Festival Theatre Archives - Page 2 of 8

24Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

After the Silence – Festival Theatre

In Brazil, the award-winning novel, Torto Arado has sold more than 800,000 copies. Spotlighting historical and contemporary slavery, injustice and inequality, this is perfect fictional material for Christiane Jatahy to blend with her journalistic techniques. The novel’s characters relate incidents from Torto Arado with the documentary history of João Pedro Teixeira, a militant peasant who was murdered in 1964 and the perpetrators never punished. Jatahy emphasises the root of fiction is in fact. Her objective always is to raise awareness and to connect the past and the present in immersive projects that include the audience. After the Silence works on several levels. The cast, Caju Bezerra, Aduni Guedes, Julaina França and Gal Pereira interact with the huge film screen, showing real ...

The Marriage of Figaro – Festival Theatre

20Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Marriage of Figaro – Festival Theatre

At a lengthy 3 and a half hours, performed in Italian with English subtitles, this was, to be honest, a somewhat daunting proposition. More used to one hour long bite-sized Fringe morsels, an opera definitely requires a long-distance mentality rather than a sprint approach. On reflection, Kirill Serebrenbbnikov’s take on Mozart’s comic opera, The Marriage of Figaro, would have been better as a half-marathon. The joy, humour and accessibility of the first act is worth five stars, but what follows is, frankly, incomprehensible, confused and humourless that seemingly almost forgets that there is an audience, drenching itself in opulence and superficial appearance to the point of self-destruction. The weirdly lavish mirrored art and the butchery of most of the cast in the second act is like...

5Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Carmen – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Bizet’s Carmen was first performed on March 3rd, 1875 at the Opéra-Comique, Paris. Now the very same company brings a modern, super-sensual version to Edinburgh from 4th – 8th August, co-produced by Opernhaus Zürich. On Opening Night in 1875, several morning papers published vitriolic letters. One claimed: "Carmen presents most unsavory characters, in such bad taste that the work might very well be ill-advised." Yet, go ahead it did, to healthy box office takings. Bizet, unfortunately, died of a heart attack at the very moment the curtain fell on the 32nd performance on June 3, 1875. Soon after it was closed in Paris, but it was soon to be a hit in Vienna and Brussels. When you go to see a world class, flamboyant and colourful opera like Carmen, you expect (and take for granted) that...

Cats: The Beyond Broadway Experience – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

29Jul

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Scotland

Cats: The Beyond Broadway Experience – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

This production of the iconic stage musical, Cats, is brought to us by a huge cast of accomplished young performers The programme lists 31 principals and 161 ensemble members. This is a truly ambitious production, with challenging songs and movement, and the cast rise to the occasion, showcasing their impressive dance, vocal and acting skills. The show is comprised of a series of “chapters”, each introducing us to either a character, or an aspect of the community of Jellicle Cats. At the interval, some audience members told me that they were struggling to follow the story, but perhaps it is better to think of the piece as a collection of interconnected stories. As Grizelda, Kirsty Montgomery has the challenge of singing the haunting song, Memory. As well as being vocally demanding, t...

Lea Salonga – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

3Jul

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Lea Salonga – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

A rare opportunity to see one of the greatest singers of our time, a true icon of musical theatre and a Disney princess twice over. The singing voice of warrior, Mulan and Princess Jasmine in Alladin, but perhaps best known for her role as Kim in Miss Saigon for over fifteen years, Salonga has a long list of stage and screen credits, spanning over 35 years. When Salonga took on the role of Kim in Miss Saigon in 1989, aged just 18, she went on to become the first Asian performer to win a Tony and one of the youngest to win an Olivier. In the 1990’s she played Eponine alongside, Michael Ball’s Marius in Les Misérables. The rest, as they say, is history. Most recently starring in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, in London’s West End, she has taken time out to tour the UK, for eight perfo...

