Kathleen Mansfield, Author at North West End UK

Baby Belle: Young, Dumb and full of Autism – Greenside @ Infirmary Street

15Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Baby Belle: Young, Dumb and full of Autism – Greenside @ Infirmary Street

Jax Braithwaite is at the Edinburgh Fringe to tell a personal story. It’s about a slow awakening to personal identity. A one-person show, Jax took a last-minute opening at the Fringe and put this piece together because it matters. The show is funny and warm and aimed at both the neurodivergent and as an edutainment piece, where those who fit the norm might better appreciate that autism is as nuanced and individual as each individual on this planet. It’s a tale of how they discovered their autism as an adult. As an aging linguistics graduate, I wonder if, over time, he and she will disappear altogether. If so, what will the French do? But I digress. Jax’s story is told through song and direct address. It is very relatable. And it makes me think. As an older person, I wonder if ...

National Youth Choir of Scotland – Usher Hall

15Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

National Youth Choir of Scotland – Usher Hall

If you were lucky enough to get to the Usher Hall by 4pm on Sunday, you will have joined a lively run-down (and audience challenge) detailing how and why Scottish National Youth Choir is so exemplary. The choir caters for 0-25-years-old. It is truly outstanding thanks to the skill, playfulness and overall enthusiasm of Artistic Director and Conductor, Christopher Bell who formed the choir in 1996. In 2012, the National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS) became the first youth company to win a Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award in the Ensemble category. Bell calls the company’s methods “stealth teaching” and the games-based learning is just up my street. Balls, hula hoops and old-fashioned clapping games get the rhythm and mood started and the children learn without knowing it. “S...

Trojan Women – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

11Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Trojan Women – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Phenomenal. Raw. A fusion of golden talent across time and space. Combining Euripides’ play from 415 BCE with outstanding modern expertise is genius. Jung Jae-Il, the musical director, composer, is behind the success of Parasite (2019) and the cult TV series Squid Game; Scott Zielinski has lit more than 300 productions with numerous leading directors; renowned video/projection designer, Austin Switser, swamps and caresses the senses in magnificent style; Cho Myung Hee’s clean-lined, gorgeous, set is drop-dead wonderful; Wen Hui’s choreography is faultless; Kim Moo-Hong’s costumes … I want one. And then, of course, there’s the wonderful writer, Bae Sam-Sik who is acclaimed for outstanding structure, profundity and eloquence. The direction and conception is down to Ong Keng Sen, whose produc...

11Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Lear Alone – The Space Triplex

And Tomorrow Theatre Company brings us Lear Alone: a modern-day take on street living, aging and the modern scourge of dementia in all its guises. It was originally an award-winning Web Series shot on the streets of London. The punitive Covid lockdown saw the homeless finally safe inside, but the arts and artists were crippled and bound by isolation. And Tomorrow is creating work that can be presented both digitally and on stage in our post-pandemic landscape. The company is working with CRISIS to highlight the plight of homeless individuals in our relatively wealthy society. They have funding from The Arts Council, Screensaver, Elysium Theatre Company, Entire, Tricolore, Theater Auf’m Kahn, Berlin, Actors and Writers London and The So & So Club. Directed by Anthony Shrubsal...

Sheila’s Sister & Her Musical Cousins – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

11Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Sheila’s Sister & Her Musical Cousins – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

Improvised comedy isn’t easy when there’s a small audience. The form relies on audience participation. This team of three musicians and two actors, hailing from Chicago, kept the tempo up with a small gaggle of theatre goers. The married duo, Dana Allande O’Brien and Edmund O’Brien, last performed at the Gilded Balloon in 1995 to great acclaim. In between, they’ve been busy raising children, writing comedy games and scripts for TV. Suddenly, it’s 2023 and they’ve only just got back to The Toun. I enjoyed the flip piece. It was clever. And their opening piece was very entertaining. Of course, being impro, you probably won’t see those little gems when you come another day, but, no doubt, there’ll be other jewels to behold. Their publicity says it is suitable for 14+ but I ...

