Scotland Archives - Page 16 of 132

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...

The Gummy Bears’ Great War – ZOO Playground

17Aug

By Charles PipeNo Comments

Scotland

The Gummy Bears’ Great War – ZOO Playground

Told using actual gummy bears, The Gummy Bears’ Great War makes for an intriguing diversion with a bite-sized runtime. Told over seven distinct chapters and spanning a single day – from sunrise to sunset – the branching plots follows three Gummy Bears as their nation decides to spontaneously declare a futile war against the neighbouring Dinosaurs. The action plays out on a table, with the two performers – Valentina Fadda and Leonardo Tomasi – puppeteering the tiny, brightly-coloured protagonists and hundreds of other characters, as well as lighting each scene with a variety of lamps, torches, and LEDs. Italian narration is provided by Fadda, Leonarda, and a pre-recorded voiceover, with English captions projected onto the back wall of the intimate space. The piece moves at a slow,...

17Aug

By Saira KunjuvalappilNo Comments

Scotland

She’s Behind You – Traverse Theatre

She's Behind You, a Johnny McKnight script and a John Tiffany direction, is a seasonal yet contemplative dive into the world of pantomime. In a co-production between the Traverse Theatre and the National Theatre of Scotland, the play grabs the art form's sense of enjoyment while nipping at its deeper cultural importance. From the moment McKnight—portraying his alter ego character, Dorothy Blawna-Gale—appeared on stage, the audience was mesmerized. The laughter was almost continuous, with spontaneous applause in rhythm to music and dance. Audience participation was a whopping 100%, with bystanders caught up in the infectious energy from start to finish. Visually, the production dazzled. Bright, sparkly, and totally immersive, the lighting and stage design contributed both to the c...

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...