Scotland Archives - Page 12 of 129

18Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Mary’s Daughters – theSpace Triplex

Three women, one legacy, and a ghostly reunion that’s far sharper than it sounds. I step into theSpace @ Triplex on the final day of the run, catching Mary’s Daughters just in time. What I see is well worth the last minute decision - a tight, intelligent piece of theatre with super acting that leaves me thinking that it should have run longer. We arrive to a thrust stage strewn with papers and feathers, as if the past itself has been ransacked. Out of this visual chaos, three figures emerge hurrying around in all directions, confused ghosts. Mary Wollstonecraft, played with commanding empathy by Megan Carter, her lesser-known daughter Fanny Imlay, portrayed with delicate intensity by Kaya Bucholc, and the more famous Mary Shelley, given a finely balanced mix of literary gravitas ...

Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Underbelly, McEwan Hall

18Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Underbelly, McEwan Hall

One actor drunk, the rest soberly soldiering on through Shakespeare. It’s a crowd-pleasing premise, and the chaos is real. But if you don’t know your Midsummer Night’s Dream inside out, a lot of the humour sails past. Funny? Yes, at times. Insightful? Not so much. On paper, this sounds like a perfect Fringe mash-up: take a cast of classically trained Shakespearean actors, lace one of them with enough booze to make Falstaff blush, then watch the Bard’s poetry get sideswiped by slurred asides, physical stumbles, and improvised derailments. In theory, it’s both a homage to the rough and ready theatrical tradition and a sharp parody of Shakespearean reverence. The night I saw it, the chosen drunk was Lysander, who gradually morphed into “the crazy little Greek kid who gap-yeared in R...

17Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Book of Mountains and Seas – The Lyceum

Huang Ruo’s Book of Mountains and Seas promises mythic spectacle, and at times it delivers with imagery that sears itself into memory. Basil Twist’s staging conjures a world of elemental forces and shifting forms, with large, raw chunks of timber manipulated onstage to create figures of striking presence. One of the most arresting moments comes early, as these timber elements are assembled into a vast face, complete with glowing light spheres for eyes. These orbs lift away into the theatre’s airspace, casting an uncanny glow across the auditorium. From the sockets pour huge silk-like sheets, unfurling in great waves that transform into a billowing sea. Later, with a deft reconfiguration of the timber, the form becomes a hulking, almost golem-like figure, looming over the action. In the ...

How Not to Fund a Honeymoon – Studio @ theSpaceTriplex

17Aug

By Charles PipeNo Comments

Scotland

How Not to Fund a Honeymoon – Studio @ theSpaceTriplex

In only 45 minutes, How Not to Fund a Honeymoon delivers on just about everything you could want or expect from the crime-comedy caper genre. Like a Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie movie, the plot unfolds non-linearly. Action skips back and forth between the aftermath of and the buildup to a failed heist, orchestrated by fiancés Gwen (Ausette Anderies) and Charlie (Claire Feuille). Their plan is to break into the house of Gwen’s wealthy aunt - Aunt Robyn (played by Stephanie Greenwood, who also wrote the play) - and steal her valuables in order to pay for their honeymoon to the Maldives. The plan does not work out well for Gwen and Charlie. Most of the comedy stems from the fact that Gwen and Charlie are a perfectly normal couple, who find themselves in abnormal circumstances. T...

17Aug

By Juliette PepinNo Comments

Scotland

Girl Pop! – Gilded Balloon

Shite Productions' Girl Pop! is a lively, glittery Spice Girls-esque girl band come to life with sparkly costumes, catchy numbers and gossip galore. 'Girl Pop' take to the stage for their first reunion in years, facing eager eyes of their devoted fanbase the ‘Poppers’. We are taken through a play-by-play of the reasons for their split, including relationship dramas and media clashes. The high energy of the cast is radiant as the girls riff off each other, completely in sync. Each has their own personality and reputation; we meet fan and media favourite Hazel, songwriter Ruby, side-lined backing singer Zoe, and competitive Arabella. Jade Leanne is particularly vulnerable as Zoe, reflecting on her sudden grief at the BRIT awards being transformed into a press-fuelled narrative of s...

17Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Fly, You Fools – Pleasance

One does not simply walk into the Pleasance, buy a ticket for Fly, You Fools! and watch a brilliant parody. Or do they? Well, yes, they probably do. Although, if you can arrange a giant eagle, that might be even quicker. Recent Cutbacks lovingly absurd retelling of The Fellowship of the Ring manages to cram an entire epic into a single, glorious, hour of physical comedy, shadow play, live Foley, and a flurry of blink and you miss them references. This is the sort of show that rewards a second viewing, there are so many visual and verbal easter eggs for Tolkien fans that you will spot new gags each time. The cast of three, Nick Abeel, Kyle Schaefer, and Regan Sims, handle an impossible number of roles with effortless dexterity. Gandalf, played full height while everyone else shuff...

17Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

AI: The Waiting Room – C Arts

Fringe marketing copy loves to promise “something you have never experienced before.” Most of the time that means you will get another monologue about someone’s bad break up or a quirky sketch with a ukulele. But AI: The Waiting Room genuinely delivers something unique, a personalised theatrical encounter where the story is built for you, in real time, by an AI. I did not do it in the show’s advertised venue at C Arts. Instead, I was set up at theSpace by the two co-creators themselves, who very kindly let me take part using my own phone. It is not a performance in the usual sense. You start by answering a handful of questions, some of them surprisingly personal. My advice, be honest. You will get more out of it if you drop the polite small talk and actually reveal something about y...

Merrily We Roll Along – EUSOG @ St Augustine

17Aug

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

Scotland

Merrily We Roll Along – EUSOG @ St Augustine

At the beginning of 2024 I was as fortunate enough to be in New York to see the Broadway production of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ which eventually won 4 Tony awards, including Best Revival of a Musical. Now Broadway comes to Edinburgh Festival Fringe with an excellent student rendition of this poignant commentary on the nature of friendship from EUSOG at Edinburgh University. On its initial run in 1981, ‘Merrily’ closed after just two weeks and was a commercial disaster for Sondheim and co-writer George Furth, critics at the time found the storyline confusing and the characters unsympathetic and audiences agreed. But, as with many Sondheim productions, a reassessment has happened in the intervening four decades and helped by significant changes in subsequent productions, modern audienc...

Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony – Usher Hall

17Aug

By Saira KunjuvalappilNo Comments

Scotland

Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony – Usher Hall

As part of the London Symphony Orchestra residency with the Edinburgh International Festival, A Sea Symphony drew a sold-out crowd to the Usher Hall. This landmark performance brought together the orchestra led by Sir Antonio Pappano with sonic leviathan Edinburgh Festival Chorus, for a night of sweeping musical ambition and deeply human emotional resonance. The two hours and five minutes including one interval performances commenced with an eight-minute glorious Nocturne that set an atmosphere of restrained anticipation. This was followed by a ten-minute violin solo from Vilde Frang, whose music instantly won over the hearts of the audience. She put out stunning technical accuracy coupled with warmth to secure a three-minute ovation—an initial highlight which promised much more magic a...

The Front List: Nicola Sturgeon – McEwan Hall

17Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

The Front List: Nicola Sturgeon – McEwan Hall

Nicola Sturgeon at the height of her popularity, was a political rockstar. In 2014 12,000 people packed Glasgow’s Hydro arena - more accustomed to hosting pop stars such as Lady Gaga - to hear her speak. It’s more than two years since she unexpectedly resigned as Scotland’s First Minister and she’s faced some torrid times since then. Now she’s written her memoirs, a 464-page book called ‘Frankly’. On Thursday more than a thousand people filled Edinburgh’s McEwan Hall for her book launch. And many more watched around the world as the event was streamed online. Nicola Sturgeon was Scotland’s longest serving First Minister (2014-23) and the first woman to hold that role. She had been Deputy First Minister for seven years under Alex Salmond’s leadership. Together they took Scotlan...