Scotland Archives - Page 5 of 129

25Sep

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

FEIS – Traverse Theatre

FEIS is a story of ambition, intergenerational discord and Irish dancing, with a side order of chaos. Deirdre (Louise Haggerty) is seriously over-invested in her daughter Aiofe’s (Leah Balmforth) dance career. Grandmother Maura (Julie Coombe) is delectably unhinged. Deirdre secretly makes ends meet by creating online Irish dance-themed adult entertainment. Family secrets come to light as Aiofe seeks to understand who she is. Anna McGrath’s mercurial script energetically captures the love and battles between three generations of women. Director Laila McGrath keeps the pace just right, giving the actresses space to really go for it with the larger-than-life characters. The belly laughs come from the heart of the story, as the characters raise the stakes to outdo each other. Haggerty an...

25Sep

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Black Hole Sign – Tron Theatre

Beginning its development in 2021 by Traverse Theatre’s in-house playwright Uma Nada-Rajah, Black Hole Sign hits the stage this week at the Tron Theatre. Over the course of a night in a collapsing (figuratively and literally) NHS ward, we gain insight into the series of events that led to the dismissal of Senior Charge Nurse Crea (Helen Logan) as she fails to meet her duty of care. Combining heavy emotional arcs with amusing and outlandish characters, Black Hole Sign captures the toil NHS staff and patients alike face due to overworking and underfunding. Inspired by Nada-Rajah’s own experience working as a nurse, this play hits hard - the events that take place are harrowing and all too realistic. The play unpacks a huge myriad of issues; we see the strain put on personal relat...

The Talented Mr Ripley – Festival Theatre

18Sep

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

The Talented Mr Ripley – Festival Theatre

I remember first reading Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley as a teenager and being completely hooked by Tom Ripley’s mix of cunning, insecurity and longing. There was something about him that felt both thrilling and a little unsettling, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the Riviera he inhabited, sun-drenched, glamorous and just a little decadent. Then I watched the 1999 film, and my fascination only grew. So, when I got the chance to see the story brought to life on stage at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on the opening night, I was really intrigued about what I was about to experience. From the very first moment, the play draws you into Ripley’s world. Ed McVey is rarely off stage and he inhabits Tom with such precision that it is impossible not to be captivated. He moves ef...

17Sep

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Our Brother – Traverse Theatre

The horrific events that took place in Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) under the Khmer Rouge between 1975 – 79 are well documented, but writer Jack MacGregor has - to good effect -dramatised a true, less well-known incident from 1978. An idealistic Scots professor, simply referred to as ‘Stranger’ (played by Bobby Bradley) managed to grab 15 minutes with Pol Pot, or ‘Brother No 1’ (David Lee-Jones). With him was ‘American’ (Nicole Cooper), armed with enough knowledge of the atrocities to remain somewhat less effusive. This piece explored the (chiefly Marxist) motivation and ambition shared, initially, by Stranger and Brother, the notion that there was a way to create an egalitarian, agrarian utopia. Upon a simple platform covered in white sheets the three actors performed this inten...

Cauld Blast Orchestra – Traverse Theatre

15Sep

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Cauld Blast Orchestra – Traverse Theatre

Some reunions coast on memory, others roar into the present as if they had never left. Cauld Blast Orchestra’s return to the Traverse is firmly the latter. Born out of Communicado’s Jock Tamson’s Bairns more than thirty years ago, the band has always revelled in being unpigeonholeable. Folk, jazz, rock and classical sit in the same set, stitched with irreverence and played with virtuosity. Founding members remain the backbone. Karen Wimhurst, who first gathered the band together in 1990, is on clarinet for most of the evening, weaving intricate lines that remind you why this music still burns bright. Ian Johnstone dazzles with his versatility, moving between tuba, accordion and piano, each instrument sounding like it’s his true home. Steve Kettley, equally compe...

