REVIEWS Archives - Page 5 of 623

Agathi – The Plight of the Refugee – temple at C-ARTS

26Aug

By Christina SchmidtNo Comments

Scotland

Agathi – The Plight of the Refugee – temple at C-ARTS

It’s Apsaras Dance Company’s first time in Edinburgh and this was their first performance of Agathi – The Plight of the Refugee. Coming all the way from Singapore to share this beautiful piece of dance theatre with Scottish and International audiences. Agathi intends to destigmatise the refugee experience and calls for empathy and understanding. Inspired by the book of poems by refugee children as well as specific lived experiences, the show explores displacement, various people’s stories and the dangers refugees often have to deal with. Some of the Voice-overs and monologues are in English and during the songs in Tamil, surtitles of the translations are screened to make it fully understandable. The traditional Indian Bharatanatyam dance is choreographed beautifully and although the...

26Aug

By Phil MeikleNo Comments

London

The Choir of Man – Richmond Theatre

From the moment you enter the auditorium, The Choir of Man transports you to the world's most joyous pub lock-in. For two glorious hours, the stench of real-world toxic masculinity and male bravado is replaced by the clinking of pint glasses and the warm embrace of an inclusive, fun-filled tavern where everyone is welcome and encouraged to open their hearts. Originally conceived by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay to celebrate human connection, the show loudly and proudly places men's mental health centre stage, with the charity CALM serving as the show's current charity partner. Here, the only male threat you'll find is that posed by the triple threat of nine incredibly talented singers, musicians and dancers performing together for the sheer joy of the shared experience. From its inception ...

26Aug

By Damian RiverolNo Comments

North West

Nell Gwynn – Storyhouse in the Park

A Co production between Theatre by the Lake, Shakespeare North and Storyhouse, Nell Gwynn has arrived to finish off the summer season at Storyhouse in the Park this year in its final venue. Photo: Mark McNulty Nell Gwynn tells the story of an orange seller who meets theatre manager Thomas Killigrew (Adam Clifford) who is willing to take a chance on her and train her to become an actress, something which is very rare of the time. During her time as an actress, she becomes very famous and people come to see her, including the then king, King Charles 2nd. Gwynn and King Charles start an arrangement where he pays her to be around, gives her a place to live, a carriage, clothing and that arrangement eventually turns in to love where they shared two children. We are introduced to the pl...

26Aug

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

High Society – Leeds Grand Theatre

Well, Did You Evah hear a more peerless collection of classic showtunes as High Society? Fans of other musicals will no doubt quibble with that claim, but Cole Porter composed at least three timeless songs for this reworking of double Oscar winning, The Philadelphia Story, which was also a hit movie starring Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby and Ol’ Blue Eyes. This scrumptious production of High Society was hardly Shakespeare as spoilt New England socialite Tracy Lord was about to marry boring George, and her lovelorn ex-husband Dexter equally determined to get her back. Throw in a couple of undercover reporters, and a case of mistaken identity, and you had all the ingredients for a classic light hearted musical, but with wall to wall Porter masterpieces. One of the main criticisms o...

26Aug

By Alan Stuart MalinNo Comments

London

Belated – Etcetera Theatre

Celebrating a milestone birthday almost a year late might suggest poor organisation, but for Anna, it represents something far more purposeful: a refusal to let disappointment have the final word. In ‘Belated’, a postponed party becomes the stage upon which she takes stock of middle age, abandoned ambitions and the uncomfortable feeling that everybody else’s life has progressed more successfully than her own. Anna once worked as a professional dancer but now teaches Pilates to wealthy and famous clients. Approaching her 51st birthday, she is contending with the demands of motherhood, the aftermath of a painful separation and the lingering frustration of creative aspirations left unexplored. Rather than quietly accepting that those opportunities have passed, she transforms her long d...

