Scotland Archives - North West End UK

15Nov

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

The Brenda Line – Traverse Theatre

Inspired by the lesser-known history of the Samaritans in the 1970s and ’80s, The Brenda Line is about Karen (Charlotte Grayson) and Anne (Fiona Bruce), a new-start and an old-hand during their first Samaritans nightshift together. Both are there to answer the phone and help callers (voiced here by Colin McCrodie, Eden Barrie, and Ali Watt), with Karen also hoping to get inspiration for a book out of them. However, reality and experience don't always live up with ideals, not least of which through the existence of the Brenda Line, the Samaritans philanthropic sex-line. Grayson and Bruce effectively anchor the show through their performances, with Bruce in particular conveying well the earthy weariness of reality against Grayson's two-dimensional idealism and imagination. Harry Mould...

The Tailor of Inverness – Traverse Theatre

15Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Tailor of Inverness – Traverse Theatre

The Tailor of Inverness is not so much about the capital of the North or about the profession of tailoring, rather it is about identity, about truth (or lack of it) and about home. Actor/writer Matthew Zajac plays his own father and then himself as well as multiple other characters in between, in an absolute tour de force, a performancenot to be missed. History is written by the winners, as they say, and for the Tailor, winning was always going to be measured by simply being alive at the end of the Second World War, by whatever means possible. A history lesson, a geography lesson, a survival lesson. A story told how the titular tailor would like to have you believe it, followed by the truth, told by the son who eventually draws all the threads together, however unpalatable. The...

14Nov

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Albert Herring – Festival Theatre

On Wednesday night, Scottish Opera brought Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring to the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, offering an evening of comic charm and lively satire. Directed by Daisy Evans, this fresh production reimagines Britten’s comic opera in the 1990s English countryside, a setting that adds humour and nostalgia to the story. Originally inspired by a Maupassant tale, Albert Herring revolves around its shy, naive protagonist, Albert, who’s crowned the town’s “May King” after no “morally suitable” young woman is found. The plot follows Albert’s transformation as he wrestles with the town’s rigid expectations and his yearning for personal freedom. Glen Cunningham’s portrayal of Albert captures both innocence and a quiet depth, making his character’s journey both touching and humo...

12Nov

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Don Pasquale – Festival Theatre

General Director, Alex Reedijk, has spent the last nineteen years building Scottish Opera into a force to be reckoned with. This latest production is a reprisal of a 2014 creation by Renaud Doucet and André Barbe of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. It is a frivolous affair, thankfully without the tra-la-las of which Mozart was so fond. The concept is bright, clever and amusing, giving the production so much more than the score and libretto. For that reason, this particular creation has been touring successfully in Italy, Canada and the United States. Guy Simard’s lighting supports the comedic storyline and the characters. His choice of colours and detail are spot on. A prolific force, Simard has collaborated with Doucet and Barbe for the last twenty five years. I particularly enjo...

9Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Run, Rebel – Traverse Theatre

Run, Rebel is an award-winning young adult fiction novel, which has garnered significant praise for its punchy verse led telling of life within a traditional Indian family in Britain. The story received Guardians Best Book of 2020 award. Amber Rai is a fifteen-year-old who lives with her non-English speaking parents on a tough estate somewhere in middle England. Her home life has never been easy, her mother and older sister all try hard to avoid and placate their temperamental domineering and sometimes violent, alcoholic father. He is determined to impose the traditional Indian values on his wife and children, and the older sister, Ruby (Simran Kular) has already flown the coop, choosing to go along with an arranged marriage as a way to escape, the lesser of two evils. But she is alread...

9Nov

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Bright Places – Traverse Theatre

‘This is a serious piece of small-scale, subsidised theatre,’ quips one of the actors at the beginning. One sincerely wishes it wasn’t. Small-scale, that is. A graphic, thorough depiction of Multiple Sclerosis (commonly known as ‘MS’), the title stems from the manifestation on an MRI scan of the lesions on the brain indicating the disease. Regarding the darkness and despair the condition generates this couldn’t be more ironic. If only that was all a sufferer needed for a confirmed diagnosis. There’s also the lumbar puncture procedure, which is just one example of the humorous light writer Rae Mainwaring manages to shed on the matter, as Junior Doctor McHotty applies himself to our heroine Louise. ‘Serious’ it does become towards the end but in the main it’s chock-full of laughs, the aff...

Only Fools and Horses the Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

6Nov

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Only Fools and Horses the Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

Nothing compares with a theatre full of supportive fans who love what is going on up there on the stage. So, it was with Only Fools and Horses and the West End cast performing in Edinburgh. The jokes are wonderfully familiar, the characterisation excellent and the musical interludes perfectly pitched. This show is an out and out winner for Del Trotter fans and Rodney’s fellow aspiring art students. Co-written by Jim Sullivan (the original writer, John Sullivan’s son) and the prolific, Paul Whitehouse, this show hits the target again and again. It is played for fans of the long-running television sit-com which hit our screens in 1981 and, if my dad was still alive, he’d have loved it! The set works fluidly and looks ideal, thanks to Alice Power’s design. The ensemble dancing an...

The Election Monologues – Traverse Theatre

5Nov

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

The Election Monologues – Traverse Theatre

It was a privilege to be part of the audience for this unrehearsed reading of ‘The Election Monologues’ in the bar of the Traverse. This was a global theatrical event with readings also taking place on 4th November in England, Australia, Greece and the USA. Suzie Miller’s powerful script is based on interviews with librarians and doctors working in the state of Idaho, USA. Conceived by Abigail Gonda, this is intended to be a wake-up call on the eve of the US Presidential election. The message is clear: there is an attack on liberal democracy. Rights and freedoms we have taken for granted for decades are threatened. And the danger is not just to America. Far right activism and populism are evident in many countries including the UK. In 2022 the US Supreme Court overthrew the landma...

The Ritual – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

5Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Ritual – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

Is there a better example of Vampire Clowning in the UK? I doubt it. The Ritual, my favourite show of the annual Edinburgh Horror Festival, sees the charismatic duo, Gregory Lass and Steffens Hanes team up once again, ably assisted by ‘Emily’, their gate closing, vape puffing (smoke machine) tech wizard who brings it all together rather beautifully. Imagine Fawlty Towers’ Manuel and Basil as vampires and you get an idea of the hilarious roles that Lass and Hanes take on stage. The sycophantic servant, who tries hard but always falls short, and the master who demands perfection and ends up a little deranged trying to achieve it. The beauty here, is that although the roles are very clearly defined, there is also plenty of ‘air’ in this performance, leaving ample room for improvisat...

A Gift of Nightmares – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

5Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

A Gift of Nightmares – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

Storyteller, Ines Alvarez Villa, brings to vivid life two stories of her own creation in the deep-padded luxury of the Cinema Room at Banshee Labyrinth. Thankfully, background noise is low (not always the case!) and we are able to sink into the colourful fabric that Ines weaves for us. Both stories are allegorical and centre around the danger of averice, of excessive greed of always wanting more, and prioritising personal gain over integrity. In the first, caution is cast aside when a group of sailors happen upon an abandoned galley. Unable to resist, their curiosity gets the better of them, and whilst they reap the treasure rewards from the silent ship, they also inadvertently invite something else along for the ride! The second, which I preferred, is more in the style of classi...