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Centre of the Universe – Techcube @ Summerhall

3Aug

By Saira KunjuvalappilNo Comments

Scotland

Centre of the Universe – Techcube @ Summerhall

Gaia’s Brilliant and Hilarious Solo Show Centre of the Universe is wonderfully hilarious and appropriately candid solo comedy performance by Gaia, navigating the crazy inner life of a 15-year-old girl searching for the purpose of her life—without any particular talents standing out. This results in an hour of laugh-out-loud humour, biting social satire, and unrelenting energy that leaves the audience gripped until the very end. The movie starts as a TikTok social media influencer visits her school, setting off an overexcitement for manifestation techniques and the pursuit of having a perfectly curated life. Gaia satirically depicts the whirling activity of creating vision boards, gazing at them throughout the night, and waiting for signs of greatness from the universe. Her metaph...

How to Become a Movie Star – theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

3Aug

By Saira KunjuvalappilNo Comments

Scotland

How to Become a Movie Star – theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

Stardom and Struggle: Maria Sara’s Honest Journey to the Spotlight In her energetic one-person show How to Become a Movie Star, Maria Sara takes the audience through a deeply personal, often humorous, and touching ride through the decades of her life — from childhood dreams to the tough-knocks realities of chasing stardom. Within 50 minutes, Maria's energy and sincerity own the stage as she glides easily through the decades of her life to demonstrate how each decade impacted her resolve and tenacity. The show is not just one of celebrity; it's a tribute to perseverance. Maria unveils the challenges, setbacks, and emotional price of chasing a dream, providing an insight into the unseen strife behind every victory. Her admiration for her hero, Gabriel Burns, is a unifying thread th...

Opening Concert: The Veil of the Temple – Usher Hall

3Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Opening Concert: The Veil of the Temple – Usher Hall

With its hushed reverence and cosmic scale, John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple opens this year’s Edinburgh International Festival not with a bang, but with an invocation. Across eight immersive hours in the Usher Hall, Tavener’s vast and luminous work offers something rare: not simply music, but a spiritual experience—at once intimate and immense, ancient and disarmingly modern.First performed in 2003 as an all-night vigil in London’s Temple Church, The Veil has never been heard in its entirety in Scotland—until now. It is a demanding work, not only for the 250-strong ensemble of singers and instrumentalists, but for the audience as well. Beginning at 2:30 p.m. and ending at 10:15pm, this performance asked for attention, stillness, and patience. It gave, in return, something deeply movi...

3Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Ah-Ma – theSpace @ Niddry Street

Produced by Cathy Lam Arts Creative, Ah-Ma (meaning grandmother) is a one-woman show in which our main character recounts fond memories of her grandmother who has since been diagnosed with dementia. Written and directed by Cathy Lam Patrie, this show is based on her experience with her own grandmother. Ah-Ma features as a part of Asia Base at the Edinburgh Fringe - a project that highlights talent from Hong Kong and Taiwan - aiming to share Asian art with an international audience. Kasen Tsui performs as our main character, using storytelling and movement to act as both the grandmother and the granddaughter. Kasen plays this role with dignity and thoughtfulness, basking in moments of quiet and taking her time to really take in her imaginary surroundings...

3Aug

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Romeo & Juliet – Courtyard Theatre

My last brush with Romeo and Juliet was at Wilton’s Music Hall 3 years ago for Rachel Garnet’s excellent Starcrossed, which focussed on the fractious relationship between Mercutio and Tybalt, but added an erotic queer twist to their violent passions. It was an audacious, yet clever spin on Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy and a prime example of the Romeo and Juliet Industrial Complex. From Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 blockbusting film (Romeo + Juliet) to Arthur Laurents’ musical, West Side Story, audiences are highly familiar with twists, takes and remixes of the most pop play from in the Bard’s canon. Adding another layer to this theatrical mille-feuille is Romeo and Juliet: Out of Pocket, devised by Argentinian playwright Emiliano Dionisi and directed by Alonso Íñiguez. This boldly inventiv...

