Assembly Rooms Archives - Page 3 of 3

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...

Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood – Assembly Rooms

14Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood – Assembly Rooms

Victoria Wood is one of those northern comedians whose expressions find a way into your life, without you really even knowing it. ‘Seventy-two baps Connie, you slice, I’ll spread,’ her joke on how the British deal with the funeral of a loved one. She had a way of looking at life and finding the humour in people’s day-to-day existence. Even though it is six years since she died, she still has a loyal following, and her sense of humour runs through people like the message in a stick of Blackpool rock. As a northern lass and fan of the late Victoria Wood, I went along to spend an hour in the company of other fans who appreciated her and to enjoy reminiscing about her very funny material, but also the amazing skill she had in creating these amusing tunes. Paulus is a fe...

Something About George – Assembly Rooms Spiegeltent

9Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Something About George – Assembly Rooms Spiegeltent

The songs of George Harrison are something of an enigma to many. More known as a member of The Beatles, the ‘greatest band in the history of the world’, than a solo artist. This show aims to set the record straight, and does a pretty good job of that, although it falls short on other fronts. Through songs like, All Things Must Change, Something and My Sweet Lord, Daniel Taylor, tightly accompanied by Jon Fellowes on Guitar and backing vocals and Jon Thorn on Keyboards takes us at a swift pace through Harrison’s extensive solo repertoire. Along the way Taylor also fills in many of the blanks that few of us were aware of – his difficult marriages, his legal battles, his part in the creation of the worlds first super group, The Travelling Willburys his work in film production, and hi...

9Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Something About Simon – Assembly Rooms

The songs of Paul Simon are embedded in all of us - The Sound of Silence, Homeward Bound, The Boxer, and of course Bridge Over Troubled Water. Gary Edward Jones turn musical shaman as he draws Paul Simon classics from our very souls, in the almost mystical surroundings of the Assembly Rooms George Street Spiegeltent. Perhaps the only things missing are giant beanbags and joss sticks to make this a truly heavenly experience. There is no doubt that Jones has an innate talent for relaxing his audience – his measured, almost whispered, hypnotic delivery and his great stillness anchor him in front of a rapt audience. You could see this retelling working equally well – perhaps even better - in a church. There is a reverence here, and it is not lost. Having spent twenty years as a singer...