Scotland Archives - Page 2 of 157

28Sep

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Balisong – Traverse Theatre

Short but perfectly formed, Balisong occasionally comes perilously close to feeling like a public-information film about the dangers of knives. But perhaps that is hardly surprising. Jennifer Adam's play was originally commissioned by No Knives Better Lives, produced with Fast Forward and developed in consultation with young people. It was subsequently recommissioned twice and, between 2017 and 2019, toured schools in every local authority in Scotland. And yet, sitting in the Traverse, I can't help being affected by it. Isn't that, after all, one of the points of theatre? To write something with purpose, with an allegory; something that seeks not merely to entertain but perhaps to make a difference? Its timing is particularly poignant. A few miles away in Leith stands t...

Suzi Ruffell: The Juggle – Assembly Roxy

28Sep

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Suzi Ruffell: The Juggle – Assembly Roxy

The colonnaded Lower Hall of Assembly Roxy is an impressive architectural space, marching ionic columns and barrel vaulted roofs, but perhaps not the ideal home for comedy. Plastic chairs sit on a flat floor facing a relatively low stage, making sightlines less than perfect and comfort something of a challenge over a 90-minute show. Add some troublesome microphone issues, particularly during the first half, and the evening does not get off to the most auspicious start. Thankfully, Suzi Ruffell herself is something of a breath of fresh air. There is an engagingly vaudevillian quality to Ruffell. She talks about Tipping the Velvet being something of a touchstone during her teenage years, and I certainly see a little of that dandyish, music-hall swagger in her. She is also a su...

9Sep

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

High Society – Edinburgh Playhouse

Well-bred socialite Tracy Lord (Helen George) is about to marry oddball accountant George Kittredge (David Seadon-Young), much to the dismay of her upper-crust family. Journalists Mike (Freddie Fox), and Liz (Carly Mercedes Dyer) infiltrate the glitzy wedding, hoping to get a lucrative scoop for their tabloid. Meanwhile, Tracy’s rehabilitated ex-husband Dexter (James Hume) has his own agenda. It’s never a good sign when the characters hold a big party the night before the wedding. Cole Porter’s music and lyrics are timeless, accompanied by a live jazz band. I loved Who Wants to be a Millionaire, sung by Fox and Dyer as the astonished journos explore the mansion and discover how the other half live. As the rowdy party gets underway, the full company performance of Let’s Misbehave capture...

The Silence of The Lambs – Festival Theatre

9Sep

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Silence of The Lambs – Festival Theatre

If you are unfamiliar with The Silence of The Lambs as a book or movie, there’s still a very good chance that you are familiar with the name Hannibal Lecter and his masked faced that has freaked out many a generation since the 1991 movie starring Anthony Hopkins. This production delivers us a wonderfully disturbing and pulse raising performance in which every detail has been thought of. The Silence of The Lambs follows trainee detective Clarice Starling as she is sent to deliver a questionnaire to infamous killer cannibal Dr.Hannibal Lecter, however the interaction leads to Lecter building an interest in Starling and in order to learn more about her, delivers intelligence on the current serial killer known as “Buffalo Bill”, to keep her around. Meanwhile we see James Gumb (aka Buffalo B...

Strange Face: Adventures with a Lost Nick Drake Recording… The Story Continues – Pleasance 10 Dome

4Sep

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Strange Face: Adventures with a Lost Nick Drake Recording… The Story Continues – Pleasance 10 Dome

There is something rather lovely about a show that gets inside the music without actually playing the music. Strange Face is essentially a PowerPoint presentation, but behind those slides lies an extraordinary little odyssey involving lost recordings, chance encounters, headphones, a backpack and a camera. Our guide is Michael Burdett, a composer, photographer and wonderfully personable storyteller whose connection with Drake began while working as a post-boy at Island Records in the 1970s. Asked to dispose of some tapes, he rescued one marked Nick Drake, Cello Song, only discovering more than two decades later that it contained a previously unheard recording. From that extraordinary accident grew something of a Munro-bagger obsession. Headphones, backpack and came...