Hamlet – Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden, Shakespeare North Playhouse

2Aug

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Hamlet – Sir Ken Dodd Performance Garden, Shakespeare North Playhouse

Director Steve Purcell is to be praised for his heavily abridged adaptation which, coming in at less than half the length of the full text, focuses on the family drama at the heart of the play, bringing a humanity to its protagonist that is rarely seen. Prince Hamlet (Richard Lessen), accompanied by his good friend Horatio (Laura Cooper-Jones), is consumed by grief and anger following the death of his father and his mother Gertrude’s (Tamsin Lynes) hasty marriage to his uncle, Claudius (Martin Gibbons), who then becomes king. He encounters the ghost of his father who reveals he was murdered by Claudius and demands revenge. Hamlet feigns madness to investigate the claim and plan his revenge which causes consternation at the court, whilst his relationship with Ophelia (Lynes), daughter of...

Standing In the Shadows of Giants – Traverse Theatre

2Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Standing In the Shadows of Giants – Traverse Theatre

You get the feeling that the substantial metal frames, the chunky lighting rig and mirror -walled set surrounding Lucie Barât on her oh-so-shiny red stage are all compensating for the flimsy mental scaffolding that supports her own psych, It teeters like a five-storey bamboo structure. The show begins with Lucie launching into a song, she has a clear and powerful voice, before signing cut to the sound desk. She interrupts herself to talk directly to the audience and give us a bit of personal history. Lucie always wanted to be an actor. But, from Drama School golden girl to dole queue drop out she fell, to call-centre fill-in, to failed STD advert auditionee and the very occasional paid acting job. A low point occurs in the earlie naughties when she throws up on the open-toed sandals ...

A Gambler’s Guide to Dying – Traverse Theatre

2Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

A Gambler’s Guide to Dying – Traverse Theatre

Well, no surprises, it’s brilliant! The endlessly Gallus (dictionary definition – Bold, daring, cheeky person bordering on arrogant. Derived from the Latin word for cockerel or rooster) Gary McNair does it again. The wee big yin puts a smile on everyone’s face with a masterclass in storytelling, and makes it all look incredibly, infuriatingly, easy. But, having loved his five star ‘Dear Billy’ tribute last year at The Assembly Rooms, I had rather been primed to expect excellence. This year, the globe-trotting Scotsman serves up a tale of a young boy and his gambling-obsessed grandad in his attempt, against the odds to reach the year 2000 and win a fortune off the bookies. Like a kilted, David Walliams creation, if you can overlook the odd sweary word, this is Roy-of-the-rovers...

2Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Make It Happen – Festival Theatre

It was a privilege to be in the packed audience at the Festival Theatre for this stunning production of James Graham’s exquisite new play. The 2025 Edinburgh International Festival could not have got off to a better start. This is a co-production by the EIF, the National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep Theatre, brilliantly directed by Andrew Panton. ‘Make It Happen’ was the mantra of the infamous CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Fred Goodwin, who expanded the 300 year old Edinburgh institution at a colossal pace to make it the world’s biggest bank. But in 2008, as global markets tumbled, the RBS faced collapse. Coincidentally both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor in 2008 were Scottish. And the play also reminds us that it was a Scotsman who in effect sparked the growth o...

Bare: A Pop Opera – Alba Theatre at Braw Venues @ Hill Street

2Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Bare: A Pop Opera – Alba Theatre at Braw Venues @ Hill Street

As part of their stacked lineup of shows for the Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh Little Theatre presents Bare: A Pop Opera. Set in Catholic boarding school St Cecilia’s, the musical follows the journey of the school’s pupils as they grapple with the complexities of relationships, sexuality, and faith. At its core is the secret relationship between Jason (played by Josh McPherson) and Peter (played by Callan Paterson). Peter is ready to be open about their love, while Jason wants to keep it hidden—thus sparking the central conflict. The musical itself is a rollercoaster, complete with surreal and striking moments like Mother Mary appearing in a fever dream as Dolly Parton, simulated sex on stage, and a subplot involving teenage pregnancy. While Bare tackles extremely heavy themes, includ...