REVIEWS Archives - Page 10 of 629

2Sep

By Ella BeckleyNo Comments

Scotland

Giraffe – Cellar at Pleasance Courtyard

A neurodivergent, queer Fleabag; Abigail Weinstock’s one-woman show Giraffe is the hilarious tale of the tribulations of a woman who has always felt like an outsider. The play follows protagonist Eliana as she navigates a world that she cannot understand nor bring herself to conform with. Tall with unusually long limbs, she sticks out like a giraffe in a world of zebras, which as she acutely points out, is of course a simile, not a metaphor. ...

29Aug

By Katie LeicesterNo Comments

North West

Newsies Jr. – Z Arts

Produced by Dave Holden and Kimberly Holden, directed by Dave Holden, and with musical direction by Kimberly Holden, Newsies JR is an energetic, heartfelt and thoroughly engaging production that showcases an exceptionally talented young ensemble. Based on the inspiring story of the young newspaper sellers of New York who unite against unfair working conditions, Newsies JR explores themes of friendship, courage, resilience, determination and solidarity. This production captured those themes beautifully, brought to life by a remarkably committed cast whose performances demonstrated a level of vocal, dramatic and theatrical maturity far beyond their years. From the opening number to the final curtain, I was completely immersed in the world of the production. The cast established a stron...

28Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

When Prophecy Fails – Studio Theatre

In a small Midwest American town there is a strange phenomenon happening. Researchers have arrived to observe a group of people transfixed on a prophecy “that the world is ending and that they alone know the truth” on how to save humanity. This story is based on a 1956 book by social psychologists Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken and Stanley Schachter. In ‘their’ world of UFO’s sightings and religious belief systems their leader Marian convinces the group that the world would be destroyed by a catastrophic flood in December. When this prediction did not happen instead of believing the failure the opposing view grew into a committed sense of greater belief. A true concept of cognitive dissonance when a group of people’s beliefs conflict with reality. You would not be wrong in thinkin...

28Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Moving On – Paradise in Augustines

There is something wonderfully Fringe-like about Moving On. An Edinburgh company writes an entirely original musical, assembles seven actors and a three-piece live band, fills a stage with removal boxes and ghosts, and gives us two hours of spooky, silly and surprisingly touching musical theatre. I admire the ambition before we even get started, and happily, much of that ambition pays off. Happy Sad Productions’ show is written by Amber Docherty, Roza Stevenson and Josh Wood, with music by Wood. Stevenson directs, Docherty is assistant director, Murron Goodall provides costumes and Cormac Cameron-Finn designs sound. Wood also leads the excellent live band on keys, alongside Abby Bailey on trumpet and keys and Alistair Sealy on trombone. Paradise in Augustines’ main hall is a...

The Bowie Story – The Space Symposium Hall

28Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Bowie Story – The Space Symposium Hall

Having already seen Peter Marchant take on Freddie Mercury in Night Owl’s The Legend of Queen, I was intrigued to see what he would do with another of rock music’s most distinctive performers. The answer is something rather different, and wisely so. Night Owl Shows’ The Bowie Story is not an impersonation. Marchant makes little attempt to reproduce all those flamboyant, flowery twists Bowie could introduce into a vocal line. His delivery is straighter and very much his own, allowing the songs to speak for themselves while the show traces the extraordinary succession of transformations that defined Bowie’s career. Marchant is in great form towards the end of this Fringe run, and he is surrounded by musicians operating at the top of their game. The playing throughout...

28Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Clown Show – King’s Theatre

There is something deliciously appropriate about entering Edinburgh’s newly refurbished King’s Theatre, one of the city’s great theatrical survivors, to discover that Geoff Sobelle has built a crumbling American big top inside it. One theatre gloriously restored, another about to fall spectacularly to pieces before our eyes. I have been looking forward to Clown Show. Sobelle is one of America’s great contemporary exponents of physical theatre, and what he and his extraordinary company deliver here is less a narrative than a fever dream, a smorgasbord of images, sounds, illusions and catastrophes which gradually coalesce into a devastating portrait of America. The arrival is magnificent. Clowns troop through the audience towards the stage, singing as the curtain is gradually draw...

27Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Werewolf – Summerhall Techcube Zero

New Zealand collective Binge Culture's Werewolf arrives at Summerhall with considerable word-of-mouth behind it, and sizeable audiences suggest this immersive horror has certainly found its pack. I am less convinced. TechCube Zero provides a naturally effective setting. On arrival, I find someone sitting behind a desk ticking us off and conducting a headcount before reporting back to our three wardens, Joel Baxendale, Stella Reid and Hannah Kelly, who devised and perform the piece. We are Safehouse 656, apparently protected from the lycanthropic horrors outside, and we are informed that we will remain here for seven days. There is a timekeeper and gatekeeper, rules to follow and an initially convincing sense that we have entered a functioning emergency system. On eve...

My Life Is a Sonnet – theSpace on the Mile

27Aug

By Al CarrettaNo Comments

Scotland

My Life Is a Sonnet – theSpace on the Mile

The beauty of the Edinburgh Fringe lies in the fact that you, as an audience in search of a show, can stumble upon excellence. In a cool, simply lit and arranged corner stage Eric Daniel Weiner gives us a masterclass in resolved, structured storytelling and naturalistic, understated acting. Weiner doesn’t just hold a mirror to life; he holds it with a template in the shape of a Shakespearean sonnet layer over it then proceeds to demonstrate how each part of it fits. The journey takes place over a lifetime. Our hero, Charlie Katz attends school and is taught the wonder of language by a dying English professor in a small intimate class. The problem is Katz becomes pre-occupied with the mysteries of Sally Templeton, a transfer student on a Squash scholarship who orders her life by cont...

Call Me Elizabeth: from Burton to Humanitarian – Studio Two at Assembly George Square

27Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

Call Me Elizabeth: from Burton to Humanitarian – Studio Two at Assembly George Square

Karla Boye has flown into the Fringe with her part two series of Call Me Elizabeth; From Burton to Humanitarian. It’s 1985, the time when the HIV and AIDS epidemic was becoming a serious medical, social and political concern in the USA. The impact of AIDS affected Gay and bisexual men severely including Hollywood movie stars who were not exempt from the disease. Elizabeth in her privileged position as a movie star wanted to make a difference and raise the profile the AIDS by engaging other stars to support her cause. Ichard The stark relevance of the subject matter moves quickly to her relationship with Richard Burton and they’re on and off-screen relationship of fights, breakups, love and marriage. She narrates from a chair moving slowly to the phone, her drinks trolley and engages...

Horrorshow – Summerhall Anatomy Lecture Theatre

27Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Horrorshow – Summerhall Anatomy Lecture Theatre

There is a good little play struggling to get out of Horrorshow. Written by Doug Deans for Chronic Insanity, this gig-theatre piece follows lifelong Isle of Wight friends Dan and Ollie through one final adventure together before their lives begin moving in very different directions. Deans plays Dan, guitar in hand, alongside Joe Matty as the more academically inclined Ollie on keyboards. Director Joe Strickland completes the live band on drums and percussion, as well as providing the voices of the other characters. Original music and lyrics are by Anya Pearson, who also provides musical direction. The writing has plenty going for it. Dan and Ollie are believable as two young men who have grown up together but are beginning to recognise that friendship doesn't necessarily mea...