Tom Scott, Author at North West End UK

The Kids With Nae Hame – C Arts, C Venues

29Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

The Kids With Nae Hame – C Arts, C Venues

This new play gives a voice to children who have been taken into ‘care’. They are ‘The Kids With Nae Hame’. The script, written by Geraldine Smith, is based on the personal experiences of the care system by some of the cast members. The company formed to present this play is called ‘It’s About Time (Scotland)’. That title encapsulates the campaigning spirit of this play. Children in care have, for a variety of reasons, been taken away from their parental homes. But sadly, in the care system they’re not necessarily getting the care and attention they need. In this play we see acts of emotional ill-treatment, even cruelty, by care workers. There seems to be a continuous battle being waged between the staff and the teenagers. The ongoing Scottish Child Abuse enquiry has hear...

18Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Draining The Swamp – C Arts

Sir Oswald Mosley was an antisemite who led the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s. His notorious Blackshirts were a byword for political thuggery. Mosley was interned during the Second World War. Yet Mosley started life as a mainstream politician. First elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative in 1918, aged only 21, he later joined Labour and in 1929 was appointed a member of Ramsay MacDonald’s Government. Mosley was spoken of as a future Prime Minister. But he resigned a year later, and in 1932 formed the British Union of Fascists. As we enter the intimate venue for this new play by D.R Hill, stern looking Blackshirts mumble greetings. We are soon welcomed by Mosley himself. It is 1961 and we’re his guests at his home in France. He’s launching the ‘new Union Movement’ ...

17Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

For Better For Worse – C ARTS

This thought-provoking new drama by Edinburgh playwright Jill Franklin was inspired by the Independence Referendum of 2014. But although set in the heady days of that September nine years ago, it is not really about Scottish Independence which is a peripheral issue here. Diane, movingly played by Sheila Duncan, became a widow six months ago when her husband died. Now it’s her birthday and her son, Mark, arranges a surprise visit with her daughter, Natalie, to celebrate the occasion. Although Diane is pleased to see them, she gently castigates them for assuming she hadn’t made other arrangements. During the next few days there ensues a struggle by Diane to find her own voice. Her husband had made all the decisions in their marriage, and now her children seem to be trying to tell...

11Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Iain Dale: All Talk with Nicola Sturgeon MSP – Pleasance at EICC

Nicola Sturgeon received a rapturous reception when she walked onto the stage. The audience was overwhelmingly on her side with regular outbursts of applause in response to her comments. This was her first extended interview since she stepped down as Scotland’s First Minister five months ago. Her interviewer was the broadcaster, Iain Dale, who is also interviewing other politicians at the Festival Fringe. Although a Conservative, you cannot tell from Dale’s questions. His approach is conversational, not confrontational. Dale has a good rapport with Sturgeon who he’s interviewed twice before. It’s a wide-ranging interview on a host of subjects including some very personal questions. Dale reminds Sturgeon that at the start of the year she said she had ‘plenty left in the tank’ so wh...

Dreams of Anne Frank – The Space @ Surgeon’s Hall

11Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Dreams of Anne Frank – The Space @ Surgeon’s Hall

This is a gripping production about the experiences of Amsterdam teenager, Anne Frank, who was forced into hiding from the Nazis in 1942. The young actors from Zenith Youth Theatre in Bath are to be congratulated on an assured production. It’s a tragic tale but Bernard Kops’s play, loosely based on Anne Frank’s famous diary, provides plenty of amusing moments. Anne, along with her parents and older sister, Margot, hide in a ‘secret annexe’ of a warehouse because, as a Jewish family, they fear for their lives when the German army enters Amsterdam. They have to share the cramped living accommodation with another Jewish family, Mr and Mrs Van Daan and their son, Peter. And also, with Mr Dussel, a dentist. They live in the annexe for more than two years and unsurprisingly ...

8Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Prick – The Space on the Mile: Space 3

‘Prick’ is a powerful new play by Laurie Flanigan Hegge which throws a light on a shameful period in Scotland’s history. Between 1563 and 1736 nearly 4000 people (mainly women) were accused of witchcraft. More than 2500 of them were brutally executed. Garroted by the hangman, they were then burnt at the stake, leaving no bodies for their families to bury. The play’s title, ‘Prick’, refers to a sharp iron needle pushed, often repeatedly, into the bodies of women accused of witchcraft. The Pricker was seeking a witch’s mark, a part of the body which would not bleed or feel pain. The accused woman had first been stripped and shaved. If all else failed, the pricks often had a blunt end which would not draw blood. The Pricker could then claim that he’d found the devil’s mark. Often ...

Bitter Lemons – Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath)

6Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Bitter Lemons – Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath)

Two women, both in their twenties, are high fliers in careers traditionally associated with men. One is a professional footballer, the other a banker. They are both on the cusp of even greater success. But their lives are changed for ever by something that can never happen to a man - they get pregnant. This is a wonderful new play, beautifully written by Lucy Hayes. It is transferring next month to the Bristol Old Vic. The writing is spare, often poetic, and crackles with energy. There is gentle humour, too, especially in the descriptions of the women’s relationships with their mothers. Apart from a brief meeting at the end, the women never interact. They tell us their stories and we in the audience are their confidants. We are never told their names, but these women are spe...

The Ayes Have It, The Ayes Have It! – At Spiegeltent Palais Du Variété

5Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

The Ayes Have It, The Ayes Have It! – At Spiegeltent Palais Du Variété

This is politics as showbiz, an entertaining canter across a lush political landscape. An hour of political debate which was thoroughly enjoyed by a packed house in a wonderful venue. The evening starts with a prerecorded video message from actor Brian Cox. In Logan Roy style, he tells us to “enjoy ourselves - or else”. This show will be different each night. A series of ten debates on a variety of topics. The first night issue is one that has divided Scotland for a long time, particularly since the 2014 Referendum: “This house believes Scotland should be Independent”. The Director, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, introduces our ‘cast’ for tonight’s debate: Alex Salmond, former First Minister of Scotland, will propose the motion for the ‘Ayes’. David Davis, former Brexit Secretary, wi...

DOM – The Play – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

4Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

DOM – The Play – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

This is a show which hits the ground running - a fast-paced production, directed by Michael Kingsbury. It’s a comedy about Boris Johnson and his erstwhile Chief Adviser, Dominic Cummings, former Director of Vote Leave, and the architect of the Johnson election victory in 2019. It tells the story of the EU Referendum Campaign and the Boris Johnson premiership from the point of view of Cummings. This show, already seen in London and Windsor, has been shortened and updated for the Festival Fringe. The author, we are told, prefers to remain anonymous prompting speculation that it is the work of a Westminster ‘insider’. The play opens with Dom speaking directly to the audience. He greets us as ‘weirdos and misfits’ - a reference to Cummings’s strange blog post in 2020 when he invite...