Scotland Archives - Page 63 of 93

The Death of Molly Miller – Underbelly Cowgate

5Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Death of Molly Miller – Underbelly Cowgate

Ever wondered if a social media influencer and a thief could get along? Perhaps for the most part just not when the thief has the influencer tied to a chair! The Death of Molly Miller is a dark satire which delves into the stereotypes of reality TV social media stars and desperate thieves, demonstrating that you can’t always judge a book by its cover. When Thomas (Matthew Greenhough), a desperate burglar, breaks into famous social media star Molly Miller’s house, he ends up in deeper water than he’d expected as the star arrives home early. Miller (Esther-Grace Button) is loud, dramatic and overly unlikable, surprisingly putting the audience onto the side of nervous yet humorous thief Thomas. Despite their differences the characters work very well together giving a real back and forth...

Great Women of Folk – theSpace @ Surgeons Hall

4Aug

By Amy HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Great Women of Folk – theSpace @ Surgeons Hall

Folk musician and singer/ songwriter Elsa McTaggart started of her Fringe 2023 run with a dazzling show. A few technical difficulties during this preview attested that McTaggart does not need fancy projectors and sound systems to shine, only her guitar (and Irish bouzouki). Whilst this was a showcase of great women in folk, McTaggart introduced each song with tales about the women in her own life, such as her mum and sister, which added a personal depth to her song choices. McTaggart started of slowly with “Tulsa Queen” by Emmylou Harris which foreshadowed the great show to come. As she quickened her pace, she showcased incredible playing on all three guitars. She navigated tight-turns with ease and her finger plucking on the bouzouki was especially impressive. Her voice was equally...

Agatha Is Missing – Edinburgh Fringe Online

4Aug

By Angela KellyNo Comments

Scotland

Agatha Is Missing – Edinburgh Fringe Online

Written and performed by Prudence Wright Holmes, ‘Agatha is Missing’ is a single-handed performance about super sleuth ‘Miss Clarissa Marbles’ and her quest to find out about the real-life disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926. This year the show is an online performance and opens to Miss Marbles setting the scene regarding the disappearance of Christie having left her home ‘one dark stormy night...’ With previous sold out shows at Edinburgh Fringe, Holmes is undoubtedly one confident performer. A US based performer and playwright she has had a varied career. From performances in the original cast of the 60s production of ‘Godspell’ to acting alongside Meryl Streep in ‘Happy End’ on Broadway and Whoopi Goldberg in ‘Sister Act’ and ‘Sister Act 2’, Holmes knows her craft well. H...

Murder She Didn’t Write – Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance One

4Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Murder She Didn’t Write – Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance One

Have you ever fancied watching a murder mystery where even the murderer doesn’t know its them until halfway through the show? Well then, this murder mystery improvised phenomena may just be right what you’re looking for. Taking all the classic elements of a typical ‘who done it’ murder mystery but shaking it up with the plot, characters and murder weapon being decided upon by the audience right at the start of the show. It’s a wonder how the Degrees Of Error theatre company manage to come up with a fully-fledged play that still leaves it’s audience gasping with shock when the truth is revealed. With the events of the play being decided upon during the show I feel no fear in revealing the plot of our performance: Donald Trump’s trial and the tiny shark. To even shape such a ...

DOM – The Play – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

4Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

DOM – The Play – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

This is a show which hits the ground running - a fast-paced production, directed by Michael Kingsbury. It’s a comedy about Boris Johnson and his erstwhile Chief Adviser, Dominic Cummings, former Director of Vote Leave, and the architect of the Johnson election victory in 2019. It tells the story of the EU Referendum Campaign and the Boris Johnson premiership from the point of view of Cummings. This show, already seen in London and Windsor, has been shortened and updated for the Festival Fringe. The author, we are told, prefers to remain anonymous prompting speculation that it is the work of a Westminster ‘insider’. The play opens with Dom speaking directly to the audience. He greets us as ‘weirdos and misfits’ - a reference to Cummings’s strange blog post in 2020 when he invite...

