REVIEWS Archives - Page 58 of 548

100 Things You’re Overthinking – Alchemist Edinburgh

5Aug

By Ross MackieNo Comments

Scotland

100 Things You’re Overthinking – Alchemist Edinburgh

I had the pleasure of watching "100 Things You're Overthinking" at the Edinburgh Fringe, and I'm still grinning from ear to ear. In its 6th appearance at the fringe, you can appreciate why it has sold out in previous years. Ori Halevy and his merry bunch of standup comedians give a masterclass in taking the mundane and amplifying it to absurd proportions. They all tackled the intricacies of life and burning issues with a refreshing blend of humour and relatability. With immersive participation from the start, audience members write down the questions they are overthinking, anonymously, on pieces of paper. The comics then create a set on the spot, tailored to the audience, pure genius! From the moment they stepped onto the stage, it was clear that they were on a mission to skewe...

NYO2: Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony – Usher Hall

4Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

NYO2: Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony – Usher Hall

Edinburgh’s Usher Hall tonight hosts the European debut of NYO2—Carnegie Hall’s amazing youth orchestra for 14–17-year-olds. Led by the energetic conductor Rafael Payare, they perform a bold and exciting programme, including Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto and Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. The evening begins though with an unexpected treat, Jimmy López’s Perú Negro (2012), a dazzling tribute to Afro-Peruvian musical traditions. It’s rhythmically electric and full of colour, the highlight of the night for me. The percussion drives it with so much energy, and the whole orchestra plays with real joy and confidence. It’s a perfect way to start. Visually, the stage looks fantastic. The orchestra wears red and black, with cellist Alisa ...

4Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The End of the Line – Bedlam Theatre

Four strangers are sat on a tube when a global warning sounds telling them that a nuclear bomb is about to explode and not only is it coming for London, but they are in its exact location. What can one do when they are faced with certain death? Do strangers really come together in their time of need and what is more helpful in such situation: acceptance or hope? With no signal and no way out, it’s time to reflect upon our life choices and decide who we want to be in our last moments. This show is well thought out and whilst the staging is simple the set is charming. A painted backdrop of a tube train and some very familiar seating covers that scream British public transport. Some light strobes are used to create the illusion of a moving train and our cast stumble upon the stage in t...

The Dark Room – Gilded Balloon Patterhoose Doonstairs

4Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

The Dark Room – Gilded Balloon Patterhoose Doonstairs

Created by Australian comedian John Robertson in 2012 as part of a stand-up routine about videogames, "The Dark Room" has become an international touring sensation. Inspired by the text based video games of the 1980s, the show encourages the audience to choose their own adventure - which inevitably results in failure. It's a simple but effective idea, and one which has gathered a troupe of ardent followers, all called Darren. The audience gleefully chant "Ya Die, Ya Die, Ya Die" as each player fails, before they are gifted a suitably ridiculous consolation prize. The whole show plays out appropriately in the dark, with John lit from below by a hand held torch. Wearing a leather corset and a huge spiked shoulder piece, he bears more than a passing resemblance to a young Richard O'Bri...

Saint Dymphna’s Ward – Greenside @ Riddles Court

4Aug

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Saint Dymphna’s Ward – Greenside @ Riddles Court

Astride two time periods (modern day and the Victorian era), two women experience Saint Dymphna’s Ward. Justine (Angelina Miller) is falsely held in the abusive Victorian Asylum for the Insane by Dr Ribiere (Kody Mitchell, also playing Margot's friend Lucas), while Margot (playwright, producer, & director Honoria Lawton Flatters) struggles to accept help in the modern-day Center for Psychiatric Care, including from fellow-patient Oliver (Taylor Fernandez, also playing Justine's husband and Dr Frederickson) after checking in voluntarily for depression, delusions, and suicidal thoughts. Highlighting the changes in treatment for mental illness, this play deals in some heavy themes, including sexual and physical abuse, the loss of a child, self-harm and attempted suicide (though the...

