolding chronologically from humble beginnings to his premature death. Live music, performe...

Catriona Macdonald & Annbjorg Lien – Traverse Theatre

2Jul

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Catriona Macdonald & Annbjorg Lien – Traverse Theatre

It was, as one might expect, a famously fiddly evening at the Traverse Theatre, as Shetland’s Catriona Macdonald and Norway’s Annbjørg Lien brought together a programme rich in Scandinavian and Shetland tunes, shared history and extraordinary musicianship. Presented as the final concert in this season’s Soundhouse series, the evening was built around the musical relationship between two players who first met when they were barely teenagers. That history mattered. This was not simply a meeting of two virtuosos, impressive though both undoubtedly are, but a conversation between traditions, between islands and sea routes, and between generations of musicians passing music from one hand to the next. Macdonald was open, warm and generous throughout, speaking movingly about returning h...

Love and Friendship – St Augustine United Church

30Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Love and Friendship – St Augustine United Church

There is no shortage of ambition in Edinburgh Rep’s latest production, an affectionate parody of Jane Austen’s youthful novella Love and Friendship, adapted and directed by Oliver Giggins. Packed with heightened Regency melodrama, broad physical comedy and moments of gleeful absurdity, the production showcases a company with obvious talent and infectious enthusiasm, even if the material itself doesn’t always provide the strongest framework for that talent to flourish. Rather than adapting one of Austen’s familiar novels, the production draws on one of her earliest works, written when she was still a teenager. The story follows the young Marianne persuading her Aunt Laura to reveal the astonishing tale of her youth, a tale involving doomed romances, improbable revelations of parenta...

26Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Table – Traverse Theatre

Community theatre often faces a challenge that professional theatre rarely has to confront. The desire to include everyone can sometimes come at the expense of dramatic momentum. Large casts, varied abilities and an understandable determination to give every participant their moment in the spotlight can result in productions with enormous heart but limited theatrical drive.The Table, a collaboration between Curious Seed, Lung Ha Theatre Company and Lyra, tackles that challenge head on and comes remarkably close to overcoming it.Directed by Christine Devaney, Maria Oller and Jo Timmins, this ambitious and highly inclusive production brings together professional performers, young people, disabled and non-disabled artists in a work that sits somewhere between dance theatre, live music event a...

Strength In a Whisper – Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh

16Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Strength In a Whisper – Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh

Some productions tell a story. Others invite you into a landscape, a culture and a state of mind. Strength in a Whisper belongs firmly in the latter category. Created by singer-songwriter Kirsty Law and developed with Liam Hurley, this atmospheric blend of folk song, dance and theatre draws deeply from Scotland's oral traditions, exploring memory, solitude and the songs that survive only because someone chooses to keep singing them.The production unfolds at a deliberately unhurried pace. Alone in a remote bothy, a woman settles into the rhythms of rural existence. Gather. Dry. Eat. Rest. Repeat. The repetitive rituals of daily survival become the structure of the piece itself, creating an experience that asks the audience to slow down and inhabit its world rather than simply observe it.At ...

11Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Portable Infinity – Traverse Theatre

A packed Traverse 1 on a Monday night is no small achievement for a contemporary jazz ensemble. Yet Portable Infinity's appearance at the Traverse felt entirely at home in the theatre's largest space. Eighteen months ago the group played the Traverse bar. Now they return at the conclusion of a major European tour to a full house, a testament both to the growing reputation of the band and the enthusiasm of Edinburgh's jazz audience.The evening stretched to around one hour and forty minutes without an interval, a format that might have tested a lesser audience. Instead, the capacity crowd remained rapt throughout, drawn into a performance that was as intellectually engaging as it was emotionally rewarding.What immediately struck this reviewer was the honesty of the music. There were no backi...

Hidden Door Festival – The Old Paper Factory

9Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Hidden Door Festival – The Old Paper Factory

This year I make two visits to Hidden Door's remarkable takeover of the former Paper Factory in Edinburgh, attending both the opening Wednesday night and returning again on the Saturday. As ever, Hidden Door proves that some of the most memorable artistic experiences happen when creativity is allowed to spill into spaces never originally designed for it. The vast industrial sheds, exposed steelwork and seemingly endless corridors create an environment where exploration becomes part of the evening. Every turn reveals another installation, another performance space or another unexpected discovery. The building itself is as much a performer as any artist appearing within it. What distinguishes Hidden Door from a conventional music festival is that the experience extends far beyond the m...

The Marriage of Figaro – Festival Theatre

2Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Marriage of Figaro – Festival Theatre

There is a reason why Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro remains one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. More than two centuries after its premiere, this tale of lust, deception, privilege and revenge still has the power to delight audiences. The comedy remains sharp, the characters remain recognisable, and Mozart's music continues to provide one glorious melody after another. Scottish Opera's revival of Sir Thomas Allen's production arrives in Edinburgh following its run in Glasgow, conducted by Dane Lam and directed by Allen himself. It is a handsome, traditional staging that places its faith in the strength of Mozart's score and Lorenzo Da Ponte's story rather than attempting to reinvent either. The central plot remains as entertaining as ever. Figaro and Susanna ar...