Scotland Archives - Page 63 of 128

A Montage of Monet – Greenside, George Street (Mint Studio)

3Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

A Montage of Monet – Greenside, George Street (Mint Studio)

Thinking of Claude Monet, the famous French impressionist painter, I think of lilies, beautiful gardens, and weeping willows. I will not pretend to be an art connoisseur, but Monet’s paintings elicit a feeling of tranquillity. Written by playwright Joan Greening, whose background lies in teaching Art History, with past plays including ‘The Rape of Artemisia Gentileschi’, ‘Rossetti’s Women’ and ‘At Home With The Bronte’s’ available to watch on Scenesaver - https://www.joangreening.com/#/at-home-with-the-brontes/. Greening’s collaboration with Stephen Smith (a remarkable character actor), brings Monet the man to life. Beginning towards the end of Monet’s life when cataracts cause his eyesight to deteriorate, he tells the tale of his life, painting, his romantic loves, and his ...

Eric’s Tales of the Sea: A Submariner’s Yarn – Just The Tonic at The Caves

3Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Eric’s Tales of the Sea: A Submariner’s Yarn – Just The Tonic at The Caves

Eric, a veteran storyteller, began his career as a submarine sailor at the age of sixteen. As you would expect if you’ve ever read The Tale of the Ancient Mariner at school, Eric has a few tall tales to tell. Dressed in a roll-neck sweater, he looks every bit the fisherman and, indeed, he can make even battered fish interesting. The venue is perfect for this low-key show. You walk up stark stairs, along narrow corridors and through several doors before entering a dark, dank, enclosed cavern with a curved roof. The sound effect of a deeply submerged submarine envelops you in sonar pings and silence. A screen where typed statements magically greet you sets the scene. It is intriguing. Eric appears. A mop of curls crowning a cheeky, bearded face, Eric has a way with the audience. He...

The State of Grace – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

3Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The State of Grace – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

Aussie, Michaela Burger (A Migrant’s Son) is at her core a consummate storyteller, and no stranger to the Edinburgh Fringe. Through the mediums of video, music, song, prose and acting she returns to Edinburgh Fringe for the 4th time, supported by House of Oz to tell the story, the legacy, of fellow Adelaidian, Pippa O’Sulliven. Pippa, AKA ‘Grace Bellavue’ a sex worker, rose to meteoric fame and notoriety on social media before her untimely suicide at just 28, in 2015. Michaela has clearly researched hard, into the archive of Pip, talked to her parents and friends and traced the considerable digital footprint that Grace left. Pippa’s dream, to ‘Build the Grace Business’, learn Physics, savour food and make love did not turn out quite the way she planned, but from this evidence she had qu...

Sell Me: I Am from North Korea – Pleasance Courtyard (Below)

3Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Sell Me: I Am from North Korea – Pleasance Courtyard (Below)

Jisun is poor. She sells apples at a market in North Korea. Sometimes she even kills squirrels to eat. But she needs more money. Her mother is dying and can’t afford medication to ease her pain. So, on her 15th birthday Jisun decides to sell herself. A broker says he will help her escape to China. She’ll be sold to a man and will have to look after him. Her duties will include washing his dirty underwear, cutting his toe nails and “making babies with him”. That’s the explosive starting point to this remarkable play, written and performed by Sora Baek. And if you think it sounds implausible, you should know that Baek’s grandparents and her father, then aged 4, were refugees from North to South Korea. Baek has also been inspired by true stories of women defectors from the most authoritari...

1 Hour Of Insane Magic: After Dark – Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose: Big Yin

3Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

1 Hour Of Insane Magic: After Dark – Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose: Big Yin

Insane Productions brings a brand new show to the Edinburgh Fringe this year and this time it’s a little naughty, after all it’s taking place “after dark”. The adult nature of this show has definitely been embraced, with suggestive emojis lighting the back walls in neon lights, drinking games and even the flashing of a phallus and balls. It’s the magic element that the show seems to be lacking in. Headlining the show we have 3 energetic and charming magicians who work together incredibly well. Their chemistry is electric and if this was purely a comedy show it would be on its way to a five star review however other than an impressive entrance trick (I shall not spoil it for you), the real magic of the show is done by their guest acts. What is promised to be a magic show bec...

