Scotland Archives - Page 3 of 99

17Mar

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Chef – Traverse Theatre

Once again, The Traverse champions fresh, accessible writing; this time with Sabrina Mahfouz’s one-woman play Chef. Set in a prison kitchen, the head chef walks us through her dream menu with a story to accompany each dish. We see glimpses of the chef’s life and significant events which led up to her arrest; her troubled relationship with her father, the first kitchen she ran, illegal dealings with her seedy ex-boyfriend, living on a boat. While the chef recounts her memories, her second-in-command in the kitchen acts as a BSL interpreter. This immersive style of interpretation was refreshing to see, giving a character to the interpreter - including her rather than seeing her as a distraction. Without the interpreter this play would somehow not be as poignant ...

The Land That Never Was – The Studio, Edinburgh

17Mar

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Land That Never Was – The Studio, Edinburgh

Starting life as an idea broached on a Scratch night for budding theatre makers a year ago, Liam Rees brings a fascinating true story of financial fraud to fruition to a packed house tonight. Imagine a country so bountiful in flora and fauna, set in the warm rejuvenating waters of Central America, a tropical paradise, where you would be lord of all you surveyed. This is the dream that Stirling man (Sir) Gregor McGregor sold to over 300 Scots in 1820. The country was Poyais, it had its own currency, parliament, honours system and coat of arms, all described in loving detail in an illustrated 350-page guidebook. But the book, like the story was fake, as was the currency which padded the wallets of the hopeful on their long and perilous journey. The actual destination for the unfortunate S...

Pricilla Queen Of The Desert – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

13Mar

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Pricilla Queen Of The Desert – Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Pricilla Queen Of The Desert is a campy and energetic story of self-acceptance, queer love and learning that whilst not everyone will like or get you, the ones who do are the most important. We follow three drag performers as they travel from Sydney to Alice in order to perform an important gig for Anthony’s wife. Here we get all the fun bickerings of a group of drag queens as well as a not so nice look into the stigmas and hate that comes within the role. It’s not all glitz and glamour and between all the catchy musical numbers (and there’s a lot) we can find an insight into the troubles of those within the drag scene, from transphobic comments to parental struggles and even violence. Our cast is headed by the wonderful Greg McCafferty playing the role of Tick, a character strugglin...

10Mar

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Piece of Work – Traverse Theatre

This is a one man show about suicide, but with much wit and good humour and a blizzard of Shakespearean soliloquies you would hardly think it. Till later. Unfolded on the floor are tattered maps of Britain, The World, Greater Manchester and the tiny village where James Rowland paddled in the river. Standing on or hovering over these, master storyteller Rowland unfolds himself, all hands and mouth and sparkling eyes, creased and tattered and a bit ragged at the edges but still intact. His purpose, by way of many a Bard quote is not just to lay out a road map of his own ‘little life’, sustained by chicken burgers, but also to make us seriously consider our own and the sometimes very tenuous line that tethers us all in place. To be or not to be, is indeed the question, but it is one whi...

Scottish Opera: The Strauss Collection – Usher Hall

9Mar

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Scottish Opera: The Strauss Collection – Usher Hall

Delivering once again a powerful and meticulous performance, Scottish Opera presented a collection of Richard Strauss’ finest works at the Usher Hall. Led by musical director Stuart Stratford, we were taken on a journey filled with melodrama and sly wit that still translates to the modern-day audience. To begin the concert we were presented with the Prologue of Ariadne auf Naxos - a surprisingly self-referential piece where we see an opera take place within the opera - very meta (mise en abyme if you’re fancy). Helena Dix takes the role of Prima Donna by storm with sass and self-assurance, reminding us that opera is not all doom and gloom. Hanna Hipp and Rhian Lois made for a dynamic duo, both with a stunning clarity to their voices. The contrasting roles H...

The Testament of Gideon Mack – Traverse Theatre

7Mar

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

The Testament of Gideon Mack – Traverse Theatre

‘The Testament of Gideon Mack’ tells the story of a Church of Scotland minister who doesn’t believe in God. However, his dismissal of the supernatural is challenged, particularly when his life is saved by someone Gideon believes is the Devil. This is a fascinating play based on James Robertson’s acclaimed novel, published in 2006. Matthew Zajac’s stage adaptation is enthralling: a captivating piece of theatre which is often moving, sometimes funny and occasionally very painful to watch. Moreover, profound questions are asked about faith, belief, the suppression of feelings, love, grief, death, hypocrisy and the meaning of life. And the play also throws light on the dramatic way religious beliefs in Scotland have changed in a generation. The play is intriguing, leaving some unanswe...

5Mar

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

Driftwood – Traverse Theatre

Set solely on a beach on the coast of the North Sea, Driftwood’ explores how two brothers navigate the grief of their father’s passing while attempting to mend their fragmented relationship. Tim Foley’s masterful writing shows two very different minds, that of elder brother Mark who focuses on funeral arrangements whilst navigating his return home after an extended absence. We also see the younger sibling, Tiny, distract himself with his fascination with the beach, its poisoned landscape and the ghostly and illusive figure, the Mariner. Both brothers have been apart for some time and it's clear from the outset that many words are being left unspoken. James Westphal (Mark) expertly crosses between moments of panic due to being confronted with the past while also showing the care his char...

Spring Serenade Concert with students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – Carlops Village Hall

3Mar

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Spring Serenade Concert with students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland – Carlops Village Hall

Oodles of talent poured forth at a humble village hall in the Scottish Borders on Sunday afternoon. The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s young talent got themselves organised and created a programme of music which was a delight. Eighteen-year-olds, Maria McMaster (voice) and Lena Błotnicka (Cello) and nineteen-year-olds, Michael Gemmell on piano and Kristie MacKenzie on flute are all first-year students at the Conservatoire. Today’s performances showcased just how they earned their places at this prestigious establishment. They filled the packed hall with beautiful, touching and amusing pieces and they received well-deserved, rapturous applause and many shouts of delight at the end. Gemmell organised this event with his former teacher, accomplished pianist and examiner, Lauren G...

The Makropulos Affair – Festival Theatre

2Mar

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

The Makropulos Affair – Festival Theatre

As ever, Scottish Opera delivers sumptuous sets, great lighting, singers who can act, and a wonderful orchestra that never disappoints, but this English rendition of The Makropulos Affair, by Leoš Janàček jarred my senses with its modern-day, casual lexicon. Words, such as F*ck somehow don’t marry comfortably with the impassioned, heightened music and traditional, elegant, and beautiful costumes. It was, no doubt, a deliberate choice. Creating a grating cacophonous lexicon - the use of brutal Viking words rather than those of Latin derivatives gives the opera an earthy groundedness - and caused me a headache. I wanted to lose my sense of reality for an hour or two. I was denied the option. Single syllables and short sentences (translation by David Pountney) reflect the sheer en...

Now That’s What I Call A Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

27Feb

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Now That’s What I Call A Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

It’s big, bold and cheesier than a Swiss Fondue, but if you can put up with the variably dodgy Brummie accents there is a lot to enjoy in this jukebox musical based on the best musical decade there ever was – the eighties of course! The story, set in Birmingham, follows two school chums Gemma and April and their friends and family between the year 1989 and a class reunion in 2009, and music is the elixir that never grows old – as powerful and evocative twenty years on as it was when they first heard it. It is certainly an interesting and well thought out concept for a musical and on the whole, it works, helped in no small part by a brilliant set which flips very cleverly from bar to lounge to park to video shop (remember those!). The clever and at times very funny script also skips alon...