Wednesday, September 2

Scotland

Gershwin and Bartok – Usher Hall
Scotland

Gershwin and Bartok – Usher Hall

Sometimes during the Edinburgh festivals, you simply need a little space. After days spent rushing between Fringe venues, squeezing into small rooms and watching theatre at increasingly close quarters, there is something wonderfully restorative about walking into the Usher Hall and finding the stage filled by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. And I mean filled. Under conductor Karina Canellakis, this remarkable collection of young American musicians produces an enormous, confident and wonderfully optimistic sound. The scale of the string section alone is extraordinary, stretching seemingly endlessly across the stage. They look magnificent too. Black jackets sit above striking blood red trousers, the whole orchestra beautifully colour coordinated, whi...
Temi Wilkey (Lover Girl) – Pleasance Courtyard (Upstairs)
Scotland

Temi Wilkey (Lover Girl) – Pleasance Courtyard (Upstairs)

Well… the fact our Lover Girl has Daddy issues explains a bit. She also has Mummy issues, which explains a whole lot more. That’s w-h-o-l-e, with a ‘w’. Having caught something on a poster or flyer predicting ‘low-brow content with high-brow delivery’, no-one will be disappointed with this show. But this wasn’t low brow; it was just open, honest, brave… and funny. And due to the ‘high-brow delivery’ even the double entendres elicited a healthy reaction where usually there would have been only groans. As the hour progresses it turns out this was just the aperitif to some more thought-provoking passages. Temi is single and perplexed. She’s an excellent singer and dancer, taking the audience with her as she rails upon her situation with righteous, frustrated – and comic - indignation. ...
The 39 Steps – theSpace @ Triplex
Scotland

The 39 Steps – theSpace @ Triplex

You might not have set out to see an amateur production on this year’s Fringe, but ‘The 39 Steps’ presented by Clifton College could be worth rethinking that. This adaptation of Hitchcock’s classic thriller uses physical theatre, shadow puppetry, fairly minimal set and props, some clever stage tricks and leans towards slapstick elements - essentially celebrating the magic live theatre has to offer. Of course it’s still a school production, so don’t expect anything too polished or equal performances across the board. No, there are things that could be improved upon. Some of the puppetry bits didn’t work as well as they could have with different direction for example. There were small inconsistencies that might have been overlooked but could easily be fixed and we see varying levels o...
When We Were Young – theSpace on the Mile
Scotland

When We Were Young – theSpace on the Mile

Award-winning hit of last year’s Fringe, When We Were Young features at theSpace on the Mile for another year running.  Consisting of the first act of a two-act play, this show sees a group of young teenagers living in Govan in the 90s caught up in the young team culture.  The tone is set by group leader Mooney (played by Liam Lambie) now grown-up as he reflects on his troubled youth.  When We Were Young sends a powerful message of how systemic issues impact those living in under cared for areas – how easy it is to fall into gang violence and knife crime and how it affects the community. This is such a quintessentially Scottish show, with Lambie’s writing so accurately capturing the crude and blunt essence of the ‘neds’.  With sharp and quick-witted insults being...
Tom Neenan: Portrait of Tom as a Young Neenan- Bluebell at Underbelly, George Square
Scotland

Tom Neenan: Portrait of Tom as a Young Neenan- Bluebell at Underbelly, George Square

Billed as a show that combines Tom Neenan’s skills as a writer, comic, actor and semi-professional portrait artist, Portrait of Tom as a Young Neenan delivers on all fronts. Neenan’s title is knowingly pretentious and gives an accurate insight into the eponymous main character. An accomplished performer, his ability to make the mundane theatrical is evident from the onset when he delivers a clever sketch on getting a passport photo. It is a perfect entry into his story which ponders both the practical and philosophical nature of a portrait he is commissioned to paint. His subject is Lionel, an eccentric octogenarian with a creative approach to biography that rivals Neenan’s own and makes for some interesting observations on self-perception.  Neenan weaves parts of his life t...
A Trial:  After an Enemy of the People — Lyceum Theatre
Scotland

