Scotland Archives - Page 119 of 127

11May

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Rock Of Ages – Edinburgh Playhouse

Rock of Ages is a cheesy jukebox musical that plays as the perfect throw back to everyone’s favourite 80s and 90s rock anthems such as “Here I Go Again”, “Dead or Alive” and “Don’t Stop Believing”. There are several stories told throughout by fantastic narrator Lonny (played by Joe Gash), the main one being of star crossed lovers Sherrie (Gabriella Williams) and Drew (Sam Turrell) who both moved to the Sunset Strip to find fame but instead found each other however the one and only Stacee Jaxx (Matt Terry) proves to become their biggest obstacle. There is another secondary plot concerning the demolition of the Sunset Strip. It goes without saying that this production is near perfect! The cast are all incredibly talented and perfectly cast, we all already love the music, an...

11May

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Cluedo – King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

An irresistible invitation from Lord Boddy brings the seemingly unconnected Colonel Mustard (played by Wesley Griffith), Miss Scarlett (Michelle Collins), Reverend Green (Tom Babbage), Professor Plum (Daniel Casey), Mrs Peacock (Judith Amsenga) and Mrs White (Etisyai Philip) to a country house one dark and stormy evening. Soon the connections, motives and corpses begin piling up as the mystery and hysteria grows. Who is doing the killing? Was it Miss Scarlett, with the revolver in the dining room, or Professor Plum, with the lead pipe in the library? Despite the familiar name, Cluedo is a new piece of work. That is to say, it's a new British play based on an older American play based on an 1985 American film (staring Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd), based on a 1949 British board ...

Ballet Black – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

5May

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Ballet Black – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

After their hugely successful first visit to the Scottish capital in 2019, Ballet Black is finally back after their postponed 2020 show. This time, the London-based company is celebrating its 20th anniversary with two brand new pieces: Say It Out Loud and Black Sun. As I type this review, I notice the nail polish I am wearing – a blush pink tone- which is unoriginally called ballet slippers. This helps illustrate the fact that ballet is inherently white. The lack of diversity within ballet dancers and the struggle racialized performers face in the industry led Cassa Pancho, a trained dancer of Trinidadian and British parents, to fund Ballet Black in 2001 as a company to provide role models to young, aspiring black and Asian dancers. Over the course of these 20 years, Ballet Black has...

5May

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Red Ellen – Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

The author (Caroline Bird) admitted that ‘this play is one interpretation… there are so many Ellens to choose from’ and in this respect the show lost pace and momentum towards the end, lingering too long on Ellen’s disappointments, professional and personal, as she stumbled, a rattling, over-worked medicine cabinet, towards death; the air of exhaustion at the conclusion of the Second World War was captured well by the blazing row between Ellen (Bettrys Jones) and Herbert Morrison (Kevin Lennon), both true and tragic, but overlooked were her incredible feats and achievements as one of less than a handful of women involved in the government and politics of the era. Scant attention was paid to her involvement with the Women’s Suffrage organisation, hardly mentioned was her first position as M...

4May

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

A Murder is Announced – King’s Theatre

Based on the 1950 novel by the “Queen of Crime” herself, Agatha Christie, the title refers to the murder being announced ahead of time in a local newspaper in a small village, right down to the minute. Though it could be described as a “Miss Marple Story”, in truth the detective-work is split almost 50/50 between her and local police-officer Inspector Craddock. It's also worth mentioning this isn't one of Christie's fifteen stage adaptations of her own work, this one being written by Leslie Darbon. But being based on one of her novels, it does contain many of the genre staples which have, thanks largely to her, become associated with the genre. These include: a small village setting, a plodding police sergeant (here played by Jog Maher), a corpse on the floor (Luke Rhodri), the suspects...

Singin’ In The Rain – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

29Apr

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Singin’ In The Rain – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

It's 1927. Silent-film star Don Lockwood (Sam Lips) has it all, a wise-cracking best friend Cosmo Brown (Ross McLaren), fans, hit films and the most beautiful actress in town, Lina Lamont (Faye Tozer) on his arm. Then a chance meeting with a aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Charlotte Gooch) forces him to re-evaluate himself, just as the movies become the talkies, and everything must adapt or be left behind. The 1952 MGM classic this was adapted from was directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, and starred Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen. It is perhaps least famous for being the era's equivalent of a jukebox musical, having been conceived around songs written and released almost two decades previously. However, the film quickly eclipsed the songs' ...

21Apr

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Waitress – Edinburgh Playhouse

A story of baking, infidelity and finding love, waitress is a problematic musical surrounding a waitress who bakes pies to avoid talking about her feelings. Jenna (played tonight by Aimee Fisher) is a waitress for a small diner who specializes in making the best pies in town whilst avoiding dealing with her unhappy marriage and overall feeling of failure for the life she believes her mother would have wanted her to live. When a pregnancy test proves positive, she is forced to reconsider her life choices as she begins an affair with her gynaecologist (played by Liam McHugh) and starts to save up money to enter a baking contest that could guarantee her enough money to leave her abusive husband Earl (Donal Brennan) for good. At the same time, we follow her co-workers Dawn (Evelyn Hoskins) ...

Seven Against Edinburgh – Royal Lyceum Theatre

21Apr

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

Seven Against Edinburgh – Royal Lyceum Theatre

Seven Against Edinburgh takes us on a journey of sisterhood. Jo’s got undisguised endometriosis, Sasha has lost her mother, Nell is trying to take her rock band to the next level, Isla is fighting for more recognition for women in STEM and Gabby’s trying to get her feminist society off the ground. On the same streets in the 19th century, the Edinburgh Seven, were fighting for their right to study and graduate in medicine. Led by Sophia Jex Blake, the seven were the first matriculated university students in the UK, and their fight to study was supported amongst the greats, including Charles Darwin. Seven Against Edinburgh runs in two timelines. As the seven school friends uncover their stories of their heroes, their own friendships feel the pressure. This is an incredibly talented young ...

The Metamorphosis – The Traverse Theatre

18Apr

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

The Metamorphosis – The Traverse Theatre

Think of Kafka’ Metamorphosis and images of a tragicomic cockroach writhing on its back amongst filth and disarray usually springs to mind. Vanishing Point’s production of The Metamorphosis approaches this famous production from a refreshingly modern new angle, spurring on new connotations for the audience to mull on. Director Matthew Lenton and Associate Director Joanna Bowman take The Metamorphosis to 2020’s. Gregor’s profession isn’t as driven, but it’s still arguably crushing. Now, as a delivery cyclist, he’s at the mercy of his jobs worth boss and a victim of the gig economy. Sporting a bug-like helmet and sizeable rucksack, he bustles onto the stage and into bed before the transformation begins. When his family realise they can no longer rely on him for a source of income, t...

18Apr

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

The Meaning of Zong – Edinburgh Lyceum

This play is only part of the story. The central character Olaudah Equiano (the leading 18th century black campaigner for the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade) is played by originator and author Giles Terera and at points we feel like we’re watching him, not Olaudah. It’s a play about struggle(s) and a quest for truth and Terera’s journey in writing and researching it involved both. As Bristol Old Vic’s artistic directors Tom Morris and Charlotte Geeves write in the programme, he ‘battled the British theatre establishment’ in order ‘to get it on its feet’. Having taken six years to develop, its debut performance was delayed from early 2020 by the Covid pandemic, so what we’re seeing tonight is almost brand new; the first performance was at the Bristol Old Vic on April 2, 2022, a ...