Scotland Archives - North West End UK

26Feb

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Espen Eriksen Trio – Traverse Theatre

Once again, local music programming charity Soundhouse have graced the Traverse theatre with another act of outstanding renown: this time, the Espen Eriksen Trio. This Norwegian jazz trio is composed of frontman Espen Eriksen on piano, Lars Tormod Jenset on double bass, and Andreas Bye on drums. With tranquil, lilting phrases, the Espen Eriksen trio bring a gentle approach to jazz, creating a completely dreamy and meditative soundscape. The trio all possess that typical Norwegian wit, presenting their work with charm, managing to absolutely win the audience over with their dry quips and smart remarks. We really warmed to them as people and hence furthered our connection with their music. My favourite track had to be the opener of course, bringing in the show with p...

Here and Now: The Steps Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

26Feb

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Here and Now: The Steps Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

If you’ve ever wanted to experience a fever-dream in real time, Here and Now: The Steps Musical is the show for you. This brand new jukebox musical, written by Shaun Kitchener in association with Steps, is utterly ridiculous. At first that might feel like a negative, but the further the show goes on, the more Here and Now sweeps you into the madness and by the end you’ll be belting out tragedy in the megamix. Its self-aware silliness can’t be denied, and with all of the Steps’ classic hits, it’s hard to resist the “Summer of Love” - I for one, had the time of my life. Set in the Best Better Bargains supermarket, we see four core cashiers make a pact that this is the Summer they get their love lives together. As they attempt to make their moves, we come to find ou...

24Feb

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Head. Heart. Hand. – Traverse Theatre

Stef Smith is an uncompromising writer. Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University has some history. What might a collision between the two produce? Commissioned to mark ‘150 years of hope, action and education’ it’s performed by a cast of the university’s acting and performance students, bookended by crises; the poverty and hunger that inspired its founding in 1875 and the cuts to and erosion of the education sector that started in the 1970’s, persisting to the present day. It’s almost as if, following the 60’s, someone felt education might pose a threat. The story alighted upon two other milestones in the institution’s journey, the wartime contributions of the students (many spent time in London looking after bomb repair workers dealing with the effects of Hitler’s 1944 rocket offensiv...

17Feb

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Flames – Traverse Theatre

The much loved over 50s ensemble group, The Flames return to the Traverse theatre with another verbatim-style, mixed medium show. Produced by Tricky Hat Productions, The Flames uses each ensemble member’s personal memoirs to collate together a story. In this case, the connecting theme of all these individual memoirs was jealousy. Alongside the candid monologues, video and text was projected onto the back wall of the stage. Quotes, presumably taken from the ensemble, were projected - each providing a different outlook on how they define jealousy. As well as this, black and white video of the ensemble was also projected. From raw close-ups that captured a wide-range of expression and emotional depth, to wide shots that artfully superimposed its subjects as...

16Feb

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

(UN)LOVABLE – Traverse Theatre

Scratch nights are, by their very nature, uneven affairs, messy blue prints or gluey models rather than finished buildings. And [UN]LOVABLE at the Traverse Theatre embraced that spirit fully, five short pieces circling the theme of love’s absence, distortion, or bureaucratic assessment. Some were works in progress in the truest sense, one felt ready to walk straight back onstage tomorrow. Clown Divorce Written by Russ Russell and directed by Sarah Docherty, this dark comedy about a clown navigating marital breakdown opened the evening with energy and a knowing wink. Performed solo by Chris Viteri, the piece invited us into a surreal domestic world where divorce proceedings involve greasepaint and emotional pratfalls, and where the profession runs in the family, mother a...

12Feb

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Wood Paths – Traverse Theatre

Tired of watching paint dry? As an alternative, Manipulate Festival offers The Wood Paths at the Traverse Theatre. Beginning with thirty straight minutes of performers and co-creators Rūdolfs Gedinš and c chopping into large wooden logs in silence, this show is certainly off the wall. Produced by Latvian company, Theatre on Gertrude Street (ToGS), The Wood Paths is an abstract and eccentric piece of performance art that is both mysteriously aloof, and affectionately playful. Directed and co-created by Andrejs Jarovojs, Rudof Bekič is another co-creator alongside Samĭtis and Gedinš. This certainly was a unique performance, and while some may say its reeks of fine-art ostentation, it can’t be denied that The Wood Paths is absolutely intriguing. The performance was in ...

A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong – Festival Theatre

12Feb

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong – Festival Theatre

Based on their 2017 BBC television special, Mischief Theatre's A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong was directed by Matt DiCarlo, with associate director Sydney Stevenson. Mischief Theatre's bread and butter are the literally named “Goes Wrong” shows (including The Play That Goes Wrong, The Goes Wrong Show, Mind Mangler - Member of the Tragic Circle, Magic Goes Wrong, Mischief Movie Night and Peter Pan Goes Wrong) which was directed by , and in this one, the Cornley Drama Society, a familiar staple of their shows, are casting a production of the seasonal Dickens classic, led by their director Chris/Scrooge (Daniel Fraser) and assistant Annie (Nancy Zamit). Unfortunately their casting pool is not what they would like, leading to a cast which includes drama course recidivist Max (Matt Cavendis...

Animated Scottish Shorts – Edinburgh Filmhouse

11Feb

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Animated Scottish Shorts – Edinburgh Filmhouse

The richness and creativity of Scottish animation is showcased in this selection of ten short films, shown as part of the Manipulate Festival. Here are some of my favourites: The stop-motion world of Distance to the Moon, by Sacha Kyle and Victoria Watson, is full of texture and graceful movement, as its determined protagonist embarks on an epic journey. There’s peril, beauty and friendship, and plenty of surprises. Fairground Fever, by Linda Hughes, is colourful and nostalgic. A young woman visits a fairground with her friends. She enters a visually thrilling, swirling world of wonder and excitement. Painted in acrylics, the animation delights with movement and joy. Creche and Burn, by Frank O’Neil, is told from the perspective of a child. Zombies are on the rampage, and hero...

11Feb

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Auntie Empire – Summerhall Edinburgh

At Summerhall, as part of the Manipulate Festival, Julia Taudevin’s Auntie Empire is a show that improves as it decays. Performed solo by Taudevin, who also conceived the work, the production opens in a register of playful provocation, leaning heavily on audience participation. Under the guidance of performance director Tim Licata, these early sections clearly aim to implicate the room, drawing the audience into complicity before pulling the rug, but the results are mixed. Some exchanges feel laboured, stretching jokes past their natural lifespan and slightly blunting the edge of the satire. At times, the structure seems more interested in keeping the audience busy than in advancing the analysis. Once the show pivots away from participation and into its more overtly theatrical langua...

It’s Such a Beautiful Day + ME – Edinburgh Filmhouse

11Feb

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

It’s Such a Beautiful Day + ME – Edinburgh Filmhouse

Don Hertzveldt’s animated film, It’s Such a Beautiful Day, uses simple line drawings, stream of consciousness narration, and inventive cinematography as brushstrokes to build the story of Bill, a man with a neurological disorder. In Hertzveldt’s narration, the mundane and the fantastical are woven together: “Bill sat down and put on a big sweater, but it only made him sleepy”. “The guy next to him at the bus stop had the head of a cow, but Bill pretended not to notice.” As reality slips and slides around him, Bill does his best to make his world make sense. Bill recalls his childhood, his happy and his strange memories. Has his condition distorted his recollection? He attends medical appointments. His ex-girlfriend, and his mother, take care of him, but he is isolated from the people...