Scotland Archives - Page 21 of 127

Twonkey’s Zipwire to Zanzibar – Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly

6Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Twonkey’s Zipwire to Zanzibar – Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly

Whether it’s a night train to Liechtenstein or basket weaving in Peru, you can guarantee a Twonkey show will have little or nothing to do with the topic in the title. So, this proceeds with scant reference to Zipwires or Zanzibar and tonight doesn’t even feature Twonkey – he’s dead! A tin of contaminated condensed milk… no struggle… probably in the library, without Colonel Mustard as a witness. Fear not, his widow, Twonketta—replete with hair-bows, heels, painted nails and pop socks—is here to guide us through the labyrinthine ‘structure’ of the annual experience. Google synonyms for ‘strange’, ‘surreal’, or ‘weird’ and you still won’t find words to describe this. Upon departure, one’s head is full of ‘incidents’, just not necessarily in the right order. There was a song containing ...

6Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Miles – Summerhall TechCube

Recorded in March 1959 and released in August the same year, Kind of Blue consists of five tracks, totaling 45 minutes and 45 seconds of what is often considered the most important jazz ever recorded. It fuelled the progression not just of jazz, but also of soul, funk, hip-hop, and even mainstream popular music—impacting the likes of James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Prince, and beyond. And yet, Miles Davis himself dismissed the label “jazz,” remarking that “it’s just what white folks call our music.” How did he create, orchestrate, and supervise the album Kind of Blue? While no one would accuse Miles of false modesty, his explanation was disarmingly simple: they assembled the best—or most appropriate—musicians for the task. The album marked a leap from the Bebop structures of the time in...

6Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Chopin’s Nocturne – Summerhall

“10:15am — WTF?!” is Aidan Jones’s opening exclamation, and a fair one. It’s not often you’re asked to laugh — and think — before your second coffee. But by the end of his 50-minute set, this Australian comedian and pianist has the audience fully on board, combining comedy and classical music with irreverence, warmth, and surprising emotional depth.Chopin’s Nocturne is built around Frédéric Chopin’s much-loved Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2 — a piece that, for many in the audience, will stir up memories. For me, it resonated deeply. My late father used to play the Nocturne when I was very young, and hearing it live again, laced with Jones’s affection and analysis, was unexpectedly moving. While the show is pitched as comedy, for me it was not funny in the conventional sense — or ra...

A Women of No Importance – Theatre at St Ninian’s Hall

6Aug

By Marcelina KruczyńskaNo Comments

Scotland

A Women of No Importance – Theatre at St Ninian’s Hall

A Women of No Importance by Oscar Wilde, is brought to the Edinburgh Fringe by Edinburgh Theatre Acts. The play is incredibly witty and morally relevant and can be enjoyed and understood by modern audiences despite being set in 1893. The play tackles many social and moral problems that are just as much of a hot topic in today’s day and age as they were when the play first premiered in 1893. The play’s main point of discussion is the often-tender relationship between man and woman, and the large cast of thirteen managed to show this in various ways. The play commences on The Terrace at Hunstanton Chase. One noteworthy factor before the actors even grace the stage, is the beautifully designed set. Finley Black’s great attention to detail in combination with the lighting and soun...

When We Were Young – theSpace on the Mile

6Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

When We Were Young – theSpace on the Mile

When We Were Young performs for the first time at the Edinburgh Fringe this month, produced and written by Liam Lambie of Glasgow-based company, Geez a Break Productions. This play looks at the lives of one of Glasgow’s ‘Young Teams’ in the 90s—gangs made up of teenagers who grouped together based on the area they lived in. We explore the teenagers' relationships with each other, gang culture, their community, and the societal constraints they live under. The play begins in the future, with the young team’s leader, Mooney (played by Lambie), reflecting on his time as a teenager. We are then taken back in time to witness the fatal consequences that the young team brought into the characters' lives. Lambie’s writing is brilliant, with brazen and vulgar dialogue that encapsulates both ...

Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me, but Banjos Saved My Life – Summerhall

6Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me, but Banjos Saved My Life – Summerhall

Tomatoes, the staple foodstuff of his Italian upbringing on the Canada/America border, were almost the undoing of Keith Alessi. They caused acid reflux his whole life, which led to his Oesophageal Cancer diagnosis in his early sixties and a 50/50 chance of living more than one year. Fortunately, he was one of the lucky ones who responded well to treatment, he lasted the year and here he is on the Summerhall stage over 9 years later. Like Lazarus resurrected, his brush with death set him free. Keith only began to play the banjo seriously after his cancer diagnosis, turning his back on his previous jobs as a certified accountant, major public company CEO and College Professor. Since then, he has created this show and gigged his way around the world, donating 100% of the profits, over ...

Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England – Underbelly Bristo Square

5Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England – Underbelly Bristo Square

Why? Exactly. Was this act a bare-faced illustration of the hideous nationalistic spirit that took England out of Europe (dragging Scotland & N Ireland with them), a suburban reaction of self-harm to years of disenfranchisement? Or a daft, exuberant party trick, of which there have been many worse witnessed (and kept secret) on Stag and Hen Do’s? Maybe without the ‘… For England’ suffix it might be agreed it was the latter. But, was it hot… did it hurt? What you get with this production are no direct answers to such trivialities, but something more significant, some context and perspective leading up to the event. On the surface it’s a vigorous, comic, yet desperate, depressing portrait of what it takes to earn your stripes as an England football fan. Or a member of any gang, re...

To Whom Should I Complain – Just the Tonic at the Caves

5Aug

By Danielle FarrowNo Comments

Scotland

To Whom Should I Complain – Just the Tonic at the Caves

An about-to-be-nun takes to the stage at a comedy club. She just needs to make a point about that last joke. The one about a priest and a nun. Then there’s the friar and the nun. There’s a lot in that one and she really needs some help with processing. She’ll see if she can be edgy. She’s actually really on edge. And there are some very good reasons why… In a Just the Tonic’s Caves space, in classic stand-up comedy style, supplied simply with a stool, a microphone and a drink, Moira McAuliffe delivers on the humour with a cheeky awareness and a whole lot to say about men’s roles in women’s lives, religious indoctrination, and just how far becoming aware of what's going on around you can - or can’t - get you. McAuliffe’s fascinating approach draws parallels between her life and wh...

The Cadaver Palaver– Summerhall, Anatomy Lecture Theatre

5Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Cadaver Palaver– Summerhall, Anatomy Lecture Theatre

Clad in fine tweed and leather brogues, one man band, writer, director and performer Bennett Cooper Sullivan certainly looks and sounds the part of the Victorian gentleman adventurer. In this supremely well-crafted piece, narrated by a highly skilled storyteller, we follow our rakish raconteur as he travels from the bazaars of Afghanistan, via London to the foggy streets of 19th Century Edinburgh. As Egyptomania sweeps over the UK our hero becomes embroiled following the strange disappearance of a good friend with a pile of mummies hidden in his basement. Sullivan manages an impressive turn of hand, foot and mouth along the way, bowling maidens as he goes. An impressive looping storyline has the audience leaning into this and willing our hero to get his man, and his woman! But...

5Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Stamptown – Pleasance Courtyard Beyond

Hosted by comedian Zach Zucker, Stamptown is a chaotic late-night variety show which will not be to everyone's taste. There are some displays of true talent, but also many moments where it appears perilously close to ending in disaster. At one point, as hotdogs are being hurled into the baying audience, and microphone wires become entangled with roller skates on the confetti covered floor, it appears that the venue manager is about to step in and shut down the show. However, it turns out that she is fact actor Erin Farrington, who delivers an intentionally awkward and rather belated trigger warning. The show starts promisingly, with a virtuoso display of roller skating from Dylan Woodley. He throws himself wildly around the stage and up and down stairs, turning a suspected stumble d...