Scotland Archives - Page 7 of 127

Royal Pigeon Mail – theSpaceUK @ Surgeon’s Hall

22Aug

By Al CarrettaNo Comments

Scotland

Royal Pigeon Mail – theSpaceUK @ Surgeon’s Hall

Soon to be 22-year-old Kit is a clerk in a post office. She might be busy with administrative tasks and phone calls, but this is no ordinary office. This is the hub of the pigeon postal service at Dovecoat Parva. There’s a reminder board telling her to ‘Keep Coo…’ - the village debate on the future of the service is 10 days away and from here the avian jokes pile up thick and fast. Royal Pigeon Mail is student theatre in its purest form. It’s naive, wholly accessible and has a beautifully playful tone. Likeable characters and witty use of puns make it a universal and easily relatable watch with the added bonus; it’s really funny and doesn’t try hard to be so. Kit is the impartial referee in the office. Timid and softly spoken, she is a perfect foil to her colleagues and does her ...

22Aug

By Al CarrettaNo Comments

Scotland

Yellow – theSpaceUK @ Surgeon’s Hall

Some shows are born great, some shows achieve greatness, and some shows have greatness thrust upon them. Ponder the classic quote then ask yourself if you’re a fan of Coldplay? Do you know their classic song, Yellow? Not to say it’s overused but if not, you’re going to know it by the end of this show. There’s a yellow tie, a yellow clipboard, some yellow tracksuit trousers and potentially more other yellow objects that I missed buried away in the corner of the theatre and practically watching this show from the wings. Yellow is a snapshot of office life in ‘Hathaways’ law firm. Various characters populate the environment. We’re lectured on moralistic principles and told tales of the fraudsters they defend. All of the performers work competently and efficiently with each other. The e...

21Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

#KaraokeKarma – Leith Depo

The works reunion, invite sent to all and only four turn up! Five if you include the ‘only fans?’ girl. Introducing #KaraokeKarma a show focussing on the characters Vivienne, Lucinda, Barry, Nichola and Isla. A group of office staff, past and present, thrown together in a karaoke booth with its trademark blackout curtains and coloured neon lights. Sparks and discourse ensue as the dark secrets, deceit and despair play out to its own merry tune. This show written by Dylan Mooney unpicks the complexities of office politics and personal lives being affected by loss, grief and rejection. Through ‘Karaoke’ the characters lay their feelings bare through the lyrics of the songs hinged in sadness and reminiscence of the ‘good ole days’ when the tunes brought them together. A clever provocati...

The Sound of My Own Voice – Scottish Storytelling Centre

21Aug

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

The Sound of My Own Voice – Scottish Storytelling Centre

Morna Burdon is a performer and poet who writes in the Scots language. Here she shares some of her own poems, and a few others that take her fancy. Burdon creates a convivial atmosphere in the intimate George Mackay Brown Library at the Scottish Storytelling Centre. It feels as though she is welcoming us into her own home. She comments that the mention of “striking a match” on a bus shows her age, harking back to the days when passengers were “only” allowed to smoke on the top deck. A few young people in the audience gasp in horror at the degeneracy of their ancestors. At least our generation has changed some things for the better. The Living Dead conveys the widespread disgust at Sir Keir Starmer’s attempt, last year, to withdraw the winter fuel payment from millions of pensione...

Thanyia Moore: August – Pleasance Courtyard

21Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

Thanyia Moore: August – Pleasance Courtyard

Thanyia Moore is a seasoned comedian and actress who has appeared on Mock the Week (BBC) Drunk Histories Black Stories (Comedy Central) and Cats does Countdown (C4). First appearing at the Fringe in 2022 she returns with her show August. She named her show August because it was whilst she was at the Fringe she experienced a personal loss through an ectopic pregnancy which interrupted her long awaited run and resulted in her returning to London for treatment. Through comedy she tells the story of her journey and encounters from her favourite taxi driver, the NHS staff and her production team who supported her throughout. Determined to finish her run Thanyia returned and continued to what she described as not the best performance. Humble and steadfast she ploughed through to a standing ovati...

