Edinburgh Festival Fringe Archives - Page 3 of 13

The Disney Delusion – Underbelly Bristo Square

22Aug

By Amy HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Disney Delusion – Underbelly Bristo Square

Award-winning Canadian comedian Leif Oleson-Cormack presented his stand-up show ‘The Disney Delusion’ at the Edinburgh Fringe after a sold-out run at the Edmonton Fringe. Oleson-Cormack wore his heart on his sleeve throughout his intimate monologue about unrequited-love. Despite moments of deep-hearted tenderness this was primarily a light-hearted show that was easy to laugh along to. Attending this show felt like going for a drink with that one friend who tells you the most ridiculously scandalous stories. The show began by giving a brief overview of Oleson-Cormack’s love life (touching on themes such as virginity and sexuality) before developing into a more linear storyline with a play-like feel. Within this story the dramatization of eccentric characters such as The Doctor, The ...

22Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Shooglenifty – Rose Theatre, Edinburgh

I vaguely recall the Shoogles, it must have been more than 25 years ago in some dank Edinburgh cellar. But I still remember being moved, shocked even, by the discovery that Scottish traditional music could be funky, edgy, dance-worthy! I cannot remember what I was expecting then (Jimmy Shand perhaps?!), but the band that termed the phrase Acid Croft were a musical revelation. And here tonight, at The Rose Theatre, nothing has changed, yet everything has changed. No longer led by their charismatically big-bearded frontman, fiddler, Angus Grant, who used to bound around the stage like some BFG and always whipped the crowd up a storm, lost way too early to throat cancer in 2016. But somehow, they have survived, regrouped, with new fiddler Eilidh Shaw, fitting in beautifully to the ...

22Aug

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

Scotland

Bacon – Summerhall

Bacon, written by Sophie Swithinbank, and brought to the Edinburgh Fringe by HFH Productions, is a masterclass in storytelling. Focusing on the lives of fifteen-year-old’s Mark, Corey Montague-Sholay, and Darren, William Robinson, it explores masculinity, sexuality, and the dangers of toxicity in youthful relationships. Mark has just joined a new school and is struggling to make friends until he meets the hot-tempered Darren. The two could not be more different, and as such seem drawn to one another. Swithinbank’s script is electric. Despite repeatedly switching between narration and dialogue, it feels incredibly real. The characters may address the audience, but they never stop feeling like actual human beings. Perhaps this is because they are both so relatable, albeit in very differe...

22Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Heaven – Traverse Theatre

This play is a compelling duel monologue between a wife and her husband during the weekend of a spirited wedding celebration in a small town in the Irish Midlands. The dialogue alternates between Janet Moran’s Mairead, a 50-something social worker with a fiery temper, and Mal, her mild-mannered teacher husband who has somehow managed to suppress his homosexual leanings for the last thirty years, but suddenly, with the littlest of pushes, finds a calling to action them. Meanwhile, Mairead finds her own passions reignited in an old flame who she hasn’t seen since she was 20. Beautifully written by Eugene O’Brien, and sensitively delivered with a light Irish brogue, direct to the audience, has everyone leaning in and laughing or smiling knowingly. The set and lighting design are exqui...

21Aug

By Euan HuthNo Comments

Scotland

1984 – Assembly Roxy

One of the main advantages of theatre is that the actors are physically there in front of you acting. There is a certain rawness to theatre that gives it this powerfulness, which can be used to convey strong messages and themes and emotion to audiences. 1984 is a story that could greatly benefit from that rawness, but it does not deliver. It is a piece that is very relevant in this day and age, Big Brother and The Party oppressing the masses with the Thought Police, no-one is allowed independent thought, and Winston Smith finds himself in the Department of Love after falling for Julia, a rebellious woman he meets in a world that is devoid of any real emotion. The shows biggest failing is the fact that all the interactions between these two pivotal characters is all done through ...

After The Act (A Section 28 Musical) – Traverse Theatre

21Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

After The Act (A Section 28 Musical) – Traverse Theatre

A law existed until very recently which refused to acknowledge that gay and lesbian existence was normal. Between 1988 and 2003 a local government act was introduced which decreed that councils and schools throughout the United Kingdom be silent on homosexuality and not spend time in lessons discussing or acknowledging let alone normalising its existence. This production by Breach Theatre, written by Ellice Stevens and Billy Barrett, with an original score by Frew, After The Act takes as it’s starting point the Danish children’s book Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin, which caused such an uproar when it was launched into schools in the early 1980’s. Set against the suddenly rising AIDS epidemic, people panicked, burned the books, protests against teaching same-sex relationships in schoo...

The Improv Musical – Gilded Balloon, Patter Hoose

20Aug

By Ben PearsonNo Comments

Scotland

The Improv Musical – Gilded Balloon, Patter Hoose

Music Theatre Warwick, from the University of Warwick, have made the impossible look easy in this entirely improvised musical. The audience chose the two lead characters, Sherlock Holmes and SpongeBob SquarePants, and the location: the Titanic. The musical was named ‘who lives in a monocle under the sea’, by a particularly witty band member, and the performers got straight into it. What followed was hilarious, ridiculous, and highly entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the short mid-way break, in which the audience decided the next plot point. In this case, that John Watson, who had been thrown overboard, would arrive back on the Titanic to declare his love to SpongeBob through an opera song. It was just as crazy and hysterical as it sounds. Throughout the show, I wa...

20Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Adults – Traverse Theatre

Back to The Traverse Theatre, which can be relied upon for good quality shows with high production values, great tech and quality actors throughout the year, but really pulls out the stops come Fringe time. So, here comes my review number 4 for the ‘Trav’ this time round. Adults isa slightly awkward three-hander from Kieran Hurley which seeks to challenge our conception of what is sexually ‘normal’, whilst also trying to be a serious commentary on the economics of the sex work industry within the capitalist market economy, and a sex farce. Can it really be all these things? This starts so well and with a swarth of laughs in the first half, the audience lean in as Madam Zara (Dani Heron) realises that the latest customer to her tiny attic flat/brothel is none other than her old i...

TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] – EICC

20Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

TONY! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] – EICC

Tony! The Tony Blair Rock Opera is a modern rock opera that sets out to tell the story of the ex-prime minister who modernised Labour and catapulted them to new heights with his ‘New Labour’ landslide election victory in 1997, ending 18 years of Conservative government. Like Tony Blair himself, this production has good points, and bad points. It is probably forgivable and understandable that this show steers clear of outright satire, after all, Blair is still alive and has very, very deep pockets. Some parts of the script actually make comic reference to this! Unfortunately, this lack of bite made for an enjoyable, but perhaps ultimately unedifying evening. More Spitting image than Question Time but then again what do you expect from writer Harry Hill! We start the evening, with ...

20Aug

By Amy HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Dazzling – theSpace @ Niddry Street

One-woman show ‘Dazzling’ is a drama exploring themes of love, addiction, and mental health through a queer lens. Sexuality and gender were naturally integrated into the storyline (especially the use of they/them pronouns for character Fi) which gave the show an innate inclusivity that felt naturally written and performed. I would like to see more fringe shows break social norms in this supportive way. Holly Sewel’s writing used poetic technique to convey emotion in a beautiful and thought-provoking way. The use of poetry was especially effective during the manic runs of monologue where Alix’s bounding speech created a sense of loss of control. The final metaphor of the putting a pillow in-between two people to create a boundary whilst also allowing them to lean upon each other was...