Jessie Martin, Author at North West End UK

1Jun

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Merry Widow – Festival Theatre

In this modern adaptation of Franz Lehar’s 1905 operetta The Merry Widow, Scottish Opera presented us with a fresh, ingenious take on the classic comedy of errors. Featuring the mob of 1950s New York, a Sicilian lemon grove, and a million different miscommunications in love, John Savournin and David Eaton’s translation brings a much needed sense of accessibility and reimagination for today's audience. Typically being seen as an art form for the elites of the world, it seems Scottish Opera is making a very conscious effort to trample this narrative by reviving its productions in a way which appeals to a much wider audience - The Merry Widow being a trailblazing example of this. Not only with its English translation, but also by its consideration of setting, moving away from the more ster...

25May

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Ballet BC – Festival Theatre

Presenting a double bill of innovative contemporary dance, Dance Consortium brought Canadian company Ballet BC to the Festival Theatre’s stage. Playing with both the dark and light, fluidity and harshness, humour and sadness, Ballet BC provides us with an intentional and diverse vision of creation that stretches the boundaries of contemporary dance. It is clear that choreographers Crystal Pite and Johan Inger take great care with their work, with even the slightest movement bringing impact and meaning to the respective pieces - each joint, limb, and muscle being utilised in unique and unusual ways. Act one featured the work of Crystal Pite with their piece entitled Frontier. Frontier explored the relationship between the self and the shadow with dancers dressed ent...

The Rheingans Sisters – Traverse Theatre

20May

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Rheingans Sisters – Traverse Theatre

Performing the entirety of their 2024 album, Start Close in, Anna and Rowan Rheingans shared their talent with us in a continuation of their UK tour. I use the word “shared” very intentionally here - folk music is inherently a genre which is made for, and by, a collective - there is such a feeling of connection and intuitiveness within the genre that the Rheingans Sisters manage to capture and uphold beautifully. The melding of tradition and modernity in the composition, along with the sisters’ blending of Scandinavian, French, and British musical heritage truly encapsulates the collectivity of folk music. The range of instruments played by the sisters was a feat to behold, from the ancient tambourin à cordes, to a handmade banjo made from a gourd. The Rheingans Sisters d...

Jesus Christ Superstar – Festival Theatre

8May

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Jesus Christ Superstar – Festival Theatre

Edinburgh’s oldest amateur theatre company, Southern Lights brings us their original take on the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Jesus Christ Superstar. Featuring a huge ensemble, powerhouse vocals, and mixed media, this certainly went above and beyond my expectations of what amateur theatre is capable of. It is noted in Southern Light’s programme that each new production must not replicate any previous production by order of the show’s licensing. And what with Jesus Christ Superstar having first performed on Broadway in 1971, conjuring an original take on the show is no simple feat, with decades worth of adaptations having already been staged in every way imaginable. For me, the most interesting new directional concept, director Fraser Grant brought to t...

Moulin Rouge The Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

2May

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Moulin Rouge The Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

Premiering at the Edinburgh Playhouse, the musical theatre adaptation of Baz Lurhmann’s 2001 film Moulin Rouge, kicks off the first ever tour in the show's history this month. Set in 1899 Paris in the infamous Moulin Rouge cabaret, we follow the secret love affair between the cabaret’s star performer Satine (played by Verity Thompson), and bohemian writer Christian (played by Nate Landskroner). Despite the grandiosity of the Moulin Rouge, it is struggling financially so owner Harold Zidler (Cameron Blakely) arranges for Satine to seduce The Duke (James Bryers) and in return the Duke will provide Zidler with a large investment to put towards their next show. Satine has to choose between living a life of poverty with her true love Christian or submitting to the Duke in orde...

Stupid Sexy Poem Show – Traverse Theatre

29Apr

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Stupid Sexy Poem Show – Traverse Theatre

Scottish poet Rosie Jo Hunter took the Traverse theatre by storm with her unabashed, sold out, comedic slam-poetry cabaret. Having previously performed the show at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as in London, this sexy, stupid poem show still holds its freshness, ferocity and impulsivity thanks to the vigour and brazenness of Hunter’s performance. The show is almost crass in its delivery, what with the vulgarity of language and strong sexual content discussed throughout. However, that vulgarity is exactly why Hunter’s show is a success. We as the audience build an idea of Hunter’s character and of the show - it being presented as a cheeky, camp, sometimes touching comedy. Just when we think we have this show figured out, Hunter subverts our expectations throu...

9Apr

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Sam Newbould Quintet – Traverse Theatre

The Sam Newbould Quintet, based in Amsterdam, arrived in Edinburgh to perform the second night of their week-long Scottish tour. Playing original jazz pieces composed by Sam Newbould, this quintet captivated the Traverse’s audience with their smooth and persistent sound. Combining both simple yet relentless licks and flowing, heavily layered textures, the Sam Newbould Quintet had the audience entranced. Xavi Torres on piano played with beautiful clarity of tone and a delicacy that was refreshing to hear - his solos were incredibly captivating, playing with a heartfeltness that really struck a chord with me (no pun intended). Keeping the pace and groove was Guy Salamon on the drum kit giving us flow and drive. Salamon’s drumming style feels incredibly intuit...

Raintown and Bumnotes – Scottish Storytelling Centre

23Mar

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Raintown and Bumnotes – Scottish Storytelling Centre

Never in my life did I expect to see grown men pretending to be raccoons, or see the bible rewritten to be about jelly babies instead of Jesus, but I suppose that’s the fun of the Edinburgh International Improv Festival. In the penultimate double bill of Saturday night at the Scottish Storytelling Centre we saw the Irish musical improv group Bumnotes belt out show tunes completely off the cuff, with Glasgow-based group Raintown performing right afterwards. Musical improv is becoming increasingly popular and after watching Bumnotes’ performance I have no questions as to why. Funnily enough the suggested word was ‘garbageman’ which was a reference to an earlier performance done by The Imposters - clearly the audience are enjoying the improvisation as they are coming back f...

The Imposters and Funfdollar – Edinburgh International Improv Festival

23Mar

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Imposters and Funfdollar – Edinburgh International Improv Festival

Hosted by the Scottish Storytelling centre, the Edinburgh International Improv Festival hit us with three full nights of improv by actors from all across the globe. In this double bill we saw The Imposters from Shetland tell a tale fit for a soap opera, followed by Funfdollar all the way from Berlin who left us in stitches with their dry, quick-witted humour. Kicking things off with The Imposters, this group took the word ‘dragon’ from the audience. How this improvisation transpired from the word dragon I am unsure as the only reference to the source word was a clever remark from one of the players, with him saying “this is dragging on.” Get it? To begin with it did seem that the team was struggling a little for inspiration but once they found the basis of their im...

Quartermaine’s Terms – Churchill Theatre, Edinburgh

22Mar

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Quartermaine’s Terms – Churchill Theatre, Edinburgh

Presented by Edinburgh People’s Theatre, Quatermaine’s Terms gives a fly-on-the-wall view of a 1960s staffroom within an international school in Cambridge. Spanning over two years, we see the personal lives and relationships of the characters change and adapt, communicated to us by way of staff room gossip. We get a picture of love, death, and loneliness and the characters incessant need to keep it all to themselves - an all too real representation of the stiff upper lip British attitude which eventually leads to the breakdown of each character. The exception to this cycle of change is the Quartermaine himself. Having been with the school since it first opened, the Quartermaine, who seems almost glued to his staff room armchair, has begun to mentally deteriorate lea...