Scotland

Commissioned and produced by ThickSkin and Lawrence Batley Theatre, the Traverse has brought Blood Harmony to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Writer Matthew Bulgo has created a musical focused upon the grief of three sisters, Chloe (Eve de Leon Allen), Maia (Keshini Misha) and Anna (Philippa Hogg), who are coming to terms with the death of their mother. Reunited after time apart, the sisters reacquaint themselves and find that they are living vastly different lives, and they struggle to understand each other’s way of thinking. Anna lives overseas, is arrogant and career minded, and it becomes clear that she had not visited her mother for some years. Maia is unconventional, lurching from one disaster to another, she struggles to support herself and uses drink and drugs as her escape. C...

CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation was the first improvised performance I have seen so far at this Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and I was not disappointed. It began as many improvisations do, with the performers asking the audience to provide certain details that form the bedrock of the show. In this case, we had to name the victim, their job, and the weapon with which they were murdered. It was like an exceptionally fun game of Cluedo. I was already laughing as we named our victim Jervaiz Pickle, yes it was spelt like that. The unfortunate victim had been a Travelodge receptionist and was brutally murdered by limp hearts of Romaine lettuce. I must give credit to whoever thought of this genius weapon as it propelled much of the slapstick comedy throughout the show. The details of the m...