REVIEWS Archives - Page 42 of 548

AI: Save Our Souls – Greenside at George Street

18Aug

By Joe LangNo Comments

Scotland

AI: Save Our Souls – Greenside at George Street

With all the current fears surrounding artificial intelligence, it was certainly refreshing to see an inventively lighthearted and fun take on the impending doom that many of us feel is either here or on its way regarding the state of A.I. Whilst not offering a truly prophetic insight into what may become of it in relation to humanity, it certainly scratches the surface of this topic and does so while providing nonstop laughs and catchy songs directed by Victoria Klipova. The cast all brought a unique energy to this piece and constructed their characters in almost cartoonish ways, helping the performances stick in your mind long after watching it. Major props go to the protagonist Steve, played by Patrick Kelly, who had a great leading man quality and perfectly bounced off the rest ...

18Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Mary, Queen of Scots – Festival Theatre

Scottish Ballet presented their contribution to the Edinburgh International Festival this year with the brooding portrayal of the historical Mary, Queen of Scots. Co-created by choreographer Sophie Laplane and director James Bonas, this is a bold show with outstanding production design and provocative content, contrasting a dark grungy tragedy with moments of ludicrous humour and cyber-punk neons. Bringing modernity to tradition, Scottish Ballet embraces evolution, focusing not only on choreographic motifs but also a heavy-handed stylism that focuses on the way in which the design and story are represented. With Soutra Gilmour’s set and costume design, this is a completely elevated ballet featuring moving walls, a clown dressed in bright lime, and a giant farthingdale-like c...

Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin – Pleasance

18Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin – Pleasance

If you want big budget spectacle, this is not the show for you. If you want to spend an hour wedged into a tiny basement with less than 50 people while laughing at the genius of Charlie Chaplin brought to life, then you have come to the right place. The Pleasance Below is a tiny venue, just a few rows of tightly packed raked seating, and when I was there, it was full. This is theatre in its most intimate form, no one more than a couple of metres from the performer, and absolutely nowhere to hide if you are picked for a bit of audience interaction. Marcel Cole, who both wrote and performs Smile, takes on the impossible task of distilling Chaplin’s life and art into a single hour, and somehow makes it feel both complete and personal. The show mixes physical comedy, mime, and a light s...

18Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Mary’s Daughters – theSpace Triplex

Three women, one legacy, and a ghostly reunion that’s far sharper than it sounds. I step into theSpace @ Triplex on the final day of the run, catching Mary’s Daughters just in time. What I see is well worth the last minute decision - a tight, intelligent piece of theatre with super acting that leaves me thinking that it should have run longer. We arrive to a thrust stage strewn with papers and feathers, as if the past itself has been ransacked. Out of this visual chaos, three figures emerge hurrying around in all directions, confused ghosts. Mary Wollstonecraft, played with commanding empathy by Megan Carter, her lesser-known daughter Fanny Imlay, portrayed with delicate intensity by Kaya Bucholc, and the more famous Mary Shelley, given a finely balanced mix of literary gravitas ...

Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Underbelly, McEwan Hall

18Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Underbelly, McEwan Hall

One actor drunk, the rest soberly soldiering on through Shakespeare. It’s a crowd-pleasing premise, and the chaos is real. But if you don’t know your Midsummer Night’s Dream inside out, a lot of the humour sails past. Funny? Yes, at times. Insightful? Not so much. On paper, this sounds like a perfect Fringe mash-up: take a cast of classically trained Shakespearean actors, lace one of them with enough booze to make Falstaff blush, then watch the Bard’s poetry get sideswiped by slurred asides, physical stumbles, and improvised derailments. In theory, it’s both a homage to the rough and ready theatrical tradition and a sharp parody of Shakespearean reverence. The night I saw it, the chosen drunk was Lysander, who gradually morphed into “the crazy little Greek kid who gap-yeared in R...

17Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Book of Mountains and Seas – The Lyceum

Huang Ruo’s Book of Mountains and Seas promises mythic spectacle, and at times it delivers with imagery that sears itself into memory. Basil Twist’s staging conjures a world of elemental forces and shifting forms, with large, raw chunks of timber manipulated onstage to create figures of striking presence. One of the most arresting moments comes early, as these timber elements are assembled into a vast face, complete with glowing light spheres for eyes. These orbs lift away into the theatre’s airspace, casting an uncanny glow across the auditorium. From the sockets pour huge silk-like sheets, unfurling in great waves that transform into a billowing sea. Later, with a deft reconfiguration of the timber, the form becomes a hulking, almost golem-like figure, looming over the action. In the ...

17Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Collapse – Riverside Studios

Allison Moore’s ‘Collapse’ takes a familiar domestic setup and detonates it in spectacularly funny fashion. Hannah’s carefully maintained and tightly controlled life, already visibly fraying under the strain of infertility, financial uncertainty, threat of unemployment, and a husband adrift, tips into complete chaos when her rebellious (and hilariously funny) sister arrives with a mysterious package she has agreed to deliver to a guy called “Bulldog”. What follows is a darkly comic unravelling where love, fear, and survival collide. Emma Haines delivers a commanding central turn as Hannah, balancing brittle control with flashes of honest vulnerability. She moves seamlessly between sharp, fast-paced exchanges with her co-performers, and quieter solitary moments that land with unexpected ...

How Not to Fund a Honeymoon – Studio @ theSpaceTriplex

17Aug

By Charles PipeNo Comments

Scotland

How Not to Fund a Honeymoon – Studio @ theSpaceTriplex

In only 45 minutes, How Not to Fund a Honeymoon delivers on just about everything you could want or expect from the crime-comedy caper genre. Like a Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie movie, the plot unfolds non-linearly. Action skips back and forth between the aftermath of and the buildup to a failed heist, orchestrated by fiancés Gwen (Ausette Anderies) and Charlie (Claire Feuille). Their plan is to break into the house of Gwen’s wealthy aunt - Aunt Robyn (played by Stephanie Greenwood, who also wrote the play) - and steal her valuables in order to pay for their honeymoon to the Maldives. The plan does not work out well for Gwen and Charlie. Most of the comedy stems from the fact that Gwen and Charlie are a perfectly normal couple, who find themselves in abnormal circumstances. T...

17Aug

By Juliette PepinNo Comments

Scotland

Girl Pop! – Gilded Balloon

Shite Productions' Girl Pop! is a lively, glittery Spice Girls-esque girl band come to life with sparkly costumes, catchy numbers and gossip galore. 'Girl Pop' take to the stage for their first reunion in years, facing eager eyes of their devoted fanbase the ‘Poppers’. We are taken through a play-by-play of the reasons for their split, including relationship dramas and media clashes. The high energy of the cast is radiant as the girls riff off each other, completely in sync. Each has their own personality and reputation; we meet fan and media favourite Hazel, songwriter Ruby, side-lined backing singer Zoe, and competitive Arabella. Jade Leanne is particularly vulnerable as Zoe, reflecting on her sudden grief at the BRIT awards being transformed into a press-fuelled narrative of s...

17Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Feminine Rage – Courtyard Theatre

Part of this year’s Camden Fringe, Feminine Rage tackles one of the most urgent and devastating issues in modern Europe: the wave of femicides in Greece. Writer Venice Billia weaves a concept of striking potency, imagining victims of male violence gathering in the afterlife to build a fragile sanctuary for themselves. It is an idea that resonates deeply; these women deserve voice, presence, and dignity, and the framing offers a space to mourn and reflect on a crisis too often pushed aside. The script carries weight, particularly when it edges toward naming and acknowledging the silenced women. Yet, the production struggles to match the gravity of its subject. The set is stark to the point of looking unfinished, reminiscent of a school-level staging rather than a professional platfor...