Rock of Ages – Sanctuary at Paradise in Augustines

4Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Rock of Ages – Sanctuary at Paradise in Augustines

Bare Productions is back at the Edinburgh Fringe with another smash-hit show - this time it’s Rock of Ages. Known for their consistently high-quality productions, Bare have once again sold out, quickly becoming a yearly Fringe staple. This high-energy, rocking, raunchy jukebox musical features hit classics such as Don’t Stop Believin’ and Can’t Fight This Feeling - so popular a film was made after it with stars such as Tom Cruise and Catherine Zeta-Jones starring in it. As someone who notoriously hates jukebox musicals, Rock of Ages really took me by surprise. Set in the Bourbon Room bar in 1984 Hollywood, we follow the love story of wannabe stars Sherrie (played by Georgia Brennan) and Drew (played by Joshua Scott) as the characters fight against the real estate de...

Robin Hood – The Pantaloons at Speke Hall

4Aug

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Robin Hood – The Pantaloons at Speke Hall

The man. The myth. The legend. All was finally revealed as The Pantaloons landed at Speke Hall with this original and entertaining take from writer and director Mark Heyward, as we met the outlaw with a penchant for doing good to the accompaniment of silly skits, super songs, and groan as much as you like gags. Prince John (Cameron Baker-Stewart) and the Sheriff of Nottingham (Heyward) have concocted a cunning plan with the assistance of Madame Double Entendre (Paula Gilmour) to lure Robin Hood (Baker-Stewart) and Little John (Heyward) into a trap and defeat them once and for all. But with Maid Marian (Gilmour) on the inside, Friar Tuck (Gilmour) with the intel, and some Merry Men – modest Will Scarlet (Heyward), musical Alan Adale (Baker-Stewart), and misunderstood Much (Gilmour) – on ...

Me and My Year of Casual Monasticism – Greenside @ Riddles Court

4Aug

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Me and My Year of Casual Monasticism – Greenside @ Riddles Court

When Mary (writer Emily Knutsson) becomes single at the same time as a student at Cambridge University, she decides to put one above the other and concentrate on her studies through a year of abstinence, or medieval Monasticism. The show's conceit begins right from the entrance music (a Medieval Bardcore version of Candy Shop – I know because the same recording amusingly has the same function in the Fringe show I had just come from doing), continuing through to the structuring around the sixth-century Rules of Saint Benedict, and the naming of characters and pseudonyms after religious figures, Christian (Mary, Joseph...) or otherwise (Pan, Poseidon...). The staging is simple, with Mary moving between the chair we meet her on to the table and the power-point presentation on the sc...

4Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Consumed – Traverse Theatre

Playwright Karis Kelly believes in challenging audiences even if that makes them feel uncomfortable. And she certainly does that in ‘Consumed’ which opens the lid on a dysfunctional family in Northern Ireland. Four generations of women gather in Bangor to celebrate the 90th birthday of Eileen who lives with Gilly, her 65 year old daughter. Gilly’s daughter, Jenny, aged 40, and her 14 year-old daughter, Muireann, fly over from London for the occasion. Eileen wears a party hat as the play starts, but there is tension in the air as Gilly returns from her last minute shopping. And things don’t get any better when Jenny and Muireann arrive. This is not an easy watch. Light moments are few and far between. And in fact what starts as a naturalistic kitchen sink drama develops into someth...

4Aug

By Gemma PrinceNo Comments

London

Alone, Together – Bridewell Theatre

Directed and written by Francesca Woods, Alone, Together offers an insight into the lives of six teachers working at the same school. Wood goes beyond the “masks” that these teachers put on each day as they step into the classroom, exploring the numbing sense of loneliness that ties these very different people together. We see how these characters connect through three different stories, exploring everything from love to loss. More dramatic scenes are interspersed between more light-hearted moments that portray the development of these characters’ relationships with different songs setting the scene. These musically jarring moments were enjoyable but almost too brief, serving as a sort of filler between the main scene...