H.S. Baker, Author at North West End UK

<strong>The Snow Queen – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh</strong>

25Nov

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

The Snow Queen – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Always leave ‘em wanting more. That seems to be the philosophy behind Scottish Ballet’s latest production, the fairly short but very sweet production of “The Snow Queen”. A festive show for all the family at just 40 minutes for each of the two acts, with a 25-minute interval, this colourful charming fairy tale is perfectly pitched for all ages to enjoy without the wee ones getting too restless. “The Snow Queen” is a Hans Christian Andersen story on which the film “Frozen” is based, but Scottish Ballet brings the original tale to life with choreography by Christopher Hampson and music by Rimsky-Korsakov played by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra conducted by Jean-Claude Picard. It tells the story of two sisters, the Snow Queen, (Constance Devernay-Laurence) and the Summer ...

Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

24Oct

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Les Ballets Trockadero, or “The Trocks”, is a company of professional male dancers who perform a repertoire of classical ballet, taking both male and female roles to great comic effect. Blokes in tutus dancing en pointe is an amusing concept in itself, but the comedy displayed in the slapstick parody of an art form that sometimes takes itself too seriously is a joy and a chuckle-fest from start to finish. The dancing is excellent; these guys are properly trained disciplined ballet dancers, the spoofs would not be so funny if it were otherwise. A shoulder shrug, a jerk of the head and some wonderfully funny facial expressions enhance the more obvious slapstick in the choreography. The dancers all have ballerina character names, with alter egos such as Colette A...

24Aug

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

Earwig – Assembly Rooms

Impeccable timing, fine acting and sustained energy are what make this short play well worthy of a five-star rating. Too short really, I couldn’t believe an hour had passed so quickly and left the venue wanting more. This perky play, set in the silent movie era of the roaring ‘20s, tells the story of Marigold. Now a young woman, Marigold has been deaf since the age of five after contracting meningitis, she now lip reads and speaks perfectly. Although never formally qualified, Marigold has a passion for insects and has become an expert in the field of entomology. She lives with her mother, a snobbish northern woman with aspirations for herself and her daughter that have nothing to do with Marigold’s passion for creepy crawlies. She marries Marigo...

11Aug

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

Boy – Summerhall, Main Hall

“Boy” tells the true story of David Reimer, a Canadian boy born in the 1960s and raised as a girl. Named Bruce at birth, David was an identical twin to Brian, his name later being changed to Brenda. When they were six months old, both boys were referred for circumcision at hospital. A comparatively new method was used on Bruce, the first twin to have the surgery, and resulted in catastrophic and irreversible mutilation to his penis. The procedure was not carried out on Brian. His parents sought advice from Johns Hopkins psychologist, John Money, on how best to help their son in the coming years learning to live with his situation. The advice from Money was that, since in his opinion gender identity stems from social learning, it would be better to have t...