Scotland Archives - Page 27 of 128

12Jun

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Firelight Trio – Traverse Theatre

Presented by Soundhouse, Firelight Trio take us on a journey through European folk music, finding unity in the sounds of a myriad of cultures from klezmer to polka. Working in partnership with the Traverse as well as other venues around Edinburgh, Soundhouse is a charity organisation with the aim of promoting live music in Edinburgh. Firelight Trio are featured as a part of Soundhouse’s Summer lineup at the Traverse which holds focus on showcasing the talents of upcoming folk artists. With weird and wonderful modifications to their instruments, an adept knowledge of their craft and a passion to share it, it is clear that Firelight Trio’s music is created with deep intentionality and expertise. The trio are highly credited, with Ruth Morris (who plays the Swedish ...

10Jun

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Restless Natives – Leith Theatre

The Clown (Kyle Gardiner) and the Wolfman (Finlay McKillop) ride again, not from Wester Hailes, but tonight (and for the next two weeks, a combination of matinees and evenings) in the stunning setting of a Leith Theatre slowly – but steadily - resurrecting itself. The plot is gently turned from the original celluloid version now standing as one pillar of that mid-80’s quartet (Gregory’s Girl, Comfort & Joy, Local Hero); there’s humorous context given to the situation influencing Ronnie and Will’s decision to head to the Highlands - upon a Suzuki 125 of questionable integrity - in pursuit of rich, vulnerable tourists. As important to the original film as the script, scenery, plot and characters was Big Country’s music and it’s given a shivers-down-the-spine-pitch-perfect acknowle...

7Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Lear – Traverse Theatre

Shakespeare’s infamous tragedy is significantly thinned down and reinterpreted into a one hour wordless anti-war allegory by Ramesh Meyyappan, but retains a raw power and delicate beauty and some rather unexpected humour that make it a thoroughly watchable and thought provoking addition to the Lear genre. This Lear has a worldly feel and international backing, a production by Glasgow based Raw Material in association with National Theatre for Scotland and Singapore National Festival of Arts, it looks made to tour extensively. In the hands of writer and performer Meyyappan and acclaimed director Orla O’Loughlin, we see and feel the effects of war on a father returning from the battlefield and his three daughters. The returning king of the household is welcomed with initial relief and ...

Nan Shepherd: Naked and Unashamed – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

6Jun

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Nan Shepherd: Naked and Unashamed – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Featuring in Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Summer lineup, Nan Shepherd: Naked and Unashamed has been produced by Firebrand Theatre Company and Pitlochry Festival Theatre for a second time following the success of the play’s first run in 2024. The biographical play explores the life of famous female Scottish writer Nan Shepherd, the first woman to be printed on a Royal Bank of Scotland banknote. This play paints a ghostly portrait of Nan’s mental deterioration throughout time, while simultaneously highlighting the headstrong, vibrant and vigorous way in which she carried herself through life. Although we see glimpses of nan’s childhood, as well as her time in a nursing home, the brunt of the story is told when an American reporter comes to interview her about her close friend...

The Mountaintop – The Royal Lyceum Theatre

5Jun

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

The Mountaintop – The Royal Lyceum Theatre

Katori Hall’s magnificent, beautifully written play is set the night before the assassination of the American civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King jnr, in 1968. The production is directed powerfully and vibrantly by Rikki Henry. Occasionally the actors were in danger of being upstaged by the fabulous set and sound effects. And the pace in the first half of the play was at times a little too frantic. But this was a breathtakingly inspiring production by Henry. The play takes place in a motel room in Memphis shortly after King had made his last speech, ‘I’ve been to the Mountaintop’ in which he declared: “I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you t...

Trial by Jury and A Matter of Misconduct – Festival Theatre

1Jun

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Scotland

Trial by Jury and A Matter of Misconduct – Festival Theatre

Welcome to another episode of the hit TV show, Trial by Jury! Gilbert and Sullivan’s comedy opens this double bill from Scottish Opera. The setting is a Jerry Springer-style TV show, rather than a real-life courtroom, and we are the studio audience. This means that the performers get to interact to the crowd, exaggerating the showmanship of the characters. The absurdity of the story is perfect for the I’d-do-anything-to-get-on-TV scenario. The jury, and the audience, are instructed to be impartial, but the libretto and the staging subvert this, with light-up signs demanding “APPLAUSE” and telling us when to “BOO”. The plaintiff, jilted bride Angelina, is immediately anointed as the darling of judge and jury alike, while her ex, Edwin (Jamie McDonald) is reviled for his cruelty. She’s re...

1Jun

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Macbeth – Traquair House Gardens

Shakespeare at Traquair has become something of an institution, this year marking the 30th anniversary for the talented troupe of amateur actors and volunteers who bring a different bard play to life each year. This is the third outing of ‘the Scottish Play’, performed promenade style in the grounds of the ancient building, claimed to be the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland. Each scene is set in a different location in the grounds; amongst towering trees, against giant billowing rhododendrons, on great lawns and ancient cobbled stable yards and in one particularly effective scene, amongst the twisted limbs of a yew tree clearing as daylight dwindled. Add to this, the weird soundscape of electronica, grinding gears or static fuzz, or banging doors from carefully placed speaker...

1Jun

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

The Merry Widow – Festival Theatre

In this modern adaptation of Franz Lehar’s 1905 operetta The Merry Widow, Scottish Opera presented us with a fresh, ingenious take on the classic comedy of errors. Featuring the mob of 1950s New York, a Sicilian lemon grove, and a million different miscommunications in love, John Savournin and David Eaton’s translation brings a much needed sense of accessibility and reimagination for today's audience. Typically being seen as an art form for the elites of the world, it seems Scottish Opera is making a very conscious effort to trample this narrative by reviving its productions in a way which appeals to a much wider audience - The Merry Widow being a trailblazing example of this. Not only with its English translation, but also by its consideration of setting, moving away from the more ster...

29May

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

The Watsons – Church Hill Theatre

When Jane Austen died in July of 1817, she left behind six completed novels (four already published and two released not long after her death) and several volumes of unpublished juvenilia, as well as two aborted novel starts. These include Sanditon, which she was working on when she died, and 1803's The Watsons, which marked the transitionary period between her childhood attempts and the later novels with which she would find various levels of success. Austen's subsequent comparatively small canon of works and her status in literature has led to a small but passionate fascination with these lesser works, especially in recent years. While continuations, sequels and spin-offs of Austen are nothing new, over the last decade we have also had big-name adaptations of Lady Susan from her juven...

The Ultimate Classic Rock Show – Festival Theatre

27May

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Ultimate Classic Rock Show – Festival Theatre

UCRS are becoming something of an institution, celebrating twenty years of rocking on stage this year. Original band members Luke Bradshaw (Lead Guitar) and Gareth Kedward (Keyboards) are still going strong and showing no signs of slacking in this high tempo run through some of the most iconic rock tracks of the last few decades of the twentieth century. Bradshaw guitar work is simply wonderful, and without doubt some of the best I have seen for many a year! An enthusiastic audience at Edinburgh’s Festival theatre were on board from the very first note as lead man Rory Bridgeman launched into Freddie’s, One Vision, quickly followed by Coverdale’s, Fool For Your Loving. A cracking start! The quality of the vocals and musical accompaniment point towards a well-oiled and well drilled ma...