Scotland Archives - Page 74 of 91

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Changing The Sheets – Assembly Rooms

A long thin room with raked seating to both sides cascades to a bare stage with two floor-mounted LED multi-coloured strip lights. These are the sheets (of light) between which the two actors, Adam and Eve, if you will, play out the age-old mating ritual. In this retelling it is Adam who bites the apple and Eve who kicks him out of Eden (her dad’s flat). For those of us of a certain age, think When Harry Meets Sally meets Groundhog Day. Or, if you have never heard of these classics (Oh dear!) maybe think Normal People meets Lena Dunham’s Girls. Let’s just say there is a lot of ooing and ahhing on stage. This is intimacy without the mess (thank god!) In a show which is light on production, not a Par Cam or Birdie in sight, my hope is that the script and acting are on point. Happily, I am...

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

OCD Me – Hill Street Theatre

A fine collaborative effort between writer and director, Aisling Smith and actress Laura Whelan, and with the timely help of an award from the Irish Arts Council – all come together here to create a beautifully constructed and at times scary insight into the debilitating fear of fear itself. Set within the very appropriate claustrophobic airless confines of a tight 60-seater black box theatre, a small but rapt audience are treated to a thankfully short view into the world of OCD, a condition that perhaps 2% of us suffer from. The other 98% should be damn grateful they don’t! We are told OCD does NOT stand for Obsessive, Christmas, Cleaning or Chocolate Disorder, as some comedians might have us believe. Nor is saying, I’m a little bit OCD acceptable, it’s not. This is no laughing matter....

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

9 Circles – Assembly George Square

To a comfortable lecture theatre of Edinburgh University, comes the uncomfortable truths of war, and war crimes, orchestrated under the very capable hands of Director, Guy Masterton. The 9 circles, refers to the nine rings of Dantes inferno. The interesting set and lighting design features a five metre wide light ring on the floor and a similar large light ring behind the stage. Rings that the central character can never escape, perhaps representing the truth of the past and the punishment of the future. The play is based on the true story of Texan Stephen Dale Green, a US army private who went on a rampage in Iraq, murdering an Iraqi family and raping then burning the 14 year old daughter. Playwright, Bill Cain, explores the justifications for Green’s actions through the nine ci...

15Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

Vermin – Gilded Balloon Teviot

Rats in your home - instantly this subject creates a feeling of uneasiness, uncleanliness, thoughts of scratching noises, thoughts of them nibbling your food in your store cupboards. This play uses this uneasiness and builds upon it. I will explain… Bill (Benny Ainsworth) and Rachel (Sally Paffett) met on a train journey, in which they both witnessed a dramatic event. From this initial acquaintance grew a relationship which ended in wedding bells, but there ends any form of normality. After moving into their new home, the couple found out that Rachel was pregnant, but also realised that their new home was infested with rats. They heard them scratching, the smell was awful, and Bill began the process of attempting to exterminate them. Rats are cleve...

Anna Clifford: I See Dead(ly) People – Gilded Balloon Teviot (Balcony)

15Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Anna Clifford: I See Dead(ly) People – Gilded Balloon Teviot (Balcony)

As anyone who’s ever spent any time in Ireland knows, when something is referred to as ‘deadly’ (or ‘savage’) it generally means ‘good’. Likewise, and not altogether obvious, is that ‘brutal’ just means ‘bad’ and to illustrate it Anna uses the example of a ‘brutal’ murder; it doesn’t mean merciless, it just means whoever committed the felony made a botch of it, one of those Friday afternoon/Monday morning homicides. This is a high-octane performance from a sparky player with a huge presence and the wise-cracks persist throughout as we learn about her family, relationships and hatred of the mood music employed in waxing parlours. The show pivots around events in March 2020 (a month we’ll all probably still be talking about in fifty years’ time) as Anna returns home to see her boyfriend only...

