Wendy McEwan, Author at North West End UK

<strong>Unbecoming – Summerhall</strong>

25Mar

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Unbecoming – Summerhall

This deeply personal solo piece, by Anna Porubcansky of Company of Wolves, unmasks the artist’s windswept inner world in all its dreamlike complexity, through poetry, song and performance. The show opens with a lament. A melodic dirge about loss, death and mortality. Porubcansky’s clear, plaintive singing voice is perfect here, and there are some lines of poetry which will stay with me for very a long time. Here, and elsewhere in the show, Porubcansky uses technology to layer her vocalisations, drawing on repetition to create a richly meditative atmosphere. Porubcansky’s openness and vulnerability, as a poet and performer, is exquisite. This is not a work of fiction: all the content comes from Porubcansky’s personal experience. She really shows up, emotionally...

<strong>Tam O’Shanter, Tales and Whisky – Traverse Theatre</strong>

27Jan

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Tam O’Shanter, Tales and Whisky – Traverse Theatre

One Burns Night, a group of friends gather around the soothing glow of a campfire in an Edinburgh forest, to tell stories and sing songs. On a chilly January afternoon, Traverse 2 is sold out as folks gather to celebrate the poetry and music of Scotland. The set, by Polly Morris, is cosy – a campfire, with logs for the performers to sit on, and the musicians at the back in amongst the spooky trees. The lighting, by George Cort, creates a dappled forest floor effect. When I came downstairs to go into the theatre, I briefly thought I had got lost, and that I was about to go outside. Happily, the room is nice and warm, and not at all Januaryish in temperature. Some tickets include a complementary nip of whisky, which would further enhance the atmosphere, but sadly I’m dri...

<strong>Redcoat – Traverse Theatre</strong>

20Nov

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Redcoat – Traverse Theatre

Lewis Jobson treats us to some extra sparkle, joy, and magic in this exuberantly light-hearted one-man show. He celebrates his youthful adventures as a Redcoat in Bognor Regis, a world where you are never fully dressed without a smile, and a public altercation with Barney the dinosaur can earn you a verbal warning. If you like singing and clapping along to unashamedly cheesy music, you will certainly love this show. A group karaoke rendition of I Will Survive is a delightfully guilty pleasure, and there are plenty more of your favourite songs included. This is a tale of a young adult living away from home for the first time, and Redcoat Lewis reminisces about his crush on The Slushy Guy, cooking pizza on a George Foreman grill, and cheerfully entertaining children at b...

14Oct

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

London

La Performance – Tron Theatre

In La Performance, we peek behind the pretence of theatre and language. Instead of words, the performers use non-verbal techniques to tell the story, drawing on the Commedia dell’Arte tradition. On the stage of the intimate Changing House space, we see a dressing room in a theatre. The composer (Ross Whyte) enters and takes the outer layers of wood off his piano so that its inner workings are laid bare. What about the inner workings and inside the people on stage? Will we see those too? Him (Ramesh Rayappen) enters and begins his warm up with frantic, anxious energy. He warms up his hands and arms, acknowledging the language of gestures that is used. Her (Emmanuelle Laborit) joins him. She is chic and disdainful in a little black dress. Th...

Like a Sack of Potatoes – theSpace on the Mile

28Aug

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Like a Sack of Potatoes – theSpace on the Mile

This ‘hillbilly gothic tale’, written and performed by Ric Siler, draws the audience into an Appalachian farmer’s world. The space is small, intimate, with seating on two sides of the stage. A sign with a greengrocer’s apostrophe, ‘tomato’s for sale’, hangs on a wooden crate. The old farmer enters, in his checked shirt and worn-out jeans, and genially offers his homegrown wares to a member of the audience. He is polite, thoughtful, welcoming. His Appalachian accent, Siler’s own, has a gentle musicality and a stillness that makes you want to listen. He tells us that he grows pole beans, potatoes, tobacco, and tomatoes on his farm, and that he isn’t afraid of anything – except women, maybe. However, we learn that he is willing to do whatever it takes to...

Kelty Clippie: The Musical – Greenside @ Nicolson Square

27Aug

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Kelty Clippie: The Musical – Greenside @ Nicolson Square

This lively musical, set in Fife, returns to the Fringe and with memorable characters, delightful songs and plenty of laughs. The show is based on John Watt’s folk song of the same name and written by Willie Logan and John Murray. The Kelty Clippie is Maggie Blair (Jacqueline Hannan), who follows her dream and becomes a bus conductress in 1970s Fife. She is excited to wear her uniform and blows her whistle with gusto. On her first day she meets Boab the Driver (Linton Osborne) and finds herself going weak at the knees when he puts on his sunglasses and serenades her with a sensational performance of Are You Lonesome Tonight – who wouldn’t fall in love with such a man! The bus makes its way through Fife, from Kircaldy to Kelty. The plot is simple, with a se...