4Sep

By Christina SchmidtNo Comments

Scotland

Glenn & Flenn – Paradise in the Vault

Glenn & Flenn were the stars of a kid’s TV puppet show that has unfortunately fallen into obscurity. Both puppets and actors have been trapped in the studio and time has not been kind to them. Years of disuse made the puppets moldy and rotten, and the puppeteers might just be going insane. It’s a wonderfully strange idea and writer and director Frederik Bang’s script has a good build up to the finale and lots of hilarious and lovelifying humour. The Glenn & Flenn jingle and fun little songs particularly stand out and really pull the audience into this world, keeping everyone engaged throughout the show. The puppetry unfortunately did not work. Eyelines are not working on the construction side, there’ some odd choices like hiding the puppet being one’s back although the audie...

Shatter Resistant – Greenside @ George Street

3Sep

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Shatter Resistant – Greenside @ George Street

The audience enters the dimly lit basement. It’s a humid day and I’m pleased to get a front row seat near the portable air-conditioning unit. A fellow audience member tells me this is her first ever Edinburgh Fringe show. She’s flown in this morning from Dublin to see her sister perform in ‘Shatter Resistant’. This is an impressive writing and acting debut from Isabelle Blanche. She has written a captivating, poignant and often funny show which she performs with gusto. She treats the audience as her best friends as she takes us with her on her emotional rollercoaster. Cassie, a recent University graduate, has been working temporarily for a marketing company. She has high hopes that her experience of advertising ‘shatter resistant’ mobile phone screen covers will lead to her being...

David Correos: Noise Zealand – Monkey Barrel Comedy

3Sep

By Ella BeckleyNo Comments

Scotland

David Correos: Noise Zealand – Monkey Barrel Comedy

David Correos’ show feels like hanging out in a state of delirium in your mate’s garage, stunk out with smoke, sweat and booze. From the moment you walk into the monkey barrel basement room Correos’ chaos is palpable, with dance music booming at full volume while idyllic videos of New Zealand’s landscapes play serenely on the presentation style TV at centre stage. As the audience file in towards their seats, Correos greets them individually with a sweet smile and handshake, he’s genuine, down to earth and generally lovable. ...

Collateral Damage – theSpace @ Surgeons Hall

3Sep

By Al CarrettaNo Comments

Scotland

Collateral Damage – theSpace @ Surgeons Hall

This week I’ve spent sixteen hours on buses commuting in and out of Edinburgh. You might not immediately appreciate the relevance of this fact, but the bus is a focal point of social interactions and a microcosm of society. Theatre gets interesting when it holds a mirror to dysfunction and reflects it. Listen to any given conversation on an Edinburgh bus and you will begin to hear what sets this play apart; realistic dialogue and a wholly naturalistic approach. The play has thematic structures that are highly topical and relevant. The driving trope in this piece is the effect of alcoholism on a tight knit family and the subsequent resolution and healing needed to progress. Human interest stories work when we are invested in the characters and in the circumstances presented, reasons,...

Blip Blarp: An Alien Love Story – Just The Tonic at The Mash House

3Sep

By David NicaudieNo Comments

Scotland

Blip Blarp: An Alien Love Story – Just The Tonic at The Mash House

Confident, rehearsed, and gloriously unhinged, Blip Blarp lands on Earth with an ambitious mission: conquer the planet and produce 1,000 offspring. Unfortunately for our intergalactic heroine, the real challenge isn't planetary domination, it's dating. Through “burlesque” flair, sci-fi absurdity, and plenty of comedy, showing how dating can be completely alien. The central joke is simple but effective: if an alien can understand the complexities of invading Earth, why can't she understand how to get a human to commit? Located in The Snifter Room at Just The Tonic at The Mash House as the last show of the day, the chaotic nature of that time slot and the difficulty in finding the venue adds to the mystery of the show. One of the show's greatest strengths is its confidence. Blip feels ...