Jessie Martin, Author at North West End UK

24Nov

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Gallus in Weegieland – Tron Theatre

What a way to kick off panto season! Gallus in Weegieland at The Tron theatre is glam, gorgeous, and very glaswegian. Expecting the typical tired panto schtick and gags, I was very gladly mistaken - this is a panto that cares. With an actually engaging storyline accompanied by original songs by Ross Brown (who's multi-tasking and multi-instrumentalism in playing the score was incredibly impressive), I was grinning from ear to ear. Based on Alice in Wonderland, we saw Alice (Jorgey Scott-Learmonth) embark on a quest to find love, inspiration, and bravery in Weegieland in order to pass her ballet exam back on earth. Of course, it wouldn’t be a panto without an evil queen and Queenie of Hearts, Louise McCarthy did not disappoint. If Elaine C. Smith was hig...

10Nov

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

(Parent)ified – Augustine United Church

In Erstwhile Media’s final play of their “One Dramatic Night” at Augustine United Church, we saw Rhona O’Donnell star in Cosette Bolt’s one-woman play (Parent)ified. Based on Bolt’s own experiences, this play was heartbreakingly raw, looking at the impact abusive parenting has had on our protagonist’s life as she is forced to step up to the plate and raise her younger sister, putting her own life on hold. Directed by Oliver Giggins as well as Bolt, this play is dynamic, displaying not only the frantic nature of our protagonist’s life with the fast-paced blocking, but also the passage of time as we pendulate between her life in the early teenage years all the way through to her mid-20s. O’Donnell was the perfect choice for this role, engaging us completely throughout which...

The Ebony Frame – Augustine United Church

10Nov

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Ebony Frame – Augustine United Church

Based on Edith Nesbit’s story of the same title, Erstwhile Media presents us with Oliver Giggins’ adaptation of The Ebony Frame—the second instalment of work at “One Dramatic Night” in Augustine United Church. Much like the source material, Giggins’ adaptation is an atmospheric and haunting tale in which protagonist Arthur Marsh (played by Alexander Donaldson) inherits a house where he discovers a portrait in an ebony frame. Unlike Nesbit’s original, the subject in the portrait is a man by the name of Raoul (played by Pedro Branco), giving this gothic horror a queer twist as Marsh becomes enraptured by the portrait’s presence. He soon encounters the ghost of Raoul and begins to uncover the torrid love affair the two men once shared in a past life. Giggins’ writing is enticing, and w...

Who’s the Fairest of Them All – Augustine United Church

10Nov

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Who’s the Fairest of Them All – Augustine United Church

Seeing us into panto season, Who’s The Fairest of Them All is writer and director Holly Wagner’s adaptation of Snow White, in which the magic mirror is featured as the real villain. Exploring the lengths one goes to for the sake of vanity and validation, we see not only the classic story of Snow White versus her wicked stepmother, but also the relationship Snow White has with her own daughter and the ways in which the title of Fairest of Them All has shaped her character. Held in Augustine United Church, the scene is set in the black-box-style theatre using minimal set and tech design, allowing the writing and acting to take centre stage. The space, although small, was well-utilised, with the actors parading up the staircase through the audience and out secondary exits as...

Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey – Traverse Theatre

4Nov

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey – Traverse Theatre

Opening in the post-war Western Isles, guitarist and vocalist Willie Campbell of The Metagama Ensemble, along with his fellow musicians, set the scene of Metagama: An Atlantic Odyssey with its first musical number. We learn of the large groups of islanders, who due to a lack of opportunity, money, and depopulation from the war, decided to make the journey all the way to Canada on the ocean-liners SS Metagama, Canada, or Marloch. With traditional Scottish music being the focal point, it is accompanied with archival footage, illustrations (constructed by Doug Robertson), and narration by Dolina Maclennan and writer Donald S. Murray. Featuring not only original music by pianist and vocalist Liza Mulholland, Murray, and Campbell, traditional Gaelic songs are interspersed t...

