Nazaret Ranea, Author at North West End UK

19Aug

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

corto.alto – The Hub

corto.alto was easily one of my top acts at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival. I’ve listened to Liam Shortall’s work for a while, but this was my first time seeing corto.alto live, and it was a seriously good introduction to the project in its live form. Shortall is the creative force behind corto.alto, with the live lineup changing around him. For this performance, he was joined by Mateusz Sobieski on saxophone, Fergus McCreadie on keys, James Mackay on guitar and Graham Costello on drums. The chemistry between the five was one of the best things about the set. They were constantly exchanging looks and cues, which became almost as interesting to watch as the playing itself. The set was only around an hour and fifteen minutes, but it was packed. There was a lot of room for...

17Aug

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Mozart’s Don Giovanni – Usher Hall

The Scottish Chamber Opera dazzles again with its high-spirited rendition of Mozart’s Don Giovanni for the Edinburgh International Festival. Conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev, the show continues the SCO’s highly acclaimed series of Mozart operas at the festival. Part raunchy comedy, part high drama, Don Giovanni tells the story of a dissolute Spanish nobleman whose penchant for womanising and bloodshed brings him to a grisly end. Act I opens with Don Giovanni murdering Il Commendatore after a failed attempt to bed the old man’s daughter, Donna Anna. Konstantin Krimmel plays a leonine, bombastic Don Giovanni, who is at times slick with charisma, at times laughably pompous. His Canzonetta in Act II (“Deh, vieni alla finestra”), sung with elegance and tenderness, is a particularly memo...

20May

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

The Bodyguard – Edinburgh Playhouse

I must admit I went into this musical differently to most people around me because, somehow, I’ve never actually seen the film. Which almost felt embarrassing once the audience started reacting to certain moments with anticipation usually reserved for cult classics. Still, there was something nice about experiencing the story without constantly comparing it to the film version. It meant I could just take the show as it was: glossy, dramatic, a little ridiculous at times, but undeniably entertaining. The production wastes no time throwing you into the spectacle of it all. One minute Edinburgh’s Playhouse is settling, the next there’s a gunshot and suddenly we’re in full concert territory with pyrotechnics, dancers and Queen of the Night blasting through the theatre. It sets the tone ...

8Apr

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

The High Life – Festival Theatre

After spending the Easter weekend revisiting this quirky TV show, I was ready to immerse myself in the musical adaptation of The High Life, and I’ll admit I went in with a mixture of excitement and scepticism. It is one thing to love something in a nostalgic, half remembered way, and quite another to see it expanded into a full stage show. This feels less like a revival and more like a reunion that has been allowed to get slightly out of hand. From the outset, the production leans into its own chaos. The opening number arrives with a knowing wink, that familiar theme tune doing a lot of the work in terms of goodwill, but it quickly becomes clear that the show is not content to rely on recognition alone. It understands what made the original work and pushes it further rather than trying ...

2Apr

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

The Constant Wife – Festival Theatre

On its opening night at the Festival Theatre, The Constant Wife felt less like a revival and more like a reminder of just how ahead of its time W. Somerset Maugham really was. Written in 1926, the play sits neatly in the world of drawing-room comedy, but beneath the polished dialogue and social niceties there is something far more unsettling. It asks what happens when a woman refuses to react in the way society expects. That tension is at the centre of this new version by Laura Wade, directed by Tamara Harvey for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Wade keeps the 1920s setting but softly reshapes the structure, bringing moments forward and adding a flashback that shows Constance discovering her husband’s affair. It is a small change, but an important one. It shifts her from someone who seems...

The Talented Mr Ripley – Festival Theatre

18Sep

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Scotland

The Talented Mr Ripley – Festival Theatre

I remember first reading Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley as a teenager and being completely hooked by Tom Ripley’s mix of cunning, insecurity and longing. There was something about him that felt both thrilling and a little unsettling, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the Riviera he inhabited, sun-drenched, glamorous and just a little decadent. Then I watched the 1999 film, and my fascination only grew. So, when I got the chance to see the story brought to life on stage at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on the opening night, I was really intrigued about what I was about to experience. From the very first moment, the play draws you into Ripley’s world. Ed McVey is rarely off stage and he inhabits Tom with such precision that it is impossible not to be captivated. He moves ef...

Figures in Extinction – Festival Theatre

23Aug

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Scotland

Figures in Extinction – Festival Theatre

The Edinburgh International Festival continues to prove how committed it is to bringing the finest examples of the arts to the city every year, and this time it could not have been otherwise. Figures in Extinction is one of the most elevated ballets I have ever seen, both in terms of technique, concept and production design. Crystal Pite proves herself to be one of the finest choreographers currently working in Europe. What sets her apart is her willingness to look directly at the world around her and to translate difficult, often painful subjects into movement that feels alive, urgent and deeply human. In Figures in Extinction, a trilogy created with Simon McBurney of Complicité and performed by the extraordinary dancers of Nederlands Dans Theater, she turns her attention to the climate c...

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – Festival Theatre

14May

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Scotland

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – Festival Theatre

As someone who spent a good portion of their childhood half-convinced there might be a secret world hiding at the back of the wardrobe, this production was always going to land somewhere between nostalgia and reverence. And I’m pleased to say, it hit the mark beautifully. Michael Fentiman’s production, adapted from Sally Cookson’s earlier version, is a rich, often dazzling journey into Narnia and one that balances spectacle and substance with real flair. From the opening bars of We’ll Meet Again, underscoring the siblings’ evacuation from London, it’s clear this is not simply a children’s story. There’s grit in the frame, a proper wartime darkness that lends weight to the fantasy. It’s still magic – of course it is – but the stakes feel real. The visual storytelling is a triumph. ...

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Festival Theatre

10Apr

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Scotland

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Festival Theatre

Having previously been swept away by Matthew Bourne’s Romeo & Juliet and the haunting brilliance of Edward Scissorhands, I knew to expect something bold, something unexpected. But nothing quite prepares you for Swan Lake – The Next Generation. This isn’t just another reinterpretation of a classic – it’s the jewel in Bourne’s already glittering crown. Now in its 30th anniversary revival, Bourne’s audacious take on Swan Lake has lost none of its bite. If anything, this latest incarnation feels sharper, more intimate and emotionally resonant than ever. From the moment the curtain lifted at the Festival Theatre, there was an electricity in the air – the kind that only comes when something truly iconic is about to unfold. For those unfamiliar, Bourne's Swan Lake made waves in 1995 for...

28Mar

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Ghost Stories – Festival Theatre

I went to see Ghost Stories at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh on the 26th of March, and I have to admit—I didn’t actually enjoy it. Not because it was a bad show, but because it genuinely scared me. I suppose that means it did its job well! I’m not usually one for horror, and while I went in hoping for something atmospheric and thought-provoking, I left shaken and, embarrassingly, had nightmares afterwards. If you’re a fan of horror theatre, you shouldn’t expect anything particularly groundbreaking in terms of storytelling, but you can definitely count on plenty of jump scares. Photo: Hugo Glendinning The play, written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, follows Professor Goodman, a parapsychologist, as he investigates three different supernatural encounters. Without giving away any s...