Roger Jacobs, Author at North West End UK

Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England – Underbelly Bristo Square

5Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England – Underbelly Bristo Square

Why? Exactly. Was this act a bare-faced illustration of the hideous nationalistic spirit that took England out of Europe (dragging Scotland & N Ireland with them), a suburban reaction of self-harm to years of disenfranchisement? Or a daft, exuberant party trick, of which there have been many worse witnessed (and kept secret) on Stag and Hen Do’s? Maybe without the ‘… For England’ suffix it might be agreed it was the latter. But, was it hot… did it hurt? What you get with this production are no direct answers to such trivialities, but something more significant, some context and perspective leading up to the event. On the surface it’s a vigorous, comic, yet desperate, depressing portrait of what it takes to earn your stripes as an England football fan. Or a member of any gang, re...

10Jun

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Restless Natives – Leith Theatre

The Clown (Kyle Gardiner) and the Wolfman (Finlay McKillop) ride again, not from Wester Hailes, but tonight (and for the next two weeks, a combination of matinees and evenings) in the stunning setting of a Leith Theatre slowly – but steadily - resurrecting itself. The plot is gently turned from the original celluloid version now standing as one pillar of that mid-80’s quartet (Gregory’s Girl, Comfort & Joy, Local Hero); there’s humorous context given to the situation influencing Ronnie and Will’s decision to head to the Highlands - upon a Suzuki 125 of questionable integrity - in pursuit of rich, vulnerable tourists. As important to the original film as the script, scenery, plot and characters was Big Country’s music and it’s given a shivers-down-the-spine-pitch-perfect acknowle...

A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here – Traverse Theatre

26Apr

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here – Traverse Theatre

A pink bodybag wriggles and squirms its way across the stage, an opening that will live long in the memory. Dramatic and comedic, it encouraged curiosity at the same time. Eventually our protagonist emerges from the shabby cocoon to take her place at what resembles a teacher’s desk festooned with microphones. This is none other than Josie Dale-Jones, who, frustrated at the poor, nay, terrifying quality and tone of sex education tried to put together a production that might major on the positive aspects of relationships and sex, aimed at families. It was evident this might attract some criticism but what followed from the trolls and keyboard warriors far exceeded her worst nightmares. A petition was launched, garnering 41,000 signatures, leading to the production being cancelled… before any...

Looking For Me Friend: The Music Of Victoria Wood – Traverse Theatre

26Apr

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Looking For Me Friend: The Music Of Victoria Wood – Traverse Theatre

Such is the national treasure status accorded the late great Victoria Wood it’s easy to forget quite how barbed and satirical she was. It’s a great credit to Paulus The Cabaret Geek (with piano accompaniment from the esteemed Michael Roulston) for delivering a hefty reminder that the ‘gentle genius’ smuggled smut and ferreted filth by the barrow load past light entertainment audiences on a regular basis. Concealed behind the cheeky grin and homely asides was a rapier-like wit and a perception regarding peculiarly British sensibilities, but above all, it was FUN. In capitals. Paulus set about the canon with relish, employing his trademark flamboyance and exuberance, interspersing the songs with anecdotes illustrating how his own life was affected and influenced, revisiting many of th...

ImprompTwo & Nice Things & Hog – Scottish Storytelling Centre

23Mar

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

ImprompTwo & Nice Things & Hog – Scottish Storytelling Centre

Three for the price of one. A busy hour flashed by, we’ll try to remember... First up were ImprompTwo (Kathy and Joe Rinaldi from across the pond) illustrating several comic aspects of a New York apartment block; the Deli on the ground floor where debates on sandwich fillings leads to a customer’s ejection, a couple’s upstairs apartment where debates concerning the title of a podcast (is it Love or Romance?) lead to some testy exchanges, and a further debate about what to do when an unwanted guest threatens a visit. Funny, entertaining, slick, with snappy dialogue, but was it improvised? Next up were Nice Things (Charles Dundas and Steven Millar) who took the audience input and ran with it, kicking off with bus drivers Terry and Terence and the surreal suggestion that a sma...

