Scotland Archives - North West End UK

11Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Portable Infinity – Traverse Theatre

A packed Traverse 1 on a Monday night is no small achievement for a contemporary jazz ensemble. Yet Portable Infinity's appearance at the Traverse felt entirely at home in the theatre's largest space. Eighteen months ago the group played the Traverse bar. Now they return at the conclusion of a major European tour to a full house, a testament both to the growing reputation of the band and the enthusiasm of Edinburgh's jazz audience.The evening stretched to around one hour and forty minutes without an interval, a format that might have tested a lesser audience. Instead, the capacity crowd remained rapt throughout, drawn into a performance that was as intellectually engaging as it was emotionally rewarding.What immediately struck this reviewer was the honesty of the music. There were no backi...

10Jun

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Dear Evan Hansen – Church Hill Theatre

There are few cinematic puzzles more challenging than trying to complete a viewing of Dear Evan Hanson. Trust me, I tried, twice. However… abandon your car, bus, hackney cab or pushbike in Morningside and dodge the hailstones – it is, after all June, in Edinburgh – to the stunning Church Hill theatre for this Room 29 Theatre Co production. There are five more performances left from tomorrow (today by the time you’re reading this) June 10th, until June 13th including a Saturday matinee. This was excellent from start to finish, genuinely moving, touching and inspiring, the sight of Eilidh Todd (playing Evan’s mum Heidi) pretty much in tears at the end before a standing ovation said it all. The show took place upon an impressive, well-lit set before a backdrop representing a typically chao...

Hidden Door Festival – The Old Paper Factory

9Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Hidden Door Festival – The Old Paper Factory

This year I make two visits to Hidden Door's remarkable takeover of the former Paper Factory in Edinburgh, attending both the opening Wednesday night and returning again on the Saturday. As ever, Hidden Door proves that some of the most memorable artistic experiences happen when creativity is allowed to spill into spaces never originally designed for it. The vast industrial sheds, exposed steelwork and seemingly endless corridors create an environment where exploration becomes part of the evening. Every turn reveals another installation, another performance space or another unexpected discovery. The building itself is as much a performer as any artist appearing within it. What distinguishes Hidden Door from a conventional music festival is that the experience extends far beyond the m...

The Marriage of Figaro – Festival Theatre

2Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Marriage of Figaro – Festival Theatre

There is a reason why Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro remains one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. More than two centuries after its premiere, this tale of lust, deception, privilege and revenge still has the power to delight audiences. The comedy remains sharp, the characters remain recognisable, and Mozart's music continues to provide one glorious melody after another. Scottish Opera's revival of Sir Thomas Allen's production arrives in Edinburgh following its run in Glasgow, conducted by Dane Lam and directed by Allen himself. It is a handsome, traditional staging that places its faith in the strength of Mozart's score and Lorenzo Da Ponte's story rather than attempting to reinvent either. The central plot remains as entertaining as ever. Figaro and Susanna ar...

The Taming of the Shrew – Traquair House

2Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Taming of the Shrew – Traquair House

All the world's a stage, wrote Shakespeare, and nowhere does that feel truer than at Traquair. On a glorious Borders evening, with peacocks calling in the distance, goats grazing unconcernedly nearby, live musicians leading the audience from scene to scene, and performers appearing from every corner of Scotland's oldest inhabited house, Shakespeare's comedy becomes something far more than a play. It becomes an event. Director Kath Mansfield's production of The Taming of the Shrew is playful, joyful and bursting with life. Every corner of the estate is pressed into service, from formal gardens and winding pathways to the magnificent terraces in front of the house. Traquair itself becomes a cast member, its ancient walls, mature trees and carefully cultivated landscape providing a backdro...

29May

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

Once – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Marking Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s 75th anniversary and the inaugural season of new Artistic Director, Alan Cumming, Once, the hit West End and Broadway musical, has its Scottish premiere. Bringing back the original team, including designer, Bow Crowley, and director, John Tiffany, this production is very exciting to have opening the theatre programme and start a new chapter for Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Once follows Guy, a Dublin-based musician used to playing in bars who dreams of success but is ready to abandon his hope and give up. He meets Girl, a Czech immigrant, who attempts to bring back his hope and inspires him to keep going. The pair meet a group of quirky individuals, coming together to create an album filled with Guy’s original music. From the outset of this producti...

2:22 A Ghost Story – Edinburgh Playhouse

27May

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

2:22 A Ghost Story – Edinburgh Playhouse

The touring production of 2:22 A Ghost Story arrives at the Edinburgh Playhouse carrying a formidable reputation. Danny Robins’ supernatural thriller has already conquered the West End, toured internationally and become one of those modern stage phenomena where audiences arrive already primed, whispering theories before the lights even dim. The premise remains brilliantly simple, a dinner party with four friends descends into a late night argument about belief, scepticism and whatever may or may not arrive each night at precisely 2:22am. What elevates the evening beyond a standard jump scare ghost story is Robins himself. Already well known as the creator of the hugely successful BBC Sounds podcast series Uncanny, Robins has become something of Britain’s modern campfire s...

Baby Mash-Up: What on Earth Are You Doing? – Traverse Theatre

26May

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Baby Mash-Up: What on Earth Are You Doing? – Traverse Theatre

Sally Hobson’s Baby Mash-Up, What On Earth Are You Doing? Is a bold, strange and undeniably ambitious new work that often resists easy interpretation even as it reaches towards moments of startling emotional beauty. Presented by stillpoint at the Traverse Theatre and directed with restless invention by Nicholas Bone, the production unfolds across a collage-like structure of some twenty-five scenes, veering wildly between absurdist comedy, philosophical speculation, domestic intimacy and moments of piercing lyrical reflection. At first, the play feels almost deliberately destabilising. The audience is bounced from one surreal encounter to another, unsure whether to laugh, think, analyse or simply surrender to the flow of ideas washing over them. Yet gradually, beneath the theatri...

Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-in – Traverse Theatre

21May

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-in – Traverse Theatre

The Bryant & May Matchgirls strike in 1888 in Bow. Fords in Dagenham and the fishing industry champions, the Women Of Hessle Road, both in 1968. The Grunwick dispute in Dollis Hill in 1976. Fast forward to 1981, the Lee Jeans factory in Greenock, a fading town west of Glasgow once vibrant with ‘ships & sugar’. Maggie T is attempting to drag the UK out of the dismal 70’s, with, as they say, scant regard for the horses. Cue the factory’s American owners, having availed themselves of some generous government assistance in Greenock in the first place, are having their heads turned by similar enticements in N Ireland. 240 jobs, predominantly for local women, hang in the balance. The story was exhaustively researched by local journalist and broadcaster Paul English and written by...

20May

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

The Bodyguard – Edinburgh Playhouse

I must admit I went into this musical differently to most people around me because, somehow, I’ve never actually seen the film. Which almost felt embarrassing once the audience started reacting to certain moments with anticipation usually reserved for cult classics. Still, there was something nice about experiencing the story without constantly comparing it to the film version. It meant I could just take the show as it was: glossy, dramatic, a little ridiculous at times, but undeniably entertaining. The production wastes no time throwing you into the spectacle of it all. One minute Edinburgh’s Playhouse is settling, the next there’s a gunshot and suddenly we’re in full concert territory with pyrotechnics, dancers and Queen of the Night blasting through the theatre. It sets the tone ...