REVIEWS Archives - Page 173 of 545

Phil Hammond and Dame Clare Gerada: Fifty Minutes to Save the NHS – The Space @ Surgeons’ Hall

5Aug

By Susan CohenNo Comments

Scotland

Phil Hammond and Dame Clare Gerada: Fifty Minutes to Save the NHS – The Space @ Surgeons’ Hall

Well, this is a show that achieved the impossible! I still can’t quite figure out how discussions of subjects such as assisted dying and addiction seriously informed and engaged the audience, whilst making them properly belly laugh time and time again. This show is an impressive piece of work. No doubt about it. The fast paced banter and sparky chemistry between these two eminent doctors – unmistakably authentic, evidently passionate – was right up there with Morecambe (Phil Hammond, step forward) and Wise (Clare Gerada, you played the straight woman as easy as breathing). The well prepared method of delivery also allowed the voices of fellow members of the NHS to be heard – some serious, some hilarious, some outrageous, all raw, moving and honest. ...

A Show About Tomorrow – Paradise in Augustines

5Aug

By Susan CohenNo Comments

Scotland

A Show About Tomorrow – Paradise in Augustines

What happens when a 21st birthday party is interrupted by a Breaking News bulletin that the world is about to end? A lot, it turns out! This is a musical telling a story at breakneck speed, oscillating between impressive ensemble vocal harmony pieces (most definitely the cast pulling together at their best), dramatic vignettes and showcases of individual vocal talents. Everything was thrown at the audience during the performance but in truth, possibly a little less would have offered much more. Undoubtedly, this young company is just bursting with energy and talent. Their chemistry is evident and at times, moving. However, just because you can do everything possibly doesn’t mean that you should. Still, the twist at the beginning of ...

5Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Court – Hill Street Theatre

If you fancy yourself a sleuth, a Judge Judy, or even a Jeremy Kyle, this show is for you. The Court, produced by Edinburgh Little Theatre, invites audience members to participate in a mock trial, testing their powers of discernment and morality. Cathy, the defendant is accused of illegally euthanising her terminally ill mother. It is up to the audience to decide whether it was murder, or manslaughter. With pie and drink retrieved (both of which are included in the ticket price), we were guided into the courtroom. The braver members of the sell-out audience got the chance to volunteer as the jury, getting a seat next to the witness stand right amidst the action. “All Rise!” shouts the judicial assistant, and so it begins. The interactive ...

Lies where It Falls – Quaker Meeting House

5Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Lies where It Falls – Quaker Meeting House

Written and performed by Ruairi Conaghan, Lies Where it Falls is heartfelt and full of love. Conaghan (an ensemble actor with major shows such as Downton Abbey under his belt) takes us on an autobiographical, topical and socially important journey through the impact of growing up in Derry. It explores the lasting personal reverberations of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. And not in a Derry Girls kind of way. Conaghan’s uncle, the Catholic Judge Rory Conaghan, was shot and killed by the IRA as he held his young daughter’s hand on his own doorstep in 1974. Conaghan was just eight at the time. And, sure, everyone gets on with life as best they can under the circumstances. When Conaghan later took flight from Northern Ireland to study drama in Liverpool, he thought he’d escaped. Bu...

5Aug

By Kira DanielsNo Comments

London

Edward II – Courtyard Theatre

The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer is a title too long by half but hardly shorter than this abridged adaptation of Marlowe’s malleable history. Cut down to a run time of a mere fifty minutes by the Small Beer Theatre company this fun size production powers through pages of plot at an astonishing pace. Beginning with the recall of controversial courtier and king’s favourite Piers Gaveston (Ciaran Barker) to Edward II’s (Alex Levy) well fashioned domestic abode and ending with a slew of homebrewed murders, the play’s middle section is populated with brief love scenes and extensive ireful monologues. Gaveston’s sway (and bend) over the delicate monarch draws the wrath of Queen Isabella (Zoe Mavri...

5Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Austentatious – McEwan Hall, Edinburgh

The eleventh year of Austentatious at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in what has become their regular slot; 13:30 at the glorious 1100-seater McEwan Hall. Full, on the day I attended, and with limited tickets for the remainder of this short run, tells you plenty. The Uber talented troupe presents a completely improvised play daily, in the style of Jane Austen, with each show a previously untold (and never to be told again!) novel. The audience are asked to shout out potential titles until a ‘suitable’ one is reached. Todays unearthed gem was, The Unbearable Hotness of Being. Never has needlework been so hot in Hampshire! When a recently orphaned brother and sister arrive in the county by hot air balloon they become the talk of the manor. The handsome brother is soon s...

Frankenstein (On a Budget) – Pleasance Dome (Jack Dome)

5Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Frankenstein (On a Budget) – Pleasance Dome (Jack Dome)

Lamphouse Theatre returns to Edinburgh with a variation on its winning theme. Frankenstein (On a Budget) follows hot on the heels of their highly successful War of the Worlds (On a Budget). As the title suggests, there’s no fancy set or fancy props or even fancy costumes. What you will find is oodles of creativity and playfulness galore. Tom Fox and Becky Owen-Fisher clearly enjoy their work and their enthusiasm and silliness transfers to the audience whose shoulders shake with laughter. It is a very happy hour of nonsense with a Becky-fan or two in the audience. Fox is our performer, Owen-Fisher the narrator. The show involves a lot of costume changes at speed and more than a handful of home-made props. Fortunately, Fox is multi-talented and can sing and do voices with ease. Owen-Fi...

5Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Carmen – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Bizet’s Carmen was first performed on March 3rd, 1875 at the Opéra-Comique, Paris. Now the very same company brings a modern, super-sensual version to Edinburgh from 4th – 8th August, co-produced by Opernhaus Zürich. On Opening Night in 1875, several morning papers published vitriolic letters. One claimed: "Carmen presents most unsavory characters, in such bad taste that the work might very well be ill-advised." Yet, go ahead it did, to healthy box office takings. Bizet, unfortunately, died of a heart attack at the very moment the curtain fell on the 32nd performance on June 3, 1875. Soon after it was closed in Paris, but it was soon to be a hit in Vienna and Brussels. When you go to see a world class, flamboyant and colourful opera like Carmen, you expect (and take for granted) that...

Edinburgh International Festival Opening Concert – Usher Hall, Edinburgh

5Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Edinburgh International Festival Opening Concert – Usher Hall, Edinburgh

The opening of the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival by Nicola Benedetti marks the beginning of an exhilarating 24 day, 160 event celebration of opera, dance, music and theatre in the Scottish Capital. Following last years’ tentative, ‘Where do we go from here?’, we start this year with the more upbeat, ‘Rituals that unite us. And the opening concert tonight could hardly be a better example of the statement. Spaniard, Osvaldo Gilijov’s extraordinary reinterpretation of Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion was commissioned in 2000 to mark the composer’s 250th anniversary. Now, almost a quarter of a Century old and having been performed around the globe, it (finally!) has its first Scottish outing. But this is no Solemn biblical narrative, no, this is a shock of rhythm and colour, in mult...

The Cambridge Impronauts – Gilded Balloon Patter House

5Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

The Cambridge Impronauts – Gilded Balloon Patter House

I cannot go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival without seeing improvisation, and as I have never seen the Cambridge Impronauts before, I thought I would pop along. The Cambridge Impronauts as a company were formed in 2003 and have been calling the Gilded Balloon home for the last seven years. In their home town of Cambridge, they run open workshops for students and locals, and show off their improv skills in local shows. Today at the Gilded Balloon, we saw the team using short-form improv in a ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ style. For those young ones who are too old to remember this show, there are short scenes improvised after taking suggestions from the studio audience. There is a director setting the scene for the audience, who encourages ideas that will help to...