In the Lady Garden – Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One

2Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

In the Lady Garden – Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One

Pairing homely references to Yorkshire puddings with anecdotes about sex toys, Babs Horton's new comedy monologue provides an hour of gentle feminist fun Main character Alice is 69, an age that seems not entirely accidental given the subject matter, and says that "I know a lot about sex - mainly theory". She's been married to Keith for years, after being expelled from convent school much to her mother's disgust. We meet Alice in a prison cell, created simply by director Deborah Edgington using wooden blocks to represent a bench and a toilet. This promising set up digresses into a series of funny and touching reminiscences, mostly seguing into each other like the thoughts of a distracted mind Julia Faulkner as Alice is an engaging performer, vocally confident and in command of the...

1 Cent Comedy presents: Black Widows – Laughing Horse

2Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

1 Cent Comedy presents: Black Widows – Laughing Horse

Black Widows is a comedy show that is not afraid to explore the darker areas of comedy, the stuff that not all comedians would dare to joke about. With a line-up of female only comedians without a filter in a very small room, straight men must enter at their own peril. Leading the show is our host Moni Zhang who is joined by an ever-changing line up of female comedians. Moni herself is the perfect comedic host: to the point, charming and with a good no nonsense attitude. Her jokes are fast, direct and she’s very good at singling out her prey without making them too uncomfortable. Her support for her fellow artists shines through which really helps the space to feel less like a group of strangers stuffed into a karaoke room and more like a group of friends sharing a laugh together. ...

Son of a Bitch – Summerhall Demonstration Room

1Aug

By Torya HughesNo Comments

Scotland

Son of a Bitch – Summerhall Demonstration Room

Billed as a show about maternal ambivalence, Anna Morris’ debut play is an honest and sympathetic portrait of a woman on the edge. Morris plays Marnie, a yoga teacher who goes viral for a ten second video clip of an air rage incident where she calls her four year old son Charlie a “cunt”. Her husband says she’s probably a bad parent, other mums ostracise her at the school gates, and she is roundly condemned by strangers from across the globe. However, in a cleverly written script full of twists and turns, we learn that there is more to the story than meets the eye. In this solo show Morris plays a wide variety of characters with considerable skill, switching from an eccentric flatmate to a slightly hapless father with small changes of accent and body language. These different ...

FLIGHT – Pleasance Dome, Potterrow Plaza, Container 1

1Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

FLIGHT – Pleasance Dome, Potterrow Plaza, Container 1

Ever wanted to sit in a shipping container and play plane passenger in the dark? Well now you can, but you may find this experience to be all the more terrifying than what you’d expect. Not only are you in the dark left with your own imagination, but you are also facing a whole new sensory experience through sound and sensory effects. This is one plane ride that you may need to remind yourself is not real or else face your worst fears and pray that you land safely. I was surprised to find that despite the experience taking place almost entirely in the dark the setting is completely believable as a plane. You step into a big white container, but on the inside, you find a full plane interior completely with windows, rows of actual plane seats and safety brochures. A small screen displays ...

Crispr! The Musical – Roman Eagle Lodge, Edinburgh

1Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Crispr! The Musical – Roman Eagle Lodge, Edinburgh

And so it begins, the 78th Edinburgh Festival Fringe! The ethos of the Fringe, which dates back to 1947, dictates that anyone can take part, with a story to tell and a venue willing to host them, and (of course!) pockets deep enough to afford it! So here, first up, a musical about gene editing technology! Haha!, well this is perfect for Edinburgh! The EdFringe programme blurb provides a description of the show - Two struggling genetics researchers are determined to create the world’s first super-soybean, but a rival lab will stop at nothing to defeat them. Featuring original songs, dance, action-packed battles and shocking twists, Crispr! the Musical is a high-energy romp……..Duane Stanford and Lina Zikas, portray three pairs of characters whose stories converge into a climactic battl...