Tom Scott, Author at North West End UK

The Election Monologues – Traverse Theatre

5Nov

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

The Election Monologues – Traverse Theatre

It was a privilege to be part of the audience for this unrehearsed reading of ‘The Election Monologues’ in the bar of the Traverse. This was a global theatrical event with readings also taking place on 4th November in England, Australia, Greece and the USA. Suzie Miller’s powerful script is based on interviews with librarians and doctors working in the state of Idaho, USA. Conceived by Abigail Gonda, this is intended to be a wake-up call on the eve of the US Presidential election. The message is clear: there is an attack on liberal democracy. Rights and freedoms we have taken for granted for decades are threatened. And the danger is not just to America. Far right activism and populism are evident in many countries including the UK. In 2022 the US Supreme Court overthrew the landma...

A Streetcar Named Desire – The Lyceum, Edinburgh

28Oct

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

A Streetcar Named Desire – The Lyceum, Edinburgh

This is a thrilling production of a great play by Tennessee Williams. It pulsates with raw energy and gripped the packed house at The Lyceum. The Pitlochry Festival Theatre production, directed with panache by Elizabeth Newman, has a stellar cast and an innovative creative team. When 30-something Blanche DuBois unexpectedly turns up at the small downstairs apartment rented by her younger sister, Stella, and her husband, Stanley, she thinks she’s come to the wrong address. Blanche was expecting something better than this poky apartment in a poor area of New Orleans ironically called ‘Elysian Fields’. Blanche has been used to the grandeur of Belle Reve, the family plantation in Mississippi. But although Blanche has a trunk full of pretty clothes, she has to admit to Stella that ...

3Oct

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Ruckus – Traverse Theatre

Jenna Fincken’s revival of her one woman show, which premiered during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022, is timely. Violence against women was recently declared a ‘national emergency’. Two million women a year are estimated to be victims of violence by men. Nearly 1.4 million women are victims of domestic violence. Fincken has written and performs this intriguing, thought-provoking drama. We in the audience are her confidants, and she promises to tell us ‘everything’. She starts with 824 days ‘to go’ and this is emphasised by the projection of a countdown clock. Lou is a primary school teacher in her late 20s. She meets Ryan at an engagement party for her friend, Jess. Ryan is a manager at a homeless charity. He seems a really great guy, charming and considerate. When Lou gets dr...

In Conversation with Caroline Lucas – The Stand Comedy Club

26Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

In Conversation with Caroline Lucas – The Stand Comedy Club

This was a fascinating hour with former Green MP, Caroline Lucas. She answered questions on a wide range of subjects from the interviewer, Graham Spiers, and members of the audience. Unlike some politicians, Lucas does not duck questions, but gives thoughtful, straightforward and always illuminating answers. Lucas is a trailblazer in British politics. She was the first Green MP in 2010, having previously been an MEP since 1999. The first leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2008-12, she was also co-leader from 2016-18. At this year’s General Election, she stepped down as an MP. Lucas is unimpressed by the new Labour Government, saying it’s better than the Tories, but that’s a very low bar. She doesn’t accept the necessity for cuts such as the recent abolition of the wi...

In Conversation with Gary Younge – The Stand Comedy Club

23Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

In Conversation with Gary Younge – The Stand Comedy Club

This was a fascinating and illuminating hour with Gary Younge, writer and academic, who is an outstanding speaker. Whatever questions were asked by the interviewer or the audience, he answered calmly and lucidly. Young was the Guardian’s US correspondent from 2003-15, then became the paper’s editor-at-large, and is still a regular columnist. He’s an editorial board member of The Nation, and has also written for, amongst others, The Financial Times and The New Statesman. His six books include, most recently, ‘Dispatches from the Diaspora’. He’s made several radio and tv documentaries on subjects ranging from Brexit to equal marriage. His many awards include the Orwell Prize for journalism. And Younge is now a Professor of Sociology at Manchester University. Asked by the inte...

