Scotland Archives - Page 29 of 128

6May

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

In Other Words – The Studio

When your partner is diagnosed with a life-changing illness, your shared history becomes a prologue. At first, nothing tangible changes between you. But at that moment, you each gain a new identity within your relationship. They are the patient, and you are the carer. And the future you had planned together is revealed as a mirage. As the audience enters, Jane (Lydia White) and Arthur (Matthew Seager) are falling in love. They sit beside each other, blissfully conversing and gazing into each other’s eyes, accompanied by the music of Frank Sinatra. This is the very beginning of the life they will spend together. Then, the lighting changes. Arthur remains seated, but now he is nonverbal, trembling, childlike. Jane comforts him. Photo: Tom Dixon We follow their relationship from t...

Scottish Ballet: The Crucible – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

5May

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Scottish Ballet: The Crucible – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Excelling in pretty much every aspect of theatrical performance, this revival of Scottish Ballet’s 2019 adaptation of Arthur Miller’s iconic play is a cast-iron cross-over hit full of exquisite movement, sublime sound, theatrical storytelling, ethereal lighting and brilliant set design, magical, darkly complex and supernaturally good. I say cross-over because this does not feel, or indeed sound like any ballet I have ever witnessed before. There is so much modern dance and passionate movement mixed in here with storytelling and set to a scintillating modern score by Peter Salem it feels like something completely new, different and exciting. The giant stage of The Festival Theatre can be daunting, some productions just get swallowed up here. But not this one. In Emma Kingsbury and Dav...

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...