Torya Hughes, Author at North West End UK

Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story – Pleasance Courtyard

24Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story – Pleasance Courtyard

Diana, Princess of Wales is brought to life as you've never seen her before, in a chaotic sort-of solo show by Awkward Productions. Starring Linus Karp as the titular princess, who is often upstaged by Joseph Martin in the role of Camilla, the show also features very enthusiastic audience participation. The company are honest at the outset - this is the story of Diana's life, but there is very little truth to it. Instead, this is a mix of drag, multimedia, comedy and borderline slander. Certain audience members are chosen to play roles such as Diana's parents, the royal nannies and even the Queen's corgi. To their credit they all get involved with great enthusiasm and seem to relish the opportunity to hop up onstage. Charles is represented by a cardboard cutout with real hair stuck ...

15Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Swamplesque – Assembly Hall

Shrek themed burlesque sounds like the premise for a show which could either be very good or very bad. Thankfully, Australian cabaret troupe Trigger Happy Productions have the skills and confidence to make this show both entertaining and impressive. After a stern announcement reminding the audience that this is in no way connected with DreamWorks, the show starts with a bang. Trigger Happy imbues the role of Shrek with an infectious pizazz, whether he's high kicking in sequins or coyly peeping out from behind a feathered fan. This energy is more than matched by Tash York as Princess Fiona, who showcases a powerful voice in two solos. Drag king Rainbow takes on the role of Lord Farquaad, arriving on her knees for comic effect. She has a wonderfully expressive face, which adds to the ...

Garry Starr: Classic Penguins – Pleasance Courtyard

14Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Garry Starr: Classic Penguins – Pleasance Courtyard

Returning to the Fringe with his third solo show, comedian and clown Garry Starr attempts to perform every Penguin Classic novel in the space of an hour, to save literature from extinction. This seems like a bold claim; however, this is a man who has previously performed every style of theatre and all of Greek mythology and managed to make both incredibly funny. This year he has even branched out into children's theatre, albeit with an underlying narrative about mental health. Starr arrives onstage naked, save for a top hat, a dinner jacket, an Elizabethan ruff and a pair of flippers. He builds an instant rapport with the audience, riding the waves of laughter before gently encouraging some participation. There is a great deal of skill involved in his crowd work, never ridiculing an...

Reuben Kaye: Live and Intimidating – Assembly George Square

8Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Reuben Kaye: Live and Intimidating – Assembly George Square

Self-described “actress, model and award-winning cry for help” Reuben Kaye brings his new show to the Palais du Variete for its UK debut. An experienced and talented cabaret performer and comedian, Kaye has been impressing audiences and critics alike at the Fringe for several years now. He not only performs his own show, but also curates a late-night variety show amusingly titled The Kaye Hole. He welcomes the audience individually at the door, towering above the crowd in sparkly stilettos and a ruffled shirt split to the waist. There isn’t a hint of the intimidation mentioned in the title of the show – but then the performance starts. Kaye stalks amongst the front rows like some sort of impossibly glamorous praying mantis looking for its next victim. Audience members are serenaded,...

Spring Awakening – The Space @Surgeons’ Hall

7Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Spring Awakening – The Space @Surgeons’ Hall

Based on an 1891 German play by Frank Wedekind, “Spring Awakening” deals with themes of teenage sexuality, oppression and abuse. Despite its historical influences, the story feels relevant and timeless, and young company Selkie Theatre bring this production to the airy space of the Grand Theatre at Surgeon’s Hall. The musical uses a rock score to tell the story of Wendla Bergmann, played with delightful innocence by Shannon Hood. She longs to find out about the facts of life, but her mother is unwilling to talk of anything other than love and marriage. Wendla soon falls in love with Melchior Gabor, a rebellious boy who is keen to share the information that he’s learned from books. Joe Gill shows Melchior’s frustration and determination, but also lends him an endearing teenage awkwar...

Aidan Sadler: Melody – The Voodoo Rooms, The Ballroom

7Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Aidan Sadler: Melody – The Voodoo Rooms, The Ballroom

Variously described as “an absolute tornado” and a “demonic David Bowie”, cabaret performer, musician and comedian Aidan Sadler brings their show “Melody” back to the Edinburgh Fringe. Billed as a collection of “top steps to surviving the apocalypse”, this show doesn’t quite deliver on that promise. However it does provide an entertaining hour of 80s inspired synth music, original songs, and masterful crowd work. Sadler attacks the stage with energy, clad in a two-piece ruffled costume which apparently cost more than a month’s rent in London, and a pair of chunky platform boots. They are faced with a small but perfectly formed audience, all of whom are immediately on side. The best comedians can make crowd work look easy. Trying to perform a set which Aidan admits is built on audien...

The Phantom of the Opera – The Edinburgh Academy Magnusson Theatre

6Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

The Phantom of the Opera – The Edinburgh Academy Magnusson Theatre

With a challenging operatic score, some of the most memorable tunes in musical theatre, and a huge reputation to live up to, “The Phantom of the Opera” is a bold choice for Captivate Theatre. However, they are more than capable of doing it justice, with a talented cast and near faultless vocal performances. The musical needs little introduction, but tells the story of Christine, a chorus girl in the opera who is thrust into the leading role after a strange incident causes the prima donna Carlotta to storm out. Christine has been tutored by the Phantom, her “angel of music”, a shadowy figure who lives in the sewers of the opera house. New owners take over the company, including a rich patron named Raoul, who is Christine’s childhood friend. They rekindle a friendship which turns into lov...

In the Lady Garden – Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One

2Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

In the Lady Garden – Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One

Pairing homely references to Yorkshire puddings with anecdotes about sex toys, Babs Horton's new comedy monologue provides an hour of gentle feminist fun Main character Alice is 69, an age that seems not entirely accidental given the subject matter, and says that "I know a lot about sex - mainly theory". She's been married to Keith for years, after being expelled from convent school much to her mother's disgust. We meet Alice in a prison cell, created simply by director Deborah Edgington using wooden blocks to represent a bench and a toilet. This promising set up digresses into a series of funny and touching reminiscences, mostly seguing into each other like the thoughts of a distracted mind Julia Faulkner as Alice is an engaging performer, vocally confident and in command of the...

Son of a Bitch – Summerhall Demonstration Room

1Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Son of a Bitch – Summerhall Demonstration Room

Billed as a show about maternal ambivalence, Anna Morris’ debut play is an honest and sympathetic portrait of a woman on the edge. Morris plays Marnie, a yoga teacher who goes viral for a ten second video clip of an air rage incident where she calls her four year old son Charlie a “cunt”. Her husband says she’s probably a bad parent, other mums ostracise her at the school gates, and she is roundly condemned by strangers from across the globe. However, in a cleverly written script full of twists and turns, we learn that there is more to the story than meets the eye. In this solo show Morris plays a wide variety of characters with considerable skill, switching from an eccentric flatmate to a slightly hapless father with small changes of accent and body language. These different ...