Leaves on the Line – theSpace @ Surgeons Hall

15Aug

By Ella CatherallNo Comments

Scotland

Leaves on the Line – theSpace @ Surgeons Hall

I, like many English people who’ve moved to Edinburgh but still have family down South, am very familiar with the trainline between Kings Cross St Pancras and Edinburgh Waverley. This show focusses primarily on the lives of six people on one of the trains covering this route, as they all attempt to get up North for various reasons, such as hill walking, going to a hen do or (ironically) visiting the Fringe. This feels like a quintessential, quirky Fringe show. It fits perfectly into the shorter run time and limited space characteristic of Fringe shows, never feeling limited by these restrictions but also never feeling like the show is too small or unambitious. This is a perfect fit for the Fringe when viewed from every dimension. The highlight of this show is its score. Equal blends ...

15Aug

By Anna ChiariNo Comments

Scotland

Hungry – Roundabout at Summerhall

At the centre of the Roundabout tent, a minimal and effective installation by Paines Plough's production to gather the many pilgrims of the Fringe in a circle, a culinary drama unfolds that uses the metaphor of food to investigate themes such as identity, emotional dependence and cultural appropriation. Although playwright Chris Bush's new play sins by an excess of verbiage, the pièce takes flight thanks to the naturalness and communicative energy of the two lead actresses. An encounter-clash between the insecure and fragile chef Lori, played by Eleanor Sutton, and the grumpy and recalcitrant Bex (Melissa Lowe) at the two extremes of two kitchen trolleys that clash, drift apart and grow closer as their relationship progresses. Of romance, affection or passion there is very little, releg...

15Aug

By Louise BalaguerNo Comments

Scotland

Speed Dial – Pleasance Dome

Vibrant colours, retro telephones and upbeat music, this show screams 70s – and dare I add Scooby Doo, in the best possible way. There is mystery, characters chasing after each other frantically (yet in a wonderfully choreographed manner), riddles, lurking figures and even stage fog, just to add that little extra bit of spookiness. Yes, this show is one that sucks you in from the very beginning. When a university Professor’s daily routine is disturbed by the ominous ringing of telephones following them at every turn, they are plunged into a spiral of puzzles to find their missing daughter. Making up this vibrant comedy-thriller that is Speed Dial, we find, alongside The Professor (Hamish Lloyd Barnes), The Dean (Tullio Campanale), Flora, the daughter (Genevieve Sabherwal), The Groundske...

Baxter vs The Bookies – Gilded Balloon Teviot (Wee Room)

15Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Baxter vs The Bookies – Gilded Balloon Teviot (Wee Room)

Our hero William Baxter justifies the chequered life of an inveterate gambler by bemoaning the fact he left school at fifteen with no qualifications, but proudly pointing out he’d made an ashtray in woodwork. This is just the first of many bon mots and one-liners in a one-man play adapted from Roy Granville’s book. One could be forgiven for thinking the role had been written especially for Andy Linden, an actor instantly recognizable (Harry Potter, Count Arthur Strong, to name just two from a long, long line of film and TV credits) his lugubrious face and earthy London tone enabling masterful storytelling. The play was split into five ‘episodes’ each with a twist at the end, Andy playing other parts beyond Baxter; Jeff Armstrong (a bookie so morose that ‘if he ran a funeral parlour peop...

Temping – Assembly George Square Studios

15Aug

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

Scotland

Temping – Assembly George Square Studios

Temping is like nothing else I’ve seen at the Edinburgh Fringe, being more of an interactive experience than a show. The premise is simple, you have been brought into the company to cover some shifts for an absent employee. I was led into my new office, an excellently decorated set inside a cargo container, and told that the owner of the office, Sarah Jane, had left an instruction message for me. Throughout the hour, I had to complete various tasks, primarily changing former employees’ statuses from active to deceased, as well as answer phone calls and emails, each instructing me on how to proceed. The genius of the show though, is that many of these emails are not scripted. If I replied to an email, I would get a response to it. In a way, it is like you’re improvising. The general script ...