Monday, August 31

Tag: George Square

House of Life – Underbelly, George Square
13Aug By Torya HughesNo Comments
Scotland

House of Life – Underbelly, George Square

Billed as “one part sermon, one part purge, three parts party”, House of Life delivers a joyous immersive experience with plenty of glitter. Led by the RaveRend and his straight-faced sidekick Trev, the audience are encouraged to participate in a multi-level guide to ascension.  The experience starts in the queue outside, where Ben Welch’s RaveRend anoints the waiting audience with glitter. Once in the venue, he hurls multi-coloured egg shakers into the crowd, while Trev (played by Lawrence Cole) awkwardly checks the loop machine and sound equipment in the corner. The two characters are direct opposites, RaveRend clad from head to toe in sparkly vestments, while Trev sports a grey suit and tie. This makes for quite a few comedy moments, and allows Trev to go on the journey of ascen...
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The Jolly Fisherman – Buttercup, Underbelly, George Square
11Aug By Greg HolsteadNo Comments
Scotland

The Jolly Fisherman – Buttercup, Underbelly, George Square

There is a certain irony in spending ten minutes wandering up and down George Square Gardens trying to