2 Guys, 3 Drams: The Ultimate Live Blues and Whiskey Experience – The Space Triplex

26Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

2 Guys, 3 Drams: The Ultimate Live Blues and Whiskey Experience – The Space Triplex

Let’s talk about the elephant first, the one fairly fundamental problem with 2 Guys, 3 Drams: the room. Big at theSpaceTriplex feels rather like a gym hall, with its high vaulted roof, glaring light and rows of plastic chairs laid flat across the floor. Sightlines aren't great and intimacy is in short supply. This is a show crying out for a basement dive, everyone lounging around in near darkness with a glass in hand. Remarkably, Felipe Schrieberg and Paul Archibald make something very good out of something very bad. Together they are The Rhythm and Booze Project, Schrieberg on vocals and lap steel guitar and Archibald providing drums and percussion. The musicianship is excellent. Schrieberg's vocals may not be the strongest element, but blues hardly demands vocal purity. It...

Trans People Are Awful – Bunker One at Pleasance Courtyard

26Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Trans People Are Awful – Bunker One at Pleasance Courtyard

Performing in the Bunker at Pleasance this Fringe, Ros Watt’s Trans People Are Awful couldn’t be placed in a more perfect venue. Set in the garage of a farm just past Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, the cavernous dinge of the Bunker does emulate the feel of a serial killer’s hideout. We are witness to the crimes of a murderous young man as he dissects the bodies of men in a quest to find the perfect body parts. Boy, played by Watt, is videotaping every moment of his process in an act of explanation. He wants to undertake a self-surgery in which he attaches the member of one of his victims onto himself – he just hasn’t found the right fit yet. Rhythmic, voracious, and vigorous, Watt’s performance is electric. You feel completely absorbed in the character’s ...

The Woman in The Box – theSpaceUK @ Surgeons Hall

26Aug

By Al CarrettaNo Comments

Scotland

The Woman in The Box – theSpaceUK @ Surgeons Hall

Dim lighting and rumbling, auspicious music lure you into the auditorium. On stage, a simple contraption of scaffold poles resembles a glass box. Within it, a woman stands still and silent. The black box theatre of the modern Edinburgh Fringe is notoriously difficult to build any real atmosphere in, particularly when there is noise spill to contend with, but Fragments Theatre Group achieve a magical sense of ambience in the opening moments of this play. The first few minutes are exceptionally well designed theatre. Where the play is about to go next intrigues. The woman is the centerpiece of an art gallery. After the guests have left, she talks to the cleaner attending to the gallery. The glass is buffed but her internal fingerprints remain. Cue The Manager, a sterile characte...

Girlbosses & Billionaires – theSpaceUK @ Surgeons Hall

25Aug

By Al CarrettaNo Comments

Scotland

Girlbosses & Billionaires – theSpaceUK @ Surgeons Hall

Two decades ago, South Park mocked Paris Hilton mercilessly with an episode that has never lost a moment of relevance in the dialogue of celebrity and influencer culture. I live with high confidence, personal empowerment, and execute my daily routine with style and excellence. In other words, I’m part of the Gen Z ‘slay everyday era’ and that means when it comes to the adventures of the World’s latest Space tourists, the Pink Power Crew, I’m ready for the ride, just like a few real celebrities were on the Blue Origin spacecraft last year. Such is the pace of subculture, the space fad has already been replaced multiple times over, however, along with a packed theatre I’m the keen audience to three women, a man and the disembodied voice interviewing them. The PPC are destined for a qu...

The Golden Age of Hollywood – Usher Hall

25Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Golden Age of Hollywood – Usher Hall

Well, this was something special, what a sound! And I have a particular reason for loving the sound of an orchestra arriving beneath a musical. Having been involved in numerous amateur musical productions over the years, one of the moments our cast always looked forward to was band day. Usually sometime during the final week, because that was all we could afford, the musicians would finally arrive. Suddenly, the show we had rehearsed for months acquired another dimension. Everything lifted. The Golden Age of Hollywood was band day times ten! John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London make their Edinburgh International Festival debut at the Usher Hall with an evening devoted to the great Hollywood musical tradition, much of it reconstructed from original MGM orchestrations which Wils...