Festival Theatre Archives - Page 7 of 8

<strong>The Snow Queen – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh</strong>

25Nov

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

The Snow Queen – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Always leave ‘em wanting more. That seems to be the philosophy behind Scottish Ballet’s latest production, the fairly short but very sweet production of “The Snow Queen”. A festive show for all the family at just 40 minutes for each of the two acts, with a 25-minute interval, this colourful charming fairy tale is perfectly pitched for all ages to enjoy without the wee ones getting too restless. “The Snow Queen” is a Hans Christian Andersen story on which the film “Frozen” is based, but Scottish Ballet brings the original tale to life with choreography by Christopher Hampson and music by Rimsky-Korsakov played by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra conducted by Jean-Claude Picard. It tells the story of two sisters, the Snow Queen, (Constance Devernay-Laurence) and the Summer ...

<strong>Edinburgh Gang Show 2O22 – Festival Theatre</strong>

4Nov

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Edinburgh Gang Show 2O22 – Festival Theatre

The Edinburgh Gang Show is the annual Scouting and girl-guiding variety show of singing, music-playing, dancing and comedy, which has now been happening since 1932, though Edinburgh's first one was in 1960, with the girls first joining in 1967. Covid has affected the continuity of the Edinburgh Gang Show, and not just in the usual ways the arts and other sectors have seen. Three years are a great deal of time in terms of age groups: the usual five sixths of participants being veterans from previous years and one sixth newbies have been reversed, with 100 members being new and only 20 returning, and only 20% of the Junior gang having even seen a previous year's show. Reviewing the artistic endeavours of minors runs the risk of becoming a real-life, non-comedy version of Alfred Molina's C...

South Pacific – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

26Oct

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

South Pacific – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Chichester Festival Theatre’s critically acclaimed production of South Pacific has found a temporary home in Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre during its 2022 tour. Written by the great Rodgers and Hammerstein and directed by Chichester’s artistic director, Daniel Evans, this production keeps the classic charm of the golden age while also looking visually stunning. South Pacific, as the name suggests, is set on a South Pacific island during the Second World War, showing the struggles of the army and marines as well as the inhabitants of the island. Arguably the strongest of performers is Julian Ovenden, who plays the role of Emile de Becque, the show’s leading man. Ovenden commands the audience’s attention whenever he is on stage, allowing his resonant voice to hit every part of the auditori...

Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

24Oct

By H.S. BakerNo Comments

Scotland

Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Les Ballets Trockadero, or “The Trocks”, is a company of professional male dancers who perform a repertoire of classical ballet, taking both male and female roles to great comic effect. Blokes in tutus dancing en pointe is an amusing concept in itself, but the comedy displayed in the slapstick parody of an art form that sometimes takes itself too seriously is a joy and a chuckle-fest from start to finish. The dancing is excellent; these guys are properly trained disciplined ballet dancers, the spoofs would not be so funny if it were otherwise. A shoulder shrug, a jerk of the head and some wonderfully funny facial expressions enhance the more obvious slapstick in the choreography. The dancers all have ballerina character names, with alter egos such as Colette A...

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

22Sep

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Osmonds: A New Musical – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

The Osmonds is a new Musical promoting the story of 70s family band The Osmonds as told by band member Jay Osmond. Starting from the boys first gig on TV and loosely following their lives through their triumphs, failures and inevitable split. Consider this a musical for the fans, but was this really a story that needed bringing to the stage? My answer is most likely no, don’t get me wrong the show is fun, colourful and high energy but the story is told in a very vague manner giving the audience very little too emotionally cling on to, meaning when the characters reach their lows, we aren’t all that invested. This is not of course due to any fault of the cast who were brilliant but due to the writing and perhaps the choice of Jay being the story teller, taking over the show story in a ch...

Don Giovanni – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

7Jun

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

Don Giovanni – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

‘Hurry hurry’ one character sings to another. ‘I can’t’ the other character replies. This is Mozart after all and the composer has never been known to keep things short and to the point. Don Giovanni doesn’t drag like the final acts of Figaro, but you do have to buckle yourself in for a lengthy ride. For those who don’t know the storyline of one of the greatest operas in the canon, the titular character of the opera, Don Giovanni, is more than just a philandering womanizing rake. He’s a liar, a rapist and a murderer. This is all apparent in the first 10 minutes when he’s already a committed a murder. As the opera progresses there are a series of characters baying for his blood, all wronged by his actions. When it seems he has achieved the impossible and dodged his demise he meets his en...

The Scandal at Mayerling – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

26May

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

The Scandal at Mayerling – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Considering the months of uncertainty, the arts have faced after the past two years, Scottish Ballet’s Scandal at Mayerling is not just a feat of performance, but a tremendous achievement. Delivering such an astonishing piece of performance art is no small undertaking, and in doing so, the company demonstrate their strength as world leading company. The scandal of the ballet’s title rocked Europe. In a small shooting lodge on the outskirts of the Viennese woods, the politics of Europe changed forever- it’s the rarely spoken catalyst of World War I. A Crown Prince with divergent political views could have changed the course of history if he had inherited the crown, but here he is, as the ballet ends, reliant on morphine, obsessed with his mistresses and lying dead with his lover. This is...

Anything Goes – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

12May

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

Anything Goes – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

When theatre reopened in London 2021, it opened with a bang. The Barbican’s Anything Goes starring Sutton Foster and Robert Lindsay was not just a highlight of 2021, but rather a theatre highlight of the decade. With a new star cast, starring Bonnie Langford, the absolutely de-lovely production hits the spot. Tonight’s cruise liner was crammed with as much action as a Shakespearean romantic comedy, if not more. Mistaken identity, farce and wall to wall tap dancing abound in every scene. Starlet Reno Sweeney (Kerry Ellis) is heading to New York aboard SS American, where her love Billy Crocker (Samuel Edwards) has also stowed away but is in hot pursuit of the debutante, Hope Harcourt (Nicole-Lily Baisden), who is due to be married to her PG Wodehouse-esque fiancé, Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. As...

Ballet Black – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

5May

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Ballet Black – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

After their hugely successful first visit to the Scottish capital in 2019, Ballet Black is finally back after their postponed 2020 show. This time, the London-based company is celebrating its 20th anniversary with two brand new pieces: Say It Out Loud and Black Sun. As I type this review, I notice the nail polish I am wearing – a blush pink tone- which is unoriginally called ballet slippers. This helps illustrate the fact that ballet is inherently white. The lack of diversity within ballet dancers and the struggle racialized performers face in the industry led Cassa Pancho, a trained dancer of Trinidadian and British parents, to fund Ballet Black in 2001 as a company to provide role models to young, aspiring black and Asian dancers. Over the course of these 20 years, Ballet Black has...

Singin’ In The Rain – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

29Apr

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Singin’ In The Rain – Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

It's 1927. Silent-film star Don Lockwood (Sam Lips) has it all, a wise-cracking best friend Cosmo Brown (Ross McLaren), fans, hit films and the most beautiful actress in town, Lina Lamont (Faye Tozer) on his arm. Then a chance meeting with a aspiring actress Kathy Selden (Charlotte Gooch) forces him to re-evaluate himself, just as the movies become the talkies, and everything must adapt or be left behind. The 1952 MGM classic this was adapted from was directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, and starred Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen. It is perhaps least famous for being the era's equivalent of a jukebox musical, having been conceived around songs written and released almost two decades previously. However, the film quickly eclipsed the songs' ...