A Trial:  After an Enemy of the People — Lyceum Theatre

Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy performs an open-surgery adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 classic, An Enemy of the People. Performed in Portuguese with English subtitles, the production combines pre-filmed inserts, video conferencing, and live video to create an unusual and immersive theatrical experience. The entire play is presented in a courtroom setting, where a jury of 12 members selected from the audience must decide whether Dr Thomas Stockmann is an “Enemy of the People” or not. The central conflict begins when Dr Stockmann discovers that the water supplying the town’s spa is dangerously polluted. Although he believes exposing the problem is the morally right thing to do, his decision threatens the town’s economy, creating a difficult conflict between public health and fina...
Burke & Hare Body Snatchers Serial Killers, Ulstermen – Pickle Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court
Scotland

Burke & Hare Body Snatchers Serial Killers, Ulstermen – Pickle Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court

Sometimes the bustle of the fringe can get a little much: all those loud sounds, bright lights and dance numbers, sometimes you just need a cosy little sit down where you can discuss serial killers…. well that’s my idea of a relaxing break anyway. Burke & Hare Body Snatchers Serial Killers, Ulstermen talks about the real history surrounding the infamous serial killers, starting way before their crimes. Historian Andrew Johnston takes the story from the point of view of an Irish man himself, stating that he wishes to “reclaim” the killers history for Ireland. We start with the Origins of Burke, Hare and their wives, delve into the lead up to the murders and the victims. We hear of the medical school’s struggles and role in the case, along with the verdict that would leave the pub...
Sarah Hester Ross: Serving C*nt – The Den at Gilded Balloon Teviot
Scotland

Sarah Hester Ross: Serving C*nt – The Den at Gilded Balloon Teviot

Sarah Hester Ross – Serving C*nt is bold, raw, gloriously unapologetic, and exactly the kind of show that thrives at the Edinburgh Fringe. From the moment Sarah steps into the room, she makes it clear that this is not going to be a quiet or cautious hour. Instead, she serves up a sharp, musical, and fiercely funny performance that celebrates confidence, womanhood, and the power of saying exactly what you mean. This is refreshing, but I have to say that I was feeling a little exposed as a man, I needn’t have, as Sarah put it, I was welcome if I was well behaved. I was. Playing at The Den at Gilded Balloon Teviot, the show has the feel of an intimate cabaret gig mixed with stand-up comedy and musical theatre. Sarah moves between comic songs, hilarious audience engagement, and punch...
Aufguss X The Waves – Sauna Theatre, Summerhall
Scotland

Aufguss X The Waves – Sauna Theatre, Summerhall

My God, this is refreshing. And at the Edinburgh Fringe, by the middle of the day I have walked several miles, watched several shows and hauled a bag full of chargers, notebooks and assorted electronic paraphernalia, refreshing is no small achievement. Sauna Theatre is Summerhall's latest experiment in what theatre might actually be. There is a little faff involved. Swimming trunks, flip flops and a couple of towels aren't normally essential reviewing equipment. But changing cubicles and lockers are provided, valuables disappear safely inside, water is handed out and soon a collection of strangers are standing around in varying degrees of undress waiting to see what happens next. What happens next is a sauna. A proper one. I like heat, so naturally I head for the top ben...
The Jolly Fisherman – Buttercup, Underbelly, George Square
Scotland

The Jolly Fisherman – Buttercup, Underbelly, George Square

There is a certain irony in spending ten minutes wandering up and down George Square Gardens trying to find a play which turns out to be largely about our need to find a place to belong. The Jolly Fisherman isn't actually inside the Gardens at all. Eventually I discover it outside, beside the box office, housed in what looks remarkably like a Portakabin. Perhaps accidentally, it is the perfect introduction to John Dinneen's thoughtful new play about place, identity and what happens when the buildings we invest with meaning cease to be ours. At its centre are Alan and Amir, childhood friends growing up in a changing East London. The Jolly Fisherman pub becomes the physical point around which their lives, and eventually their differing ideas about belonging, revolve....