Scotland Archives - Page 29 of 128

Moulin Rouge The Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

2May

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Moulin Rouge The Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

Premiering at the Edinburgh Playhouse, the musical theatre adaptation of Baz Lurhmann’s 2001 film Moulin Rouge, kicks off the first ever tour in the show's history this month. Set in 1899 Paris in the infamous Moulin Rouge cabaret, we follow the secret love affair between the cabaret’s star performer Satine (played by Verity Thompson), and bohemian writer Christian (played by Nate Landskroner). Despite the grandiosity of the Moulin Rouge, it is struggling financially so owner Harold Zidler (Cameron Blakely) arranges for Satine to seduce The Duke (James Bryers) and in return the Duke will provide Zidler with a large investment to put towards their next show. Satine has to choose between living a life of poverty with her true love Christian or submitting to the Duke in orde...

Soundhouse: A New International – Traverse Theatre

29Apr

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Soundhouse: A New International – Traverse Theatre

What a joy this was! Returning to the Traverse for the first time since 2019, 8-piece Glasgow New Romantic band A New International kick up a storm in front of an appreciative packed house performing hits from their first three albums, a generous few from the soon to be released fourth (later this year) and a couple from the mythical fifth. As a newcomer to their music, it was certainly an eye opener! I enjoyed hearing their early back catalogue particularly History Will Be Ours, the wonderfully toe-tapping, Necrapolitan and the hilarious Trump love song New American, but it was their latest songs, particularly The Girls Sing Country Blue, (dedicated to Auntie Rita) and Flicker, Flicker Firelight, which hit me the hardest and show that this band is still very much on an upward trajector...

Stupid Sexy Poem Show – Traverse Theatre

29Apr

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Stupid Sexy Poem Show – Traverse Theatre

Scottish poet Rosie Jo Hunter took the Traverse theatre by storm with her unabashed, sold out, comedic slam-poetry cabaret. Having previously performed the show at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as in London, this sexy, stupid poem show still holds its freshness, ferocity and impulsivity thanks to the vigour and brazenness of Hunter’s performance. The show is almost crass in its delivery, what with the vulgarity of language and strong sexual content discussed throughout. However, that vulgarity is exactly why Hunter’s show is a success. We as the audience build an idea of Hunter’s character and of the show - it being presented as a cheeky, camp, sometimes touching comedy. Just when we think we have this show figured out, Hunter subverts our expectations throu...

Living With the Dead – Augustine United Church, Edinburgh

26Apr

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Living With the Dead – Augustine United Church, Edinburgh

Writer, Cossette Bolt, creates a homage to humanity with this script. The sensitive subject (set in a funeral home where the dead are finally prepared for their send-off) is a tribute to the lives each body recently encompassed. Bolt says: This story exists because tragedy exists. [A] staggering number of lives [are] lost as a result of natural disasters, human disasters, and the pandemic. I recognized the normalcy with which people tossed around numbers of dead in the hundreds and thousands but seemed scandalized by smaller-scale tragedies. A young American, who has completed her post-graduate MFA Acting for Stage and Screen at Napier University, Bolt relishes the Edinburgh vibe and creative flow. Paired with the youthful, Not so Nice! theatre company (headed up by Matthew Attwood) Bol...

A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here – Traverse Theatre

26Apr

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here – Traverse Theatre

A pink bodybag wriggles and squirms its way across the stage, an opening that will live long in the memory. Dramatic and comedic, it encouraged curiosity at the same time. Eventually our protagonist emerges from the shabby cocoon to take her place at what resembles a teacher’s desk festooned with microphones. This is none other than Josie Dale-Jones, who, frustrated at the poor, nay, terrifying quality and tone of sex education tried to put together a production that might major on the positive aspects of relationships and sex, aimed at families. It was evident this might attract some criticism but what followed from the trolls and keyboard warriors far exceeded her worst nightmares. A petition was launched, garnering 41,000 signatures, leading to the production being cancelled… before any...