27Jun

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Life of Pi – Festival Theatre

Life of Pi at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre is a treat for the senses. Based on Yann Martel's novel of the same name, the action commences in a bleak, bare hospital ward where Pi (Sonya Venugopal) is hiding under the bed. The clever use of projection (Andrzej Goulding) and sound effects (Carolyn Downing) indicate time and place. It is set pre-computerisation, so letters appear on the wall as if from a typewriter with suitable tap, tap, tap reverberations. As soon as recollections flood the stage, this grey, sterile room transforms seamlessly into a verdant, noisy zoo in India; a colourful Bazaar; and a ship’s deck without effort - as if by magic. Before you know it, the transformation has happened: we are adrift upon an ocean with no land in sight and several dangerous animals for compa...

19Jun

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Ballet Black: Heroes – Festival Theatre

The theatre is packed, and full of anticipation. These artists have something new to say. I have enjoyed many ballet performances in my time, but I have never seen anything like this. Nevertheless, this double bill from Ballet Black is rooted in tradition. It is also technically excellent. This feels brand new, always ballet but with influences from other dance styles, and a dynamic soundtrack that recognises the modern and the classical. Throughout the double bill, the intention of the performers is expressed with a powerful intensity. I am always inspired by the ability of dance, and dancers, to cut through the busyness of words, and get to the guts of a story. If At First, choreographed by Sophie Laplane, is a meditation on power, which is represented by a crown. Initially one dan...

Scottish Opera: La traviata – Festival Theatre

8Jun

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Scottish Opera: La traviata – Festival Theatre

It is an under-reported fact that the 2001 Baz Luhrman jukebox musical Moulin Rouge is an adaptation of 1853 Verdi opera La Traviata, itself an adaptation of the 1848 novel La Dame aux Camelias, the most famous (and autobiographical) work of Alexandre Dumas Fils (son of the more well-known creator of the Three Musketeers). All three works take place in Paris and, in all three, a famous courtesan (here Hye-Youn Lee as Violetta Valery) with consumption falls in love with an idealistic young man (here Ji-Min Park as Alfredo Germont) with a disapproving father (Giorgio Germont as Phillip Rhodes). She then forsakes all others until convinced to leave him by a father figure, which she does reluctantly with a lie, for an aristocrat (either a Count, a duke, or here Baron Douphol, played by Nichola...

Iain Stirling: Relevant – Festival Theatre

1Jun

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Iain Stirling: Relevant – Festival Theatre

And, it turns out, good friend and co-writer Steve Bugeja, so more like a double-bill. The two were responsible for Buffering, a TV series that ran from 2021 to 2023, residing now, jokes Iain, amongst the ads on ITVX. It’s doubtful he’s lost much sleep over its demise, proud possessor of a 15-year career that started with CBBC in 2009, taking in presenting, stand-up, writing and acting. Not to mention the narrator’s role on ITV2’s cerebral masterpiece Love Island. Nor Taskmaster, Loose Women and Gogglebox… however, propelled atop a wave of youthful energy, at the age of 36 he’s beginning to wonder if he’s still ‘relevant’. Bounding on to the stage to warm up the audience, Iain announces Steve, who ponders, following a recent break-up, the topic of ‘the ick’, Dunfermline and an awkward e...

Country Roads: One Night of Country Classics – Festival Theatre

31May

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Country Roads: One Night of Country Classics – Festival Theatre

“I’m Johnny Cash” says a performer, and we believe him, with his soothing, authoritative voice and stage presence. The line-up also includes dead ringers for Patsy Kline, Kenny Rogers, and the one-and-only Dolly Parton. They aren’t the real superstars, of course, but they put on a hell of a show. Songs include “Ring of Fire” (apparently inspired by a Wetherspoons curry), “Rhinestone Cowboy” and “Jolene”, as well as the title song. The performers want us to join in, and gradually, the audience gains confidence and starts singing along. The front-of-house staff were bemused by the number of audience members who went up to the front of the stage, and they spent the second half of the show trying to get people to get people to go back to their seats. There was a party atmosphere in the pack...