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Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People – Pleasance

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People – Pleasance

Well, don’t make the same mistake I made by queuing like an idiot at Below instead of Beneath. I should have figured when I was the only one waiting in line! Lorna Rose Treen follows up last year’s Skin Pigeon with a more cohesive, diner-themed hour that’s still packed with the absurdity and oddball characters she’s known for. From a long-armed trucker to a teenage orthodontic nightmare, it’s silly, self-aware, and frequently hilarious, even when it knowingly “fails” at its own stated mission. If you enjoyed Skin Pigeon last year, you will love this. Here, the whole thing revolves around an American diner, albeit a diner as seen through Treen’s surreal lens, and also around her tongue-in-cheek mission statement: having allegedly “broken comedy” in 2023 with her Dave’s Funniest Jo...

Poe – Theatre 2 theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

16Aug

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Poe – Theatre 2 theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

Edgar Allan Poe's death remains mysterious to this day. He was found delirious and ill in a tavern on 3rd October 1849 and was dead 4 days of later, of what has been suggested to have been anything from illness, suicide, murder, or even non-consensual electoral fraud gone wrong. Devised by Leon Witcomb, (who also plays Shape 2 / Fortunato / Old Man / Doctor) Michael Ward (Shape 1/Servant/Policeman/Dr Moran) and Chris Bedford (Poe) uses Poe's unusual final moments as a starting point, interspersing his final moments in with adaptations of several of his most famous tales. Versions of The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, Murders In The Rue Morge and The Pit and the Pendulum become a collage of delirious memories, augmented by lights (strobe warning to the photosens...

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Ohio – Assembly Roxy

One of the hottest tickets on the Fringe, maybe the hottest, from the producers that brought you Fleabag and Baby Reindeer. Sold out for most of the run before the Fringe even started, but if you are willing to hang around the ticket booth at exactly two hours before showtime you might just be lucky enough to snag the odd seat. This one’s going to tour, and it deserves to.The Bengsons, husband and wife, Shaun and Abigail, call Ohio an “ecstatic grief concert,” which sounds like something dreamed up by a marketing intern on too much kombucha. But within about thirty seconds you realise they mean it, every word. This is part gig, part confession, part secular revival meeting, and part science lecture for people who didn’t know they wanted to learn about the inner ear.Shaun Bengson, bespectac...

16Aug

By Charles PipeNo Comments

Scotland

Go West! – theSpace @ Niddry Street

An entertaining and stimulating piece of absurdist theatre, steeped in Americana and dripping with atmosphere. This skilfully performed and expertly directed two-hander oozes professionalism and confidence from the very start. As the audience enter, the sound design – “white-noise” radio static – and performer Amy Scollard’s onstage presence, tapping a foot impatiently, force the audience to quieten down and settle into the ambience. A handful of props adorn the stage – crates, maps, notebooks, etc – alongside a single cactus. Every element of visual design – props, costumes, set, lighting – share a uniform, monochrome, muted beige palette. This aesthetic mirrors the desolate setting of the play, while also acting as a blank canvas upon which the performers and script paint a vivid ...

Consumption – Paradise in Augustines (The Studio)

16Aug

By Gill LewisNo Comments

Scotland

Consumption – Paradise in Augustines (The Studio)

Something out of the ordinary is being cooked up, with the right ingredients this dark comedy drama could be a tasty satisfying dish. Consumption has real promise and potential with its premise providing the opportunity for plenty of unsettling humour, and delicious farcical opportunities. Unfortunately, this production by Beware of the Theatre doesn’t gather the momentum with severe pacing issues which makes the production feel laboured, reducing the urgency of the situation. We meet Charlie and Vic, an allusive but endearing pair who keep themselves to themselves. They happily live quietly on a protein rich diet, with Vic or the Hillstead Huntsman as he’s more commonly known, arranging regular ‘shopping trips’ to pick up the meat, so to speak. They’re living in w...

15Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Anthem For Dissatisfaction – Summerhall

A loud, brash, and unapologetically political coming-of-age tale set to a killer soundtrack of working-class anthems, Oasis, Reverend and the Makers, the Manics, Springsteen. Anthem for Dissatisfaction bursts with energy and heart, but in Summerhall’s small Red Lecture Theatre it sometimes plays like it’s still aiming too big. Big performances, big music, big feelings, and just a bit too much of all three. It starts strong, with Jamie talking about his big sister, Sarah, his “own personal NME”, and their shared love of music and the first record they owned from 2008: The State of Things by Reverend and the Makers. From there, we’re into austerity Britain (and Northern Ireland), and a 12-year-old’s question: “What the hell are we spending our money on?” When there’s no lavish lifesty...

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Venue 45 at theSpace

15Aug

By Marcelina KruczyńskaNo Comments

Scotland

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Venue 45 at theSpace

Who would have thought that the modern TV show Love Island and Midsummer Night’s Dream would have anything in common. One’s a Shakespearian play that despite being a comedy still has Shakespear’s characteristically difficult lines which one could argue often deters modern audiences. While the other is a modern reality TV dating show, which features day to day lingo which makes it relatable. Naturally, one would never pair these two sources of entertainment together and yet New Stagers did just that. Not only did New Stagers connect the dots between these two vastly different means of entertainment but they also managed to mesh them together in their unique adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the result? An overwhelmingly positive response from the audience packed theatre. The p...

15Aug

By Joe LangNo Comments

Scotland

20/20 – theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

20/20 tackles the timeless tale of Orpheus and Eurydice with a modern twist, taking place in 2020 with Orpheus falling in love with a reincarnated version of Eurydice. This baseline for the plot had much potential, as the Greek tale is still ripe with thematic relevance, as seen by the recent smash hit ‘Hadestown’. However, it saddens me to say that this needed a lot more re-drafts and a more focused understanding of the tone before being executed on a stage. I truly admire the passion and dedication poured into this show, as you can see it reflected on stage through each actor's performance. The lead actors of Orpheus and Eurydice are very charming, and if given stronger material, they could have shown off their talents in a much more effective way. The material itself bounces from...

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – Liverpool Empire

15Aug

By Abigail PendleburyNo Comments

North West

Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – Liverpool Empire

From the opening notes of ‘Simply the Best’ and the curtain rising into the sky, you know you’re in for a rollercoaster of a night. Tina: The Tina Turner Musical delivers a powerful evening of storytelling and soul, bringing the extraordinary yet deeply intense life of Tina Turner to life. This heart-wrenching yet highly energetic performance had audiences cheering Tina on her journey from the very start. Elle Ma-Kinga N’Zuzi sensationally portrays the role of Tina, embodying her every move and likeness to a tea. Her vocal prowess is something to be rivalled; she really brought Tina’s vulnerability and powerful nature to the audience. Her ability to maintain vocal composure whilst depicting the raw and emotional scenes of the domestic violence Tina went through really allows for audienc...

Cara & Kelly are Best Friends Forever For Life – The Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Three)

15Aug

By Gill LewisNo Comments

Scotland

Cara & Kelly are Best Friends Forever For Life – The Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Three)

A powerful two hander which packs a punch with its raw and honest portrayal of two larger than life best friends, with some fatal consequences. Nothing is off topic between best pals Cara and Kelly, inseparable soul sisters and best friends who each wear the other half of a heart necklace, a symbol of their friendship. Yet loyalties become blurred as their union is tested to its limits. A friendship, which as we discover, inhabits cracks observed during their scathing arguments, which are littered with hurtful truths. A co-dependence is suggested by Kelly feeling put upon and burdened by Cara’s needs fueled by her broken family background and absent care givers. Their different socio-economic backgrounds become increasingly and painfully apparent. Hanging o...