Scotland Archives - Page 57 of 93

Yuck Circus – Assembly George Square Gardens

8Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Yuck Circus – Assembly George Square Gardens

Appropriately titled, Yuck Circus’s all-female troupe of gymnasts and contortionists gives a thrilling display of strength and dexterity. Their premise is to show that women can be as strong and powerful as men. And to do a little man-bashing (and wimpy woman bashing) along the way … challenge stereotypes and talk openly about menstruation (noting the fact it begins with the syllable, MEN - how ironic). I liked their balls! And the woman beside me liked absolutely everything, including screeching with laughter into my ringing ear and yelling her approval as if she were part of the show and should be noticed. I liked that they weren’t ridiculously skinny. They were all shapes and sizes, as women are, yet still able to do a wondrous amount of physically demanding work. I was ...

Spontaneous Potter – The Stand’s New Theatre

8Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Spontaneous Potter – The Stand’s New Theatre

If you’re a fan of improvisation, you’ll enjoy Spontaneous Potter. As usual, the audience is asked to make suggestions and the suggestion with the loudest applause is the one that anchors the story. This time it was Harry Potter in Asbo Land. It worked. Jenny Laahs was a superb musical accompaniment to the action, sensing where things were headed and playing suitably emotionally laden music. Her contribution made a big difference. Stand up stalwart, Stu Murphy, took the reins to introduce the cast: Paul Connolly, Moira Jay and Emily. Just Emily. She was good! Between them they behaved in a silly way and carried the story forward smoothly. Stu Murphy seems to be the most experienced of the cast and he has a very sharp wit. His long hair is glossy and lush, his beard bristly and I thou...

The Rejects – The Space on The Mile – Space 3

8Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Rejects – The Space on The Mile – Space 3

We all struggle with rejection, some more than others but it’s how we deal with it that counts. When One (Robyn Reilly), Two (Jess Ferrier), Three (Abi Price), Four (Lex Joyce) and Five (Isla Campbell) all go for the same job, they know the chances of success are limited. After the nerves of the interview a drink is much needed leaving these very different personalities to hash it out over who’s truly worthy of the new position. We’ve all been in that interview, the one where you’re saying all the wrong things out of sheer nerves, praying the interviewer will see your potential shine through, give you the job despite your stutters. You can’t be too honest, but you also can’t lie or seem over enthusiastic about the position. From beginning to end this production presents characters that ...

The Dead Ducks – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

8Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Dead Ducks – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

You can expect the weird and somewhat wonderful as The Dead Ducks troupe take the stage for a sketch show that takes place within a dead grandmother’s funeral, acting out scenes in which said grandmother has written in her will. The Dead Ducks are a comedy sketch troupe from the University of York, bringing another one of their sketch shows to the Fringe after a successful run last year. Made up of 6 young performers, the sketch team create the kind of strange content you would expect to see in a student’s showcase relying heavily on the element of absurdity to gain laughs. Whilst there are a handful of pretty funny scenes in this show, personally the set up did not quite hit my funny bone as often as I’d have liked it to, but that’s not to say they didn’t have other members of the a...

Victor, Vi and the Volvo – Paradise Green (Vaults)

8Aug

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

Scotland

Victor, Vi and the Volvo – Paradise Green (Vaults)

Victor, Vi and the Volvo, is a humorous, powerful, and endlessly real original show. Writer and director Sam Milnes has created a play that wouldn’t feel out of place on the West End. Set both in the present day, and in the memories of Victor and Vi, it tells their story from the day they met, through to their efforts to raise their son Callum. The most impressive quality of this play is just how real all the characters feel. Throughout the runtime, there are endless relatable moments that make you feel like Victor, Vi and Callum could all easily exist. Victor and Vi’s uncertainty of whether to discuss with Callum a condom they found in a bin, and his subsequent embarrassment, was a particular highlight. These moments often allow for very real comedy. Milnes hasn’t tried to create w...

8Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Prick – The Space on the Mile: Space 3

‘Prick’ is a powerful new play by Laurie Flanigan Hegge which throws a light on a shameful period in Scotland’s history. Between 1563 and 1736 nearly 4000 people (mainly women) were accused of witchcraft. More than 2500 of them were brutally executed. Garroted by the hangman, they were then burnt at the stake, leaving no bodies for their families to bury. The play’s title, ‘Prick’, refers to a sharp iron needle pushed, often repeatedly, into the bodies of women accused of witchcraft. The Pricker was seeking a witch’s mark, a part of the body which would not bleed or feel pain. The accused woman had first been stripped and shaved. If all else failed, the pricks often had a blunt end which would not draw blood. The Pricker could then claim that he’d found the devil’s mark. Often ...

Abigail Paul: Involuntary Momslaughter – Greenside Riddles Court

8Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Abigail Paul: Involuntary Momslaughter – Greenside Riddles Court

That’s ‘Mom’ with an ‘O’, not a ‘U’. Despite Orange-bloke (and the 70 million people that voted for him in the last election) I’m constantly at pains to tell my kids there are actually lots of really great people from America and Abigail Paul didn’t disappoint. Although she resides in Germany nowadays. Went, she claims, ‘for the schnitzel, and stayed for the human rights’. Smart, bright and snappy, she seemed almost delighted, despite the gravitas of the subject matter, to tell us her story; born in Panama to an American woman and a Chilean father (who promptly disappeared) she endured an understandably ‘different’ upbringing, the two most affecting issues being; raised (a) in Florida by (b) a mother exhibiting all the classic traits of someone with NPD, in layman’s terms, Narcissistic ...

8Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Ed Byrne – Assembly Rooms Music Hall

That was – An unexpected rollercoaster of emotions, with joyous high points. An absolute master of observational comedy who is not scared to get down in the mud with his audience and let them in on the tough stuff as well as the funny stuff. Oh!…. Very funny indeed! Despite stiff competition from 2020 and 2021, 2022 was a total evil b*stard for Byrne. Pause, Pause, Stop! But 2023 is shaping up now, tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, and you can be sure that Ed is always going to come out swinging, this guy ain’t going down without a fight! Men want information, women want emotion. Men want information, women want emotion. Remember that Ed. The mirror that is severely cracked but still intact and still reflecting. You can be sure that Byrne micro-managed that right down to ...

Ania Magliano: I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This – Pleasance Courtyard

8Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Ania Magliano: I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This – Pleasance Courtyard

This was – Very Funny, and very relatable! I have to be honest; I don’t know quite how she does it. She instantly puts the audience at ease with her laid-back delivery and razor sharp mind. The anecdotes and one-liners are faultless, there is no pause. And she is always funny. Even ad-libbing when a phone rings or when a hair clip gets caught in her shoe – which becomes a trophy to win for the best audience member – unfortunately it wasn’t me, not laughing hard enough! There is almost no point in writing this review and sending it to my editor, after all - she is completely sold out. What’s the point? But put it in your diary for next year. Make a fridge magnet, write a post-it note, write it into your iPhone Calendar, become a Fringe Reviewer for fecks sakes!…. get creative. Just do...

Alan Turing Guilty Of Love – Hill Street Theatre, Edinburgh

8Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Alan Turing Guilty Of Love – Hill Street Theatre, Edinburgh

A decent sized crowd half-fill this nice little raked traditional theatre venue for a brand new musical, Produced and Directed by David Kettle. Seeking at its core to expose the disgraceful torment and shame piled on the code-breaking genius by the British establishment due to his homosexuality. Jamie Sheasby is simply electrifying in the demanding lead role, rarely off stage with a sheath of lines and multiple songs and a massive arc to accomplish, from nervous schoolboy to war code-breaker at Bletchley Park to persecuted adult, he is completely committed and utterly believable. I enjoyed the Enigma machine scene, the script, the acting, the choreography, and the song, ‘man is a machine’, which ran through it. Sheasby is again very good in delivering this scene and song. Unfortunate...