11Sep

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Wallace – Traverse Theatre

Hero. Butcher. Myth. Will the real William Wallace please stand up? This new hip-hop musical examines a giant of Scottish history through three different lenses. Who was he really, and what does that mean for Scotland now? As “Scotsman", Dave Hook recounts the familiar tale, which has inspired generations of Scots as well as a Hollywood blockbuster. His Wallace is simultaneously "just a man standing up for what’s right “, and a heroic colossus, crushing the enemies of freedom with his humongous fists. Manasa Tagika portrays Longshanks as the gangster lord he surely was, oozing status in his blood red fur coat and indoor sunglasses. "I don't think of you much”, he tells us Scots - but he really, really needs us to know that. This was my favourite part of the show but, tellingly, I cou...

10Sep

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

Fiddler on the Roof – Festival Theatre

Fresh from its critically claimed performance at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Joseph Stein’s golden age musical, Fiddler on the Roof, raised the roof of Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre as part of its UK and Ireland tour. This new production, directed by Jordan Fein, keeps the charm of 1960s musical theatre while providing some more contemporary elements for modern audiences. Based on the short stories of Sholem Aleichem, Fiddler on the Roof follows Jewish milkman, Tevye (Matthew Woodyatt), in the small village of Anatevka under the rule of the Russian Tsar. With five daughters at home, and little money coming into the family, Tevye relies on the old tradition of the ‘matchmaker’ to find rich suitors for his daughters. However, when his daughters begin to challenge these age-old beliefs,...

Soundhouse: Paul Harrison’s Trio Mágico & Guests: Encontros – Traverse Theatre

6Sep

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Soundhouse: Paul Harrison’s Trio Mágico & Guests: Encontros – Traverse Theatre

Launching their latest album, Encontros, Paul Harrison’s Trio Mágico graced the Traverse Theatre once again, bringing with them an evening filled with Brazilian-inspired jazz rhythms and grooves. From original compositions, to rearrangements of renowned Brazilian jazz pieces (many of which were taken from Brazilian jazz player and composer Egberto Gismonti) Paul Harrison’s trio is Mágico by name, and Mágico by nature. The first act hit us with high-energy, highlighting the beauty of Harrison’s chord harmonisation and bassist Mario Caribé’s enthusiastic and lively playing. Drummer Stu Brown keeps the trio rolling along with his relaxed approach - that is until the second act where he completely unleashes the full power of his playing. Brown’s kit is perfectly collated t...

A Toast Fae the Lassies – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

6Sep

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

A Toast Fae the Lassies – Pitlochry Festival Theatre

A widow, a mother, and a mistress walk into a bar—sorry, graveyard—to mourn the loss of the recently deceased Robert Burns. On seeing the other women there, the group soon end up reminiscing and sparring with each other over their relationships to the late poet and his proclivities. Generously peppered with well-known Burns’ songs, A Toast Fae The Lassies both celebrates Burns as a poet while reprimanding his behaviour as a man through the eyes of the women in his life. The songs are, of course, the highlight of this play, with musical direction and arrangement by Alyson Orr, who also plays Agnes Broun, Burns’ mother. Orr brings spirit to the stage with her charming arrangements, performed beautifully by herself and the rest of the cast. Chris Coxon accompanies the singing on the guitar...

28Aug

By Joe LangNo Comments

Scotland

Chameleon – Greenside @ George Street

This minimalist one-man drama traps the audience within the four walls of a psychiatric hospital room and forces you to confront the inner workings of Delaney’s mind. First of all, I want to give Ruben Sparks all the praise for diving headfirst into such an emotionally demanding role. The character of Delaney, who we follow throughout, opens up about his past while switching between a multitude of personalities, all demanding a high quality of physical vitality from Ruben. The switching between characters definitely pays off, as it not only provides great context for his life throughout the show, but you also just can’t help but fall into a trance-like state when watching. Ruben takes advantage of the small space in relation to his physical movements to create an almost animalistic ...