I Work in Customer Service but I’m Actually a Pop Star – Blunderbus

4Aug

By Amy HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

I Work in Customer Service but I’m Actually a Pop Star – Blunderbus

Glaswegian Barbie on a bus. Amelia Bayler (Scottish Comedy Awards' Best Newcomer) takes the BlundaBus for an energetic combination of stand-up and singing. The venue was the perfect spot to see Bayler who turned the old-style bus into a party bus with her high energy performance. The show was not meticulously put together, but it wasn’t trying to be. Instead, it was a chaotic look into the creative mind and life of Bayler. The moments of scripted comedy, such as her re-enactment of her Skype interview, were funny and relatable, especially to those who have worked in customer service. Whilst spur-of-the-moment conversations with the audience enhanced the enjoyable chaos of the show. Her unhinged songs, about anything from Tupperware’s to Greggs, were lively and original. A favo...

Gaslighting is my Love Language – Just The Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre

4Aug

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

Scotland

Gaslighting is my Love Language – Just The Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre

Fielding Edlow’s Gaslighting is my Love Language is a brutally honest, unapologetically explicit, and immensely entertaining hour of comedy. The premise is simple; Edlow has recently divorced her husband of thirteen years and wants to share her new perspective on the marriage with the audience. What results is akin to a farcical therapy session, where the audience plays the role of the therapist. While they don’t often get involved, with one notable exception you’ll have to discover for yourself, Edlow regales them with the ups and downs of the marriage, pinpointing exactly where it all went wrong. Spoiler alert, it was when they first met. While most comedians bring in elements of truth to their performances, Edlow takes it to a whole new level. She makes a point of informing the audie...

3Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Coffee Kid – Underbelly Cowgate

If you have a free afternoon this Fringe ditch the overpriced coffee and indulge in Coffee Kid. Nominated for Best Performer and the Spirit of Wit award at the Dublin Fringe Festival 2022, Coffee Kid is a one-woman play exploring the absurd character Beanie Clooney (Síomha McQuinn) the love child of George Clooney and a Nespresso machine. The show was unsurprisingly whacky but also relatable: the familiar coming-of-age themes of identity, love and belonging were revitalised by the originality of the protagonist. It also brought together classic Fringe comedy and new ideas in a refreshing way: satirical jokes towards Womanhood, Hollywood and patriarchy were complimented by more niche puns about the unique character and plot. Despite moments of depth the storyline was kept light-hearted ...

2Aug

By Louise PennNo Comments

Scotland

Gethsemane – Edinburgh Fringe Online

Gethsemane is a new musical by John Richmond which tells the story of Nadi and Chloe, who were contemporaries of Jesus. This piece in currently in development as a full show and so plays out as a visual album in its current 100-minute form, with songs and narration. Although the images are often simply complementary to the narration or songs, they are sometimes set out of their time - I can see why the parallels are being made (for example, with the homeless in a 21st century London). There are no actors and no on-screen performances. The leading characters are Nadi, a carpenter who works with Jesus in the workshop and based on the “naked disciple” referenced in the Gospel of Mark, and Chloe, the daughter of Joseph of Arimathea, a rich merchant. Must Nadi fight the Romans with his br...

Bring It On: The Musical – Festival Theatre

30Jul

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Bring It On: The Musical – Festival Theatre

This was a blast! The Beyond Broadway franchise does it again; bringing together no fewer than 250 tinnies, teenies and young adults to the Festival Theatre stage following an intensive two week, acting, singing and dancing summer school. Can they pull off this huge and extremely challenging and technical show? Of course they can, and then some! Loosely based on the year Y2k American teen comedy motion picture of the same name, Bring It On: The Musical first saw the light of day in January 2011, where it opened to mixed reviews. Put together by such illuminated Tony-winners as writer Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), Composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights, Hamilton) and composer Tom kit (Next To Normal), this Musical certainly has a rich pedigree – but is not well known, and r...