Portable Infinity – Edinburgh Traverse Bar

23Mar

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Portable Infinity – Edinburgh Traverse Bar

Crikey, this was good. Tight. Hot. Funky. At times it even rocked. Four master musicians with CV’s so long you’d need a telescope to finish reading. Accompanying central legend Benjamin Koppel on Alto Sax were Jacob Karlzon on piano, Scott Colley on double bass and Magnus Ostrom on drums and percussion (have a google). Making it work because they love, but more importantly, live, what they do. The setting of the bar at The Traverse lends itself well to these events, allowing just the right ratio of reverence to informality. As Benjamin announces, this will be one long set, no interval, but one is welcome to frequent the bar. The quartet recorded an eponymously titled album in 2023, (available from Cowbell Music, Bandcamp and most of the usual platforms) and this is pretty much what ...

20Feb

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Kjetil Mulelid Trio – Traverse Bar

Returning from a trip to Oslo a few years back someone excitedly described Norway as ‘the new Scotland’; oil, fish, love of conversation fuelled, dare one admit, by a glass or two. Music was in there too and in 2025, let’s, specifically, add Jazz, though with a distinct folk/cultural bent. Just as Fergus McCreadie spirits one to the glens and lochs, this trio quickly has us gliding through the cool, clear air of the fjords. Jazz as a genre easily attracts derision from those unwilling to devote the required attention or application. There are ready-made phrases and cliches coined by a certain (brilliant!) sketch show a few moons ago but tonight’s performance, despite running things close, stayed just the right side of these. Improvisational it was, at points difficult to discern who was le...

Queen Extravaganza – Edinburgh Playhouse

12Feb

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Queen Extravaganza – Edinburgh Playhouse

If you love Queen… scratch that, if you like Queen just a bit… don’t miss this. A sell-out crowd was clearly up for it but the first ‘act’ began with a peculiar, muddy version of ‘We Will Rock You’, the band in dull, pub-band regulation black and as the following two tracks travelled past the chief positive was that the sound clicked sharply into place. Though hang on, that vocal pirouette Gareth Taylor dropped at the end of ‘Somebody To Love’ was a bit special, wasn’t it? Then came ‘Under Pressure’, a lump in the throat reflecting that this was written before mental health was a thing; we all had stuff going on, it just wasn’t ok to talk about it. Except that David, Freddie and the band did, producing an epic four-minute pop song that resonates more heavily every single year si...

27Jan

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Mary Poppins – Festival Theatre

In P.L. Travers’s book, ‘tossed and bent under the wind’, Mary is thrown ‘bag and all, at the front door’ by an east wind, at which ‘the whole house shook’. Here (as in the film), despite the proximity of Storm Eowyn, her arrival and appearance are ‘practically perfect’*, all spit-spot and efficiency. Which pretty much describes this abundant sweetshop of a production; it dazzled, shone, all slick, gloss and polish, which, given its producers (the hyper-successful Cameron Mackintosh and Disney Theatrical Group), was not surprising. Which can be an issue with these huge shows where the creative team includes no less than two responsible for ‘set design adaptation’ and two whose remit is ‘illusions’. Technically, everything (and the kitchen sink) is thrown in, from small prop details like...

Trouble In Spiritland – Traverse Theatre

18Dec

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Trouble In Spiritland – Traverse Theatre

A story written as a poem by performer Paul Tinto (Guilt, King Lear, Outlander, The Last Post). An epic, complex poem no less, mining for the roots of how in heaven’s name the planet’s most dominant inhabitants have driven it into the state it’s in in 2024. Running to 156 pages in a spanking hardback it’s available for purchase after the show, a boon, since plenty bears re-reading over a pint. Whereupon a couple of lines rise from the text, striking at the heart of the endeavour, Lust telling us we live in a world ‘where saints share the streets with the damned’. Why else would ‘Hate’, the bastard son of ‘Fear’ exerts such an influence on proceedings? Tinto stalks the stage, drawing us into intimacy, then, propelled by Abbott’s playing, beating us back into our seats with raw tirade...