Scotland Archives - Page 16 of 127

12Aug

By Gill LewisNo Comments

Scotland

The Black Hole – The Space @ Venue 45

Frisky fun and frolics take a gripping turn as emotions get twisted and past traumas are revealed in this explosive two hander. Presented by Shooting Star Studios, and written, performed, and directed by Vkinn Vats, The Black Hole is an interesting, dramatic piece of theatre which takes its audience through the twists and turns of love, lust and all things in between. Dangerous games are played, heightened by the seemingly lack of control of the two actors as they rough and tumble around the stage. A drunken game of charades quickly takes some dark turns as the whiskey continues to flow and confessions are made. Rosalind Jackson Roe provides a strong scene partner to Vats, who both deliver an interesting and watchable portrayals of two seemingly damaged souls. We flip flop ...

Hold The Line – Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two

12Aug

By Gill LewisNo Comments

Scotland

Hold The Line – Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two

A build-up of pressure is intensely captured as we take a call on the frontline of the NHS. With a brilliant use of movement and staging, creative elements beautifully demonstrate quite literally, how our frontline workers get tangled up in the ever-growing demand for help. Squeezed by the grip of bureaucracy so tight, the increasing pace of work leaves staff gas lighted into quitting, as they’re told “It is what it is”. Emerging writer Sam Macgregor taps into his own lived experience and perfectly portrays the relentless and urgent nature that NHS call handlers have to deal with, whilst keeping a smile in their voice and a calm, professional tone. This is an immersive two hander which delves inside the belly of an NHS 111 call centre. Macgregor, is Gary, a call handler with 5 ye...

Escape the Past, Escape Room: The Deacon’s Cabinet – 25 Nicolson Square

12Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Escape the Past, Escape Room: The Deacon’s Cabinet – 25 Nicolson Square

History, high stakes, and a heap of puzzles, Brodie’s neck isn’t going to save itself. I’m standing in the cramped workshop of Edinburgh’s most notorious thief, Deacon William Brodie, with an hour to save him before the hangman comes calling. It’s my first escape room. My friend’s done a couple before, but neither of us is exactly Sherlock Holmes in a hurry. Before we begin, the ever-vigilant assistant, Ronak, greets us and with a quick waiver to confirm that neither of us are wearing a pacemaker; jump scares and magnetism within the game are noted, we begin. Cloaked, lantern in hand, we are given a quick primer on Brodie’s life, gentleman by day, burglar by night. Then we’re off! The clock is ticking, and we aim to make the leader board! The first task, which I don’t think gives ...

Erin McKinnie: Deep Heat – Hoots @ The Apex

12Aug

By Ross MackieNo Comments

Scotland

Erin McKinnie: Deep Heat – Hoots @ The Apex

What do a pussy loving granny, a swearing parrot and a sugar daddy have in common? They all feature in the wonderful stories told by Erin McKinnie as part of her work in progress show, Deep Heat. She embodies all that is good in Scottish comedy with a flavour of a young Victoria Wood. A blend of stand up, amazing singing and poetry, and I hear she can dance a step or two. This multi-talented Scottish lass weaves it all together to provide nonstop laughter that does not disappoint. Erin disembarked from her cruise life direct to the Edinburgh fringe. Greeted at the door by the enthusiastic comedian herself, you felt welcomed like a long-lost friend, into her comedy family. It was hosted in a conference room with a stage set up, with a lone microphone and chair. This was s...

Darkfield Radio: Visitors – Summerhall, Old Lab

12Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Darkfield Radio: Visitors – Summerhall, Old Lab

Darkfield has a well-earned reputation for bending the mind through total sensory control, and Visitors is no exception. Presented in complete darkness with only a pair of high-quality binaural headphones as your lifeline to the outside world, it’s a strikingly intimate encounter. The sound design is astonishing, voices slip behind you, whisper in your ear, or circle the space with uncanny precision. Every creak of a chair or shuffle of a foot lands with hyper real clarity, making you question what’s in your head and what’s in the room. The premise requires two people and sees your +1 sit opposite you as Jean and Alex, two characters clearly existing somewhere in the afterlife, make their presence known. There’s a gentle eeriness to it, an unsettling suggestion of being used as a ve...

