Scotland Archives - Page 2 of 132

One Day: The Musical – The Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh

13Mar

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

One Day: The Musical – The Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh

When a beloved novel arrives on stage, the question is always the same, what can theatre add that the page or the screen cannot? With One Day, The Musical, adapted from the best-selling novel by David Nicholls with book by David Greig and music and lyrics by Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano Ramirez, the answer lies not only in performance but in space itself. When I go to see a musical, I am essentially judging three things, the story, the staging, and the performances. In other words, what is said, how the piece is physically realised, and how convincingly the cast bring it all to life. In this case, all three come remarkably close to full marks. David Greig’s script adaptation works remarkably well, keeping the structure of the original story while translating its episodic nature to...

11Mar

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Bacchae – The Studio

The latest touring production of The Bacchae by Euripides, presented by Company of Wolves at The Studio at Festival Theatre in Edinburgh under the umbrella of Capital Theatres, is a bold and strikingly modern interpretation of a play that is already more than 2,400 years old. Written and performed by Ewan Downie and originally directed by the late Ian Spink, this stripped back solo performance attempts something rather daring, to compress one of Greek tragedy’s most disturbing and philosophically rich stories into a highly physical, ritualistic piece of theatre. At its best, the production is undeniably compelling. Downie’s performance is intense and committed, shifting rapidly between narration, character and movement in a way that suggests an actor channelling a whole chorus...

8Mar

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

Medea – Traverse Theatre

Eurpides’ Greek tragedy, Medea, is revived once more by Kathy McKean, arguably bringing more life to the title role, putting Medea front and centre in her own story. This adaptation stays true to its source material while also modernising to fit with today’s usual audience. Her husband, Jason (Jonny Panchaud), gained the golden fleece while Medea (Nicole Cooper) has largely been forgotten. Left at home to look after her two sons, assisted by the Nurse (Isabelle Joss), Medea begins to play a dangerous game of revenge after Jason falls in love with the Princess and daughter of King Creon (Alan Steele). Cooper’s performance as Medea is truly incredible. From the moment she enters the stage, she commands attention, bringing a great sense of naturalism to this well-known Greek tragedy. Sh...

Rozencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – Assembly Roxy Upstairs

5Mar

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Rozencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – Assembly Roxy Upstairs

Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is a play that wears its cleverness cheerfully on its sleeve and occasionally waves it about like a philosophical flag. Absurd, witty and quietly unnerving, it takes two minor characters from Hamlet and places them centre stage in a universe where the rules of narrative appear only partially understood. For any company, let alone one mounting its very first production, it is a formidable undertaking. Yet Gutter Theatre of Edinburgh, present the play at The Roxy Upstairs, approach the challenge with a pleasing mixture of ambition and good humour. The play famously opens with a coin tossing sequence in which probability appears to abandon the building entirely. From that moment onward Stoppard’s world of existential ...

Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts – Festival Theatre

5Mar

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts – Festival Theatre

With the first stage appearance of the famed detective, Inspector Morse - House of Ghosts is an original story inspired by Colin Dexter’s well-known character, this time penned by Alma Cullen and directed by Anthony Banks. A murder mystery staged live, this show intends to keep audiences thrown with red herrings and guessing the culprit until the last minute. In this new story, set in 1987, Rebecca (Eliza Tealer), dies suddenly during a performance of Hamlet. Thankfully for her, and the play’s plot, Inspector Morse (Tom Chambers) just so happens to be in the audience and quickly launches an investigation. What at first seems like a standard murder case quickly becomes a story of secret and deceit spanning Morse’s own life 25 years ago. Assisted by DS Lewis (Tachia Newall), Morse is left...

4Mar

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Fairytales ’26 – Traverse Theatre

IDS Theatre take us back to the dark roots of storytelling, in this work-in-progress sharing of three intersecting short plays. Each play is staged as a monologue, with one actor playing multiple roles. Cleo, My Little Baby tells the story of the “perfect woman”, an AI robot created to comply with men’s desires without asking for anything in return. Cleo escapes from Darren, a bullying creep who calls her mummy in bed, and sets out to discover her origins. My heart broke for Cleo, played with vivacious humanity by Samuela Noumtchuet. Personally, I am rooting for the robot uprising sequel. In The Ginger Girl, we meet Mark (Kieran Lee-Hamilton), a young washing machine repairman and committed misogynist. Mark is chronically online, finding community through the so-called “manospher...

Someone’s Knockin’ at the Door – Traverse Theatre

4Mar

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Someone’s Knockin’ at the Door – Traverse Theatre

Kicking off this season of A Play, a Pie and a Pint, is Someone’s Knockin’ at the Door. Written by Milly Sweeney, this play features grandparents Kathy (Maureen Carr) and Jack (Jonathan Watson) recounting to their granddaughter how they met music legend Paul McCartney in the rural landscape of the Mull of Kintyre. Moving between sit-down interviews with the couple separately talking to their granddaughter, to flashbacks of the couple’s camping trip in 1976, Someone’s Knockin’ At The Door evokes heavy nostalgia and sentimentality. Exploring not only the personal journey of the couple, but how the political landscape in Glasgow actively shaped their relationship. Sweeney has a knack for tackling a myriad of different themes without complicating the narrative or gleaning ...

4Mar

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Events – Traverse Theatre

There’s something quietly disarming about walking into the Traverse and finding the choir already in place. No theatrical reveal, just a community gathered on stage, singing, moving joyously, and dispensing hot drinks to the audience. Behind them, in a broad horseshoe, columns of stacked chairs rise like an improvised colonnade, orderly, architectural, faintly ecclesiastical. Later, those same chairs are winched into the roof, clattering against one another in a moment of metallic chaos, a striking image of rupture of ‘the event’ that lingers long after it settles. David Greig’s The Events, first staged in 2013 and winner of a Fringe First that year, returns here as a welcome re-emergence of a modern classic. Its revival demonstrates that it has lost none of its edge. If anything, ...

26Feb

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Espen Eriksen Trio – Traverse Theatre

Once again, local music programming charity Soundhouse have graced the Traverse theatre with another act of outstanding renown: this time, the Espen Eriksen Trio. This Norwegian jazz trio is composed of frontman Espen Eriksen on piano, Lars Tormod Jenset on double bass, and Andreas Bye on drums. With tranquil, lilting phrases, the Espen Eriksen trio bring a gentle approach to jazz, creating a completely dreamy and meditative soundscape. The trio all possess that typical Norwegian wit, presenting their work with charm, managing to absolutely win the audience over with their dry quips and smart remarks. We really warmed to them as people and hence furthered our connection with their music. My favourite track had to be the opener of course, bringing in the show with p...

Here and Now: The Steps Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

26Feb

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Here and Now: The Steps Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

If you’ve ever wanted to experience a fever-dream in real time, Here and Now: The Steps Musical is the show for you. This brand new jukebox musical, written by Shaun Kitchener in association with Steps, is utterly ridiculous. At first that might feel like a negative, but the further the show goes on, the more Here and Now sweeps you into the madness and by the end you’ll be belting out tragedy in the megamix. Its self-aware silliness can’t be denied, and with all of the Steps’ classic hits, it’s hard to resist the “Summer of Love” - I for one, had the time of my life. Set in the Best Better Bargains supermarket, we see four core cashiers make a pact that this is the Summer they get their love lives together. As they attempt to make their moves, we come to find ou...