An American Love Letter to Edinburgh – Scottish Storytelling Centre

20Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

An American Love Letter to Edinburgh – Scottish Storytelling Centre

This is a delightful, often hilarious, show beautifully performed by Rick Conte. It will appeal not just to lovers of Edinburgh and history buffs but to anyone who loves a good yarn. Written by Conte and Matt Rudkin, and directed by Andy Cannon, this is the fascinating story of two visits made to Edinburgh in 1759 and 1771 by Benjamin Franklin. ‘Renaissance Man’ Franklin wrote a book on electricity, but is of course most famous as one of the Founding Fathers of the USA. He edited and was one of the signatories of the American Declaration of Independence in 1776. Franklin had initially been sent over from Philadelphia to London to try to persuade the sons of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, to pay tax. While in London he met several fellow intellectuals including Sir John Pringl...

18Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Squidge – Pleasance Courtyard

‘Squidge’ is an absorbing one woman show about Daisy, a teaching assistant. It’s a heart-warming play about a young woman who makes life better for the children with ‘special educational needs’ she teaches. But it’s not just about life in the classroom. Daisy tells us about her love life, her relationship with her mother, and the recent bereavement that is gnawing at her soul. ‘Squidge’ is written and performed by Tiggy Bayley. She wrote it last year when she was still teaching, and this is her theatrical debut. It’s a beautiful script which crackles with energy, emotion and wit. This is a rollercoaster of a show which has plenty of laughs, but some heartbreaking moments, too. It reveals its secrets slowly and leaves us with hope. ‘Squidge’ is simply staged but it’s amazing what ...

Ariana vs Chomsky – theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

17Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Ariana vs Chomsky – theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

On 22nd May 2017 a terrorist bomb ripped through the Manchester Arena after a concert by the American pop singer, Ariana Grande. 22 people were killed, ten of them aged under 20. The youngest victim was an 8-year-old girl. More than a thousand were injured. ‘Ariana vs Chomsky’ is set against this tragic background. The play covers the relationship of Chloe and Mark over several years. In May 2017 they relocated from London to Manchester. They’re left wing and admire the works of Noam Chomsky, the American linguist, philosopher and political thinker. When Obama was President, Chomsky condemned Washington’s “global assassination campaign..the drone campaign” as “by far the worst terrorist campaign in the world”. He added: “And when you bomb a village in Yemen, say, and you kill somebod...

Mhairi Black: Politics Isn’t for Me – Gilded Ballon

16Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Mhairi Black: Politics Isn’t for Me – Gilded Ballon

This show is an absolute joy. Tumultuous applause greets Mhairi Black’s entrance. From then until the show ends 70 minutes later, she captivates the audience with her humour, insights and brilliant storytelling. Unsurprisingly the show’s sold out. Try very hard to get a return for one of the best shows at this year’s Fringe. It’s now nine years since Mhairi Black became an SNP MP, overturning a huge Labour majority. Black was part of the SNP landslide in 2015 when the party won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats at the General Election. Aged only 20, she became the youngest MP since the early 1800s. Still a student at Glasgow University, Black took her final exam after the election, gaining a first-class honours degree in Politics. An impressive speaker, she became deputy leader of the SNP at ...

The Edinburgh Seven – Greenside @ Riddle’s Court

15Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

The Edinburgh Seven – Greenside @ Riddle’s Court

The Edinburgh Seven were the first women to go to medical school in Scotland - and indeed the whole UK. But they faced discrimination from the University of Edinburgh, ridicule from male lecturers, criticism in some newspapers, and insults and even violence from male students. Their story began in the 1860s long before women (or even most men) had the vote. In 1869 Sophia Jex-Blake applied to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Then in her late twenties, she had been born and educated in England. She lived for a while in the USA and applied to Harvard University for a place in their medical school, but her application was declined because she was a woman. On returning to England Jex-Blake wrote an essay, entitled ‘Medicine as a profession for women’ in which she argued that w...