REVIEWS Archives - Page 10 of 623

Operation Market Garden – The Space @ Surgeons’ Hall

21Aug

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Operation Market Garden – The Space @ Surgeons’ Hall

Taken mostly verbatim from Welsh paratrooper Neville Neads' wartime diary and letters to his fiancée, Operation Market Garden was adapted by his great-granddaughter Izzy Lane (who also produces, assistant-directs and acts in the show), directed by Izzy Driscol, and produced by This Inspired Theatre Company. The show's title is somewhat a misnomer, as the disastrous titular Operation Market Garden (specifically the Battle of Arnhem) really only takes up the first ten or so minutes of the show, with the rest covering the 200+ days Neads (played by Macsen Llewelyn) and his battalion spent as POWs life in consequence of its failure. Lane divides up her great-grandfather's recollections between Neads and his fellow paratroopers, which works well in most places, except with Neads' frie...

A Pebble In The Road – Pleasance Courtyard

21Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

A Pebble In The Road – Pleasance Courtyard

It was an absolute delight to spend an hour and ten minutes in the company of Ingeborga Dapkunaite, to hear her story of three generations of women, and their experiences living in Lithuania. This is storytelling in its purest form, one person on a stage with no props other than a chair, and with Dapkunaite wearing plain black clothes so that nothing will distract us from the tale of these incredible women. The play moves between locations but is predominately set in the family’s home in Lithuania. We join them on Christmas eve, Dapkunaite shows us the layout of the downstairs of the house, and we learn that they will dine on twelve different dishes with the family sitting around a table with a white tablecloth. Like every family, they have their own traditions at ...

21Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

Drone – Pleasance Courtyard

I have taken time to mull over this show before writing my thoughts. I call it a show and not a play, because it is multi-faceted and it has been very cleverly devised. For the most part I applaud its uniqueness, it challenges convention. But I will discuss what I perceive as a basic need in theatre – storytelling, and did this play get the balance right between being inventive, and telling its story? I had done a little research before heading into the theatre, so I felt reasonably confident in understanding the premise of the show. The organisers very wisely gave out a handout as we walked in, which set out the back story, and the basics of the scenes. For those who had not done some research before going in, this would have helped to ease their mind ...

21Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Earworm – Camden People’s Theatre

Earworm by Gur Arie Piepskovitz is pitched as an ‘anti-rom-com’ and certainly succeeds in presenting the contemporary queer relationship as a prospect of conflict, contradiction and angst. The story concerns alternative cabaret singer Guy (Avihud Tidhar), who is dating queer academic John (Brodie Bass). They are motivated by distinctly varying ambitions and have different needs in their relationship, which is obviously heading towards collapse. In a bold, post-modern meta move, Earworm opens with Guy (Tidhar) directly addressing the audience, as he tries to select a song to open the show. Waylon Jacobs and Reece Lewis sit either side of Guy, acting as an arch, critical chorus, analysing the emotional manipulations of theatrical conventions. The pair savage Guy’s efforts in real time...

21Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Come From Away – Assembly Ballroom

There are some shows you admire and others that catch you rather more unexpectedly. Captivate Theatre's Come From Away did both. I saw it with my daughter, and remarkably it was the first time either of us had encountered the musical. Sharing that first experience became one of my highlights of this year's Fringe. Irene Sankoff and David Hein's musical takes us to Gander, Newfoundland, where 38 aircraft carrying almost 7,000 passengers were diverted following the attacks of 11 September 2001. It hardly sounds like the starting point for an uplifting musical, yet the extraordinary generosity of the local community provides exactly that. Getting the balance right is crucial. There must be laughter amongst the darkness and Captivate finds it beautifully. A moose appearing ...

The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much – Pleasance Courtyard

21Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much – Pleasance Courtyard

Voloz Collective have two propositions at this year's Fringe and having already seen their newer REDACTED: The Cover-Up of a Cover-Up of a Cover-Up, I found myself watching The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much rather unusually, seeing the company's evolution backwards. Set in 1963, it follows Roger Clement, played by Paul Lofferon, a French advertising executive in New York who’s meticulously ordered existence is disrupted when being late for work saves him from an explosion. What follows is an increasingly improbable international chase, delivered through Voloz's trademark combination of physical theatre, object work, comedy and live music. Lofferon is joined by Voloz co-artistic directors Olivia Zerphy, Emily Wheatman and Sam Rayner, all four having trained at L'...

Half a Sixpence – Frinton Summer Theatre

21Aug

By Samantha CollettNo Comments

South East

Half a Sixpence – Frinton Summer Theatre

I will confess I’d never heard of ‘Half a Sixpence’ but I know Clive Brill always brings a rip-roaring musical to the Big Top tent on the Greensward, and I’m delighted to say: I was thoroughly delighted! This is a five-star production which had me smiling all the way through – and laughing the hardest I ever have at a show. But before we dig into the details, I feel I have to share the huge seating improvements brought in this year. Regular attendees will know you used to need a cushion for the hard seating. This is no longer a requirement because the set-up has changed and it’s all for the better! Brand new seats have been brought in which are comfy and wide, plus you now have oodles of leg room (perfect for all that toe-tapping!) and the viewing angles are superb. I even think t...

21Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

The Waiting – Riverside Studios

Written and performed by Nina-Lou Bricard, ‘The Waiting’ is an intense, uncompromising and frequently traumatic one-woman show. Developed from a one-minute monologue, it takes the polished exterior of beauty, modelling, success and glamour and tears violently through its surface. Bricard plays a former French supermodel who abandons her wedding, quite literally a runaway bride, providing the starting point for a turbulent examination of identity, relationships, trauma and the experiences that have shaped her. What follows is certainly not comfortable theatre. The material is raw and deeply personal in its presentation, with some experiences depicted graphically and without attempting to soften their impact. Bricard delivers it with extraordinary commitment and passion. Her performanc...

Edinburgh Days – Auditorium at St Bride’s Community Centre

21Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

Edinburgh Days – Auditorium at St Bride’s Community Centre

Set in the early 1800’s, Edinburgh Days is the story of life in Edinburgh during Britain’s war with France, and focuses on life around the docks of Leith, and the shores of Portobello. Written by composer Brian Spence, he teamed up with Bob Tomson as a creative director, whom he has worked with previously, and Caroline Inglis (Director) who has worked on Edinburgh Days in a previous iteration and directed this version of the show. The beginning of the show sets the scene at the White Hart Inn, where MacGregor (Laurence Aitkin) admits that he has lusted after Jean (Jaydean Cramb), his friend Robbie’s (Michael MacDuff) partner for a long time, but she has always rejected him and stayed true to Robbie, and their son Davie (Elodie Enoch-Thorburn [young Davie], Noah Young [older Davie]...

Linus Karp Was Hit With an Umbrella – Underbelly Bristo Sq

21Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Linus Karp Was Hit With an Umbrella – Underbelly Bristo Sq

Linus Karp has put his own name very prominently on the poster this time. After Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story and Gwyneth Goes Skiing, perhaps this is someone increasingly comfortable with the limelight. More importantly, however, this is his own story. Shortly before the 2024 Fringe, Karp was walking through Soho with his partner Joseph Martin when he was subjected to a homophobic attack and struck across the head with an umbrella. Karp specifically points out that the couple weren't holding hands, kissing or even touching at the time. From that distinctly unfunny starting point, he has somehow constructed a surprisingly funny, thoughtful piece of theatre. This is recognisably an Awkward Prods show. Two monitors flank the stage, providing locations, news reports,...