Gie’s Peace – Scottish Storytelling Centre

10Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Gie’s Peace – Scottish Storytelling Centre

Morna Burdon’s journey through the world of women who have stood against war and made a peaceful difference is not shouting for space in a busy Edinburgh festival. Yet, on this, her first day, she has a full house. The George Mackay Brown Library in the Scottish Storytelling Centre is an apt venue. Burdon has done her research. And she has chosen a tender and funny collection of songs to illustrate the power of peaceful protest. She began with Nancy Nicolson’s Last Carol which alternates between a melancholy chorus of mushroom clouds and heavy water and jaunty verses with the words, merrily, merrily. I instantly warmed to her and to the subject matter. At the end, the audience spontaneously joined her for We Will Overcome. It was very moving. Early on she included a teenager from...

Attenborough and His Animals – Gilded Balloon at the Museum

8Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Attenborough and His Animals – Gilded Balloon at the Museum

Jonathan Tilley and Jess Clough-Mcrae are a pair of talented physical mime artists and very entertaining. They both trained in Paris at the Jacques Lecoq clowning school and their skill shines through. When David Attenborough doesn’t turn up as expected they turn to improvisation to provide a show with a myriad different creatures and a commentary very like Sir Attenborough’s. It’s an interactive show. Clough-Mcrae is superb at acting out the animals and making eye contact with the audience. She picked out a family in the front row for special treatment and, honestly, those little ones have memories for life from that one hour. Their dad was singled out and they loved it! I loved the orangutan and the fish and the sloth and the lizard and the crab … okay, I thought it was all ...

Yuck Circus – Assembly George Square Gardens

8Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Yuck Circus – Assembly George Square Gardens

Appropriately titled, Yuck Circus’s all-female troupe of gymnasts and contortionists gives a thrilling display of strength and dexterity. Their premise is to show that women can be as strong and powerful as men. And to do a little man-bashing (and wimpy woman bashing) along the way … challenge stereotypes and talk openly about menstruation (noting the fact it begins with the syllable, MEN - how ironic). I liked their balls! And the woman beside me liked absolutely everything, including screeching with laughter into my ringing ear and yelling her approval as if she were part of the show and should be noticed. I liked that they weren’t ridiculously skinny. They were all shapes and sizes, as women are, yet still able to do a wondrous amount of physically demanding work. I was ...

Spontaneous Potter – The Stand’s New Theatre

8Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Spontaneous Potter – The Stand’s New Theatre

If you’re a fan of improvisation, you’ll enjoy Spontaneous Potter. As usual, the audience is asked to make suggestions and the suggestion with the loudest applause is the one that anchors the story. This time it was Harry Potter in Asbo Land. It worked. Jenny Laahs was a superb musical accompaniment to the action, sensing where things were headed and playing suitably emotionally laden music. Her contribution made a big difference. Stand up stalwart, Stu Murphy, took the reins to introduce the cast: Paul Connolly, Moira Jay and Emily. Just Emily. She was good! Between them they behaved in a silly way and carried the story forward smoothly. Stu Murphy seems to be the most experienced of the cast and he has a very sharp wit. His long hair is glossy and lush, his beard bristly and I thou...

Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder – Underbelly George Square

7Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder – Underbelly George Square

Get a ticket! You’ll laugh your socks off. My shoulders took on a life of their own as I smirked and giggled my way through this totally absurd storyline with larger-than-life characters all brilliantly played by a quality cast. The title tells you what to expect: it’s Enid Blyton on steroids. Best friends murder-mystery capers gone viral. Imelda Warren-Green is hilarious as Erica and you can’t fault Jodie Jacobs in her many incarnations of Felicia Taylor and her family. TJ Lloyd can move it and plays the morgue-happy Justin (plus others) with joyous enthusiasm and a sweetness which warms the heart. The two leads, Kathy (Bronté Barbé) and Stella (Rebekah Hinds) complement one another as opposites attracted through their misfit natures. Costumed to reflect this dichotomy by Cecilia Carey...