Looking For Me Friend: The Music Of Victoria Wood – Traverse Theatre

26Apr

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Looking For Me Friend: The Music Of Victoria Wood – Traverse Theatre

Such is the national treasure status accorded the late great Victoria Wood it’s easy to forget quite how barbed and satirical she was. It’s a great credit to Paulus The Cabaret Geek (with piano accompaniment from the esteemed Michael Roulston) for delivering a hefty reminder that the ‘gentle genius’ smuggled smut and ferreted filth by the barrow load past light entertainment audiences on a regular basis. Concealed behind the cheeky grin and homely asides was a rapier-like wit and a perception regarding peculiarly British sensibilities, but above all, it was FUN. In capitals. Paulus set about the canon with relish, employing his trademark flamboyance and exuberance, interspersing the songs with anecdotes illustrating how his own life was affected and influenced, revisiting many of th...

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) – Festival Theatre

23Apr

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) – Festival Theatre

Accomplished Scottish writer, actor and director, Isobel McArthur, has taken the old adage, while the cats away the mice will play and crafted an absolute winner in Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of). It is hilarious and superbly performed by an ensemble of talented actors. Costume changes happen as if Houdini were channeled (or maybe Derren Brown with his clever psychology and hypnotism). Characters leave the stage and re-enter at the speed of light, transformed into a newly minted persona! It is brilliant! It is funny! It is hugely entertaining and modern. Of course, the occasional black-out and the odd bit of glitter ball dancing all elevate the fun, thanks to the lighting designer, Colin Grenfell. The cast can sing, dance and act their socks off and when this is combined with an...

Tim Rice – My Life in Musicals: I Know Him So Well – Festival Theatre

23Apr

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Tim Rice – My Life in Musicals: I Know Him So Well – Festival Theatre

Tim Rice is a man of many words. He’s been writing lyrics for 60 years, collaborating with some of our most celebrated composers - Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Elton John, of course, and more recently, Gary Barlow. He even wrote some lyrics for Elvis. Rice wanted to be a rock star, so he sent demo tapes to all the leading record labels. Impressed by his lyrics, a musical publisher introduced him to Lloyd-Webber, and a great songwriting partnership was born. A teacher friend invited the pair to write a song for a school concert. The result was an early iteration of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The concert was a great success – “This is the first time the parents have enjoyed a school concert”, said the teacher. One of those parents was a leading theatre critic, and a coupl...

Donald Grant and The Scottish Ensemble: Thuit an Oidhche Oirnn (The Night Overtook Us) – Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

15Apr

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Donald Grant and The Scottish Ensemble: Thuit an Oidhche Oirnn (The Night Overtook Us) – Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

A foot tapping and thought provoking night from one of Scotland’s finest fiddle players accompanied by the tartan security blanket of the Scottish Ensemble, who together created something of a sonic explosion at The Queen’s Hall. Following on from their puppet based space Odyssey The Law of Gravity which I loved at The Traverse earlier this year, The Scottish Ensemble, champions of classical Scottish string, led by Artistic Director, and 1st violin Jonathan Morton head back to their native roots, but with many a twist along the Highland track. Before Donald Grant takes to the stage we are treated to the Ensemble’s remarkable rendition of Touch and In Memorium, by Martin Suckling, like a murmuration of starlings, swooping and wheeling seemingly defying logic (or melody) and yet still ...

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Festival Theatre

10Apr

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake – Festival Theatre

Having previously been swept away by Matthew Bourne’s Romeo & Juliet and the haunting brilliance of Edward Scissorhands, I knew to expect something bold, something unexpected. But nothing quite prepares you for Swan Lake – The Next Generation. This isn’t just another reinterpretation of a classic – it’s the jewel in Bourne’s already glittering crown. Now in its 30th anniversary revival, Bourne’s audacious take on Swan Lake has lost none of its bite. If anything, this latest incarnation feels sharper, more intimate and emotionally resonant than ever. From the moment the curtain lifted at the Festival Theatre, there was an electricity in the air – the kind that only comes when something truly iconic is about to unfold. For those unfamiliar, Bourne's Swan Lake made waves in 1995 for...