10Oct

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Cheapo – Traverse Theatre

Cheapo, brought to the Traverse Theatre by Play, Pie and a Pint, follows schoolboy Jamie (known as “Sheldon” to his bullies, played by Testimony Adegbite) as he sets up his travel chess board in KFC, ready for his usual match. Expecting to meet the same friend he plays with every week, Jamie is instead greeted by Kyla (Yolanda Mitchell), one of his bullies. Kyla has a proposition: she wants Jamie to retract his witness statement to the police. In return, her boyfriend and his friends will spare him a beating. As their chess game unfolds, it becomes clear that Kyla is not as cruel as she initially seems—she is frightened, afraid of the consequences of going to court. Likewise, Jamie fears the repercussions of withdrawing his statement, particularly in light of how the police treat young ...

6Oct

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

HER – Traverse Theatre

What would you do if you knew explicit photos of a young schoolgirl were being leaked? Would you do anything? Have you done anything? We’ve all witnessed situations like this before—it’s an all-too-common scenario, so common in fact that most people wouldn’t bat an eye. HER, produced by Strange Town and written by Jennifer Adam, confronts the audience directly, urging us to stand up and take action. The play insists that there is no such thing as an innocent bystander. Fast-paced and quick-witted, we are swept into the heart of the school by our two schoolkid narrators, B1 and B2, played by Zara-Louise Kennedy and Alex Tait. The pair move deftly through a multitude of characters, from teenage bams to ostentatious patrons of the fancy restaurant where HER (Eleanor McMahon) works. While t...

25Sep

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Black Hole Sign – Tron Theatre

Beginning its development in 2021 by Traverse Theatre’s in-house playwright Uma Nada-Rajah, Black Hole Sign hits the stage this week at the Tron Theatre. Over the course of a night in a collapsing (figuratively and literally) NHS ward, we gain insight into the series of events that led to the dismissal of Senior Charge Nurse Crea (Helen Logan) as she fails to meet her duty of care. Combining heavy emotional arcs with amusing and outlandish characters, Black Hole Sign captures the toil NHS staff and patients alike face due to overworking and underfunding. Inspired by Nada-Rajah’s own experience working as a nurse, this play hits hard - the events that take place are harrowing and all too realistic. The play unpacks a huge myriad of issues; we see the strain put on personal relat...

Soundhouse: Paul Harrison’s Trio Mágico & Guests: Encontros – Traverse Theatre

6Sep

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Soundhouse: Paul Harrison’s Trio Mágico & Guests: Encontros – Traverse Theatre

Launching their latest album, Encontros, Paul Harrison’s Trio Mágico graced the Traverse Theatre once again, bringing with them an evening filled with Brazilian-inspired jazz rhythms and grooves. From original compositions, to rearrangements of renowned Brazilian jazz pieces (many of which were taken from Brazilian jazz player and composer Egberto Gismonti) Paul Harrison’s trio is Mágico by name, and Mágico by nature. The first act hit us with high-energy, highlighting the beauty of Harrison’s chord harmonisation and bassist Mario Caribé’s enthusiastic and lively playing. Drummer Stu Brown keeps the trio rolling along with his relaxed approach - that is until the second act where he completely unleashes the full power of his playing. Brown’s kit is perfectly collated t...

A Toast Fae the Lassies – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

6Sep

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

A Toast Fae the Lassies – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

A widow, a mother, and a mistress walk into a bar—sorry, graveyard—to mourn the loss of the recently deceased Robert Burns. On seeing the other women there, the group soon end up reminiscing and sparring with each other over their relationships to the late poet and his proclivities. Generously peppered with well-known Burns’ songs, A Toast Fae The Lassies both celebrates Burns as a poet while reprimanding his behaviour as a man through the eyes of the women in his life. The songs are, of course, the highlight of this play, with musical direction and arrangement by Alyson Orr, who also plays Agnes Broun, Burns’ mother. Orr brings spirit to the stage with her charming arrangements, performed beautifully by herself and the rest of the cast. Chris Coxon accompanies the singing on the guitar...