Scotland Archives - Page 12 of 127

17Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Oh Plagues – C ARTS

Oh Plagues, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe, produced by Mebe Productions, sees a group of young aristocratic women attending a soirée when they suddenly learn that they have been locked in to prevent contamination as the smallpox epidemic of 1810 rages on. This isn’t any ordinary period piece however, as the ladies are given a modern twist - swearing, taking drugs, partaking in lesbianism and the like. There’s even a baroque-ified dance breakdown featuring Chappel Roan’s hit song “HOT TO GO!” at one point with the help of Yohana Bayekula’s movement direction. Making up the group are a bundle of East 15 Acting School students and graduates who implement both scripted and improvised dialogue throughout the show to provide an all round good time for us. Writ...

16Aug

By Triona ScullyNo Comments

Scotland

Living on the Moon – Gilded Balloon

“After experiencing her mother's demise from Alzheimer's, writer-performer Molly McFadden learns how to face the truth and let go in this poignant, yet humorous one-woman show told with music, puppetry and love” The promotional material captures the ambition of this project and I was keen to see how these ideas would translate to a show. I wasn’t disappointed. Molly McFadden is an accomplished performer with a presence. As soon as she enters the room, she engages her audience, sharing a story of her early experiences in the cabaret circuit, complete with belting show tunes and toe tapping rhythm. As her tale continues, something appears to be troubling her when she struggles to remember the words to ‘Fly me to the Moon’. From her first subtle introduction of the concept of memory...

16Aug

By Danielle FarrowNo Comments

Scotland

Not Without Right – C alto

What right has anyone to claim they know what Shakespeare intended, and which parts come directly from his life, in the works of Shakespeare? What right has anyone to doubt these were written by Shakespeare? And what right has a non-university-educated player to create works still claimed to contain all of humanity, 400 years after they first appeared? If this sounds like a literary or historical treatise, fear not! Will and Company’s play is full of vigour, vim and humour. It has passionate attack and defence which entertains as well as informs, and two strong performances from actors who thrive on bouncing off each other and Shakespeare’s lines, here well understood and dexterously used. These attributes in themselves grant the right to at least explore those first questions and S...

Mary, Queen of Rock! – Underbelly, Cowbarn

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Mary, Queen of Rock! – Underbelly, Cowbarn

Mary, Queen of Rock! reimagines Scotland’s most famous monarch as a leather-clad rock rebel, taking on John Knox in a battle of the bands. The cast delivers strong vocals, with Mhairi McCall in the lead role commanding the stage and Rebecca Williamson as Queen Elizabeth I, who brings plenty of ‘tude and sly wit and a fine voice to boot! The songs, especially Loud Women, deserve to shake the walls, but the volume is only half what it should be. With more punch in the sound and sharper tech, this could be a killer rock gig. I’m at the Underbelly’s Cowbarn, and the lights come up on Mary, Queen of Rock! Unfortunately, this nicely proportioned and comfortably seated raked venue is less than half full. In this version of history, Mary returns from France in 1561 to find John Knox running...

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Garry Starr – Underbelly, George Square

Some Fringe shows are clever. Some are chaotic. And some, like Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, gleefully throw themselves off the rails and somehow land in a place of dazzling, ridiculous beauty. Damien Warren Smith’s alter ego, Garry Starr, attempts to perform every Penguin Classic novel in the space of 70 minutes. Dressed in the publisher’s signature flippers and not much else, in fact, absolutely nothing else for most of the show, he cycles through Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Little Women, Of Mice and Men and dozens more at a breakneck pace, each rendered in his distinctive cocktail of physical clowning, improvisation, and subversive silliness. Yes, he’s naked. The first thing an audience member needs to know is that this isn’t a fleeting gimmick, it’s the performance unif...

Cutting The Tightrope – Church Hill Theatre

16Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Cutting The Tightrope – Church Hill Theatre

This is a compelling, provocative and passionate piece of theatre about artistic freedom, censorship and political activism. You may love it, you may hate it, but you certainly won’t be bored. Originally produced last year at London’s Arcola Theatre, this collection of short plays was written in response to a statement from Arts Council, England, in 2024, warning that artists making political statements either in their work or even on social media could be in breach of their funding agreements. Later it was revealed that the statement followed discussions with the British Government about artists speaking out about the Israel-Gaza war. We know the names of the twelve playwrights but we don’t know who wrote each play. Although all the plays are making serious points, some of them are ...

A Monty Python Cabaret Singalong Circus – St. Mark’s Church

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

A Monty Python Cabaret Singalong Circus – St. Mark’s Church

There’s something deliciously wrong about sitting in an 1835 Unitarian church while a cheerful Australian pianist invites me to sing “Sit on My Face and Tell Me That You Love Me.” St Mark’s, designed by David Bryce, is a handsome bit of early Victorian stonework, high ceilings, clear acoustics, stained glass filtering the light, more accustomed to hymns than to songs about spam, lumberjacks, or finding myself in Finland for no apparent reason. Still, this is the Fringe, and in August the sacred and the silly often share a pew. The show is the brainchild of Antony “Dr H” Hubmayer, an award winning music educator from Adelaide who, if his own jokes are to be believed, never wants to be a cabaret pianist anyway. He wants to be a lumberjack. Obviously. He has the sort of avuncular charm...

16Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Nocturne – Greenside @ George Street

Produced by One More Saga, Norwegian folk-musical Nocturne makes its Edinburgh Fringe debut this year. Inspired by a number of traditional Norwegian folklore tales, Nocturne tells the story of Solveig as she ventures into the enchanted forest in order to find her missing cow. The further she forges into the forest, the stranger creatures she meets - kind-natured and helpful, Solveig puts her own quest aside to free these fairytale creatures from the curse of Nøkken - “the water spirit of beauty and dread.” As the curse is lifted, the creatures remember their stories, and eventually, so does Solveig. Solveig is played by the multi-talented Hedda Rustad Carlsen, who also co-wrote Nocturne, working on the composition and lyrics as well as the book. Carlsen gives...

Pussy Riot: Riot Days – Summerhall, Dissection Room

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Pussy Riot: Riot Days – Summerhall, Dissection Room

Political theatre turned punk gig turned call to arms, Pussy Riot’s Riot Days is an unflinching blast of protest art. At Summerhall’s Dissection Room, the Russian collective fire off pounding beats, stark captions, and unapologetic political fury. It’s powerful, messy, and confrontational, from the raw delivery to the deliberately provocative splashes of water into the crowd. You might not like every tactic, but you’ll leave knowing you’ve been in the same room as the real thing. There are protest gigs, and then there’s Pussy Riot. The Russian art-punk collective’s Riot Days tour has been roaring through cities worldwide, bringing their mix of punk gig, political rally, and theatre piece to stages that can barely contain them. At Summerhall’s Dissection Room, it’s all on top of you:...

16Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Echoes – C ARTS

Founded in 1947, China Coal Mine Art Troupe is a national arts group which combines a range of artistic modes, from rap to physical theatre. At this year's Fringe, CCMAT brings their multi-medium show Echoes to Edinburgh audiences. Echoes tells the tale of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest - a group of scholars who fled to the mountains due to the suppressive political climate of the time, instead following the beliefs of Daoism. The group’s leader, Ji Kang has disappeared from the lives of the sages after being executed. Echoes explores the sage's search for fulfilment now that Ji Kang is gone, through dance, poetry, wine and music. Music plays a large, symbolic role in Echoes, with Ji Kang being known as a master of the guqin, a traditional Chinese...