Frisky’s Reshuffle – Assembly George Square Gardens

21Aug

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Frisky’s Reshuffle – Assembly George Square Gardens

Frisky and Mannish have been Fringe stalwarts for quite a few years now, and this time Frisky has her own solo show (albeit “with the accompaniment of four accomplished musicians and a great deal of tech support”). Frisky sings well-known songs, but she conspires with audience members to switch up the genre. After some introductory antics, we dip our toes gently at first, with a rock-and-roll version of Like a Virgin. It works, of course it does, and it’s a lot of fun. Then there’s a rave version (with Frisky imitating a vocal breakbeat), and an attempt at traditional Scottish music – a genre with which Frisky is maybe less familiar. Anything could happen. Frisky is very sparkly in a green sequinned playsuit, an entertainer from head to toe, and she builds a great rapport with th...

Edinburgh Days – St. Brides Community Centre

21Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Edinburgh Days – St. Brides Community Centre

There is something stirring at the heart of Edinburgh Days, a new sung-through musical that plants its feet in 19th-century Scotland and tries to tell a story of love, loss and survival against the hardships of the city. It has ambition and flashes of real quality. It also has problems. The creative team is a serious one, Edinburgh-born composer Brian Spence, director Bob Tomson (Blood Brothers), and choreographer Caroline Inglis. That pedigree shows in places: the Celtic-rock inflected score gives the show its own colour, and some of the cast deliver performances of real power. Debbie McKenna, as Mary, is outstanding, a husky-voiced presence who can belt with thrilling intensity. She grounds her character with emotional truth, and her songs are some of the evening’s highlights. Col...

20Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Derby Day – theSpace Triplex

Following the success of their returning production Wish You Were Here, Without Compromise Theatre brings its second show to the Edinburgh Fringe with the gritty and gut-wrenching Derby Day. Set in Fife, the play examines the aftermath of a fatal stabbing through the eyes of friends Danny (Xander Cowan) and Harris (Kieran Lee-Hamilton). As the investigation unfolds, the two attempt to distance themselves from any connection to the deceased. Yet the harder they try to conceal the truth, the more it inevitably seeps through the cracks. Written by Michael Johnson, Derby Day explores themes of cyclical violence and abuse within the framework of a Scottish community. In doing so, it remains true to Without Compromise Theatre’s mission: to advocate for the Scottish working class while exp...

20Aug

By Al CarrettaNo Comments

Scotland

Unravel – theSpaceUK @ Surgeons’ Hall

All Arya wants to do is eat her chips. Dressed in dungarees, her hair is messily piled on top of her head. A single chair and a table are present on the stage. The lighting is basic and neutral. A baby cries and so begins an involved character study of postpartum depression and paranoia. The representation of the child is a small bundle of wool and cloth. The bundle isn’t particularly well cared for. This action, deliberate or not, offers a useful metaphor for the piece. Arya reads The Eddas to her baby in the belief that intellectual nurture will give him the life she never had. The early beats of the monologue run through a traditional pattern. Exhaustion is ever present and Solene Capaldi’s performance as the mother begins to intrigue and come alive. And then the disembodied voic...

SLUGS – Summerhall (Red Lecture Theatre)

20Aug

By Charles PipeNo Comments

Scotland

SLUGS – Summerhall (Red Lecture Theatre)

At its outset, SLUGS boldly claims to be a show about “NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING”. Inspired by garden slugs – seemingly formless, mindless, useless creatures – the characters set out to create a show that completely avoids touching on any serious or thought-provoking topics. The show should supposedly be pure escapism, akin to scrolling through cute videos of puppies on Instagram. However, serious topics inevitably creep in. The characters – fictionalised versions of the performer S.E. Grummett and Sam Kruger themselves – can’t help but bring up gun violence, transphobia, sexual harassment in the comedy industry, and so on. The result is an hour of nonstop, unhinged, manic, perfectly executed comedy, as the characters desperately attempt to avoid these topics. The show is b...