Scotland Archives - Page 27 of 93

Edinburgh International Festival Opening Concert – Usher Hall, Edinburgh

5Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Edinburgh International Festival Opening Concert – Usher Hall, Edinburgh

The opening of the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival by Nicola Benedetti marks the beginning of an exhilarating 24 day, 160 event celebration of opera, dance, music and theatre in the Scottish Capital. Following last years’ tentative, ‘Where do we go from here?’, we start this year with the more upbeat, ‘Rituals that unite us. And the opening concert tonight could hardly be a better example of the statement. Spaniard, Osvaldo Gilijov’s extraordinary reinterpretation of Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion was commissioned in 2000 to mark the composer’s 250th anniversary. Now, almost a quarter of a Century old and having been performed around the globe, it (finally!) has its first Scottish outing. But this is no Solemn biblical narrative, no, this is a shock of rhythm and colour, in mult...

The Cambridge Impronauts – Gilded Balloon Patter House

5Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

The Cambridge Impronauts – Gilded Balloon Patter House

I cannot go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival without seeing improvisation, and as I have never seen the Cambridge Impronauts before, I thought I would pop along. The Cambridge Impronauts as a company were formed in 2003 and have been calling the Gilded Balloon home for the last seven years. In their home town of Cambridge, they run open workshops for students and locals, and show off their improv skills in local shows. Today at the Gilded Balloon, we saw the team using short-form improv in a ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ style. For those young ones who are too old to remember this show, there are short scenes improvised after taking suggestions from the studio audience. There is a director setting the scene for the audience, who encourages ideas that will help to...

Oh, Calm Down – Edinburgh Summerhall (Cairns Theatre)

5Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Oh, Calm Down – Edinburgh Summerhall (Cairns Theatre)

In 2024 it’s customary for plays, books or TV programmes like this to carry a trigger warning for anyone who suffers from any form of anxiety. Happy to report that this doesn’t carry any such warning as it’s precisely the sort of thing one should see. It’s sometimes uncomfortable and one audience member is seen leaving the theatre in tears, but this was simply testament to how vividly the two performers represented the issues, so respect to them and director Ed White. Beautifully paced, it sped up when it needed to, slowed when required and not a pause was wasted. At points, despite the subject, it managed to be funny and entertaining too. To start with, both Claire (Charlotte Anne-Tilley) and Lucy (Maddy Banks) are late delivering something, in Claire’s case some coursework for ...

4Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

Penthesilea – The Royal Lyceum Theatre

This passionate fictional play set at the gates of Troy, was written in 1807 by Heinrich Von Kleist, who four years later would commit suicide with his married lover aged only thirty-four. This may be an indication of his passionate nature, and why at age thirty, he could write such a romantic, but also violent play. Part of the Edinburgh International Festival, the ITA Ensemble who are the in-house team at the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, are behind this bold production which is part rock concert, and part classical play. The director Eline Arbo, who achieved great success with ‘Weg Met Eddy Bellegueule’ winning a director’s award in 2020, is working with Thijs Van Vuure who created the music which acts as the beat for the play. Staged at the wonderful Royal Lyce...

I Sell Windows – Assembly @ George Square

4Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

I Sell Windows – Assembly @ George Square

A tricky review to write, and only a three-star rating. Whilst most shows at the Fringe this year will be some good, some bad, this show is certainly at the extreme end, it is both very good and the very bad. Let me explain. First, the very good. Two-time NAACP (US based National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) award winner Kacie Rogers provides an acting masterclass. A one-woman monologue extraordinaire. She does not put a single step wrong in this dense script, playing multiple characters to a tee. It is an authentic, emotionally charged performance. The story is a coming-of-age tale which follows a young aspiring American actress as she tries to make her way through the acting maze, whilst trying to handle her personal relationships and put money in the ban...

4Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

1984 – Summerhall, Old Lab

I do not wish to state the obvious, but I will, this play is set in 1984 and written by George Orwell in 1949. In just thirty-five years from writing his novel, Orwell was imagining a time when the government would be an oppressive, intrusive, dictatorship, ruling our society. He imagined us with no rights to free speech, and a punishing regime ruled by terror. Within Theatre Company, (with Sophie Vallee in the directing chair), have taken Nick Hern’s script adapting the novel for theatre, and wrapped a message inside of it – that this is happening in places around the world today, places that they know…their homes! Unable to perform in their home countries of Russia and Belarus, they are performing 1984 in the UK. And, 40 years on did Orwell predict the future correctly? ‘1984’ wa...

Twonkey’s Basket Weaving In Peru – Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly

4Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Twonkey’s Basket Weaving In Peru – Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly

What would happen if an achingly cool cocktail bar in the vicinity of Edinburgh’s Public Triangle made available a small function room for Mark E Smith and Don Van Vliet? (Difficult to predict, the results probably tricky to discern, but definitely must-see.) There’s a wealth of strange stuff going on in obscure rooms each August in Scotland’s capital, but nothing rivals a Twonkey adventure for surreality, disjointedness and a plethora of badly-behaved, home-made puppets and malfunctioning props. Chief of which tonight relentlessly fidgets atop Twonkey’s head before being discarded just past the halfway mark. By which stage the audience have surrendered to the wonderful chaos of The Maradona Song, The Unborn Spider, Chris Hutchison (hurrah!), The (dreaded) Ship’s Wheel, accounts of ...

A Fire Ignites – The Space @ Surgeons’ Hall

4Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

A Fire Ignites – The Space @ Surgeons’ Hall

The ‘fire ignites’ following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran in 2022. She had been arrested by the Morality Police for wearing her hijab “improperly” and subsequently died in custody. The Iranian authorities claimed she’s had a heart attack, but fellow detainees said she was severely beaten. Widespread protests broke out which were violently suppressed with more than 500 killed and tens of thousands arrested. Some protesters were executed. Tara Tedjarati, who is Canadian-Iranian, has written, performs and directs this engaging one woman play. She’s also the lyricist and producer. The fire also ignites literally when 16-year-old Parisa sets her hijab on fire, and shouts ‘Death to the Dictator’. Like so many women in Iran she objects to being compelled to cover her head in public. &nb...

Kevin Quantum: Anti-Gravity – Guilded Balloon, Patter House

4Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Kevin Quantum: Anti-Gravity – Guilded Balloon, Patter House

With a great time slot in a beautiful magical space (dark red walls and mythical themed golden plaques) in a very central location and a carefully curated child-friendly show, Kevin may have got everything just about perfect this year, particularly for the family market. Sold out and with a wide and varied demographic, the ever-likeable Kevin is on excellent form interacting to great effect with kids and adults alike in a show which is surprisingly high on humour as well as magic in what I see as a significant change for the better over previous years. High on audience participation and interaction right from the start, this show keeps you on your toes and scratching your head, the hour certainly flew by. Having spent half of his adult life studying physics and half studying magic, Magi...

Ambitious Underachiever – Speakeasy @ Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh

4Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Ambitious Underachiever – Speakeasy @ Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh

Mychelle Colleary was a big deal on the jazz circuit of NYC about ten years ago, with regular gigs and invitations and guest appearances. That all changed one clear sky day when a big blue truck ran into her little car, and she suffered a traumatic brain injury. Years later and still suffering the after effects of the ‘blue blur’ Colleary has at least chalk one milestone off her bucket list, appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe. This may not be award-winning or groundbreaking, but it is a sweet show, which paints a simple timeline of Colleary’s career to the present day, the traumas she has suffered and the songs that made life worth living. Funny, self-deprecating and deeply personal with music by Sondheim, Strayhorn and others but sprinkled with original songs by Colleary herself....