Cody and Beau: A Wild West Story – theSpace @ Niddry Street

12Aug

By Charles PipeNo Comments

Scotland

Cody and Beau: A Wild West Story – theSpace @ Niddry Street

“I think God looks like a horse: big and beautiful.” With their imaginations ignited by dime novels and magazines about “Wild West” legends, two young boys in Gonzales, Texas, in 1889 decide to escape their quaint, unexceptional lives to pursue the excitement of life in the “Wild West” as cowboys. Theorising that legendary outlaw Billy the Kid is still alive and out there somewhere – either literally, or as a metaphorical symbol of the West – they head towards New Mexico to find him. They soon learn that adventuring in the West isn’t as glamourous as the stories would have you believe. Cody and Beau: A Wild West Story wears its influences proudly on its sleeve. It includes a diverse array of references, from Cormac McCarthy’s grim Western epic novel Blood Meridian, via John Ford ...

12Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Club Nvrlnd – Assembly Checkpoint

Somewhere between a jukebox musical and a club night, "Club Nvrlnd" is an impressive spectacle but lacks a good storyline. Written by Jack Holden, directed by Steven Kunis, and featuring multiple smash hit millennial anthems, the show features a cast of talented performers. However, the immersive style of the show does not work well with the venue, meaning that their performance is often hidden from the majority of the audience. The show is set twelve years after Peter and Wendy last met. Peter is a nightclub owner who's about to turn thirty, with MC Tiger hosting Club Nvrlnd and Tink as the DJ. Thomas Grant's Peter is still refusing to grow up, hiding his receding hairline and dressing as an emo kid. Meanwhile, Wendy decides not to go through with her impending marriage, and stagge...

12Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Bizet’s Carmen Suite – Usher Hall

Strings, percussion, and a little mountain magic, but no conductor, and sometimes I notice. The NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra from Wrocław brings a conductor-free evening to the Usher Hall tonight, led from the violin by their artistic director Alexander Sitkovetsky. No figure in tails waving a baton tonight, just Sitkovetsky steering the ship from within. Apparently, that’s perfectly normal in the chamber-orchestra world, but for those of us used to the “point and wag” approach, it takes a moment to adjust. The first half gives us Grażyna Bacewicz’s Concerto for String Orchestra, brisk, crisp, and with some feisty edges, followed by Strauss’s Metamorphosen, a more reflective and sombre piece that seems to hang in the air. Both benefit from the precision and democratic energy t...

12Aug

By Paul WilcoxNo Comments

Scotland

Almost Everything – Alba Theatre

The number of people attending a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe is in no way indicative of the quality of the show—after all, there were only 13 people at The Last Supper. There were fewer than 25 in the audience watching ‘Almost Anything’, a modern love triangle. Despite excellent performances from the young cast, the show felt like it tried too hard to be an amalgamation of every young love story written in the last decade. There was no information available on the writer of this new piece, featuring Becca (Lauren Barrie) and Charlie (Ben McGuinness) as students sharing a flat in modern-day London and the complications that follow the arrival of Becca’s sister Emily (Imogen Eden-Brown) to their nascent romance. I would hazard that this piece was written by someone under the a...

11Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Up Late With Kathryn Joseph – The Hub

Kathryn Joseph has never been shy of reinvention, but her late night set at The Hub felt like a decisive step away from the bare boned intimacy of her early work and into something bolder, denser, and more electrically charged. Where her debut once had candle light flickering over piano and breath close vocals, tonight the pars flooded over synths, drum programming, and a lattice of processed keys that turned the room into a too-brightly lit echo chamber.Joseph was joined by longtime collaborator Lomond Campbell, whose fingerprints were everywhere, shadowy textures, pulsing low end, and those slow blooming arrangements that make a small melodic idea feel cathedral sized. The pair leaned into the aesthetic of her new era, stormy, sensual, and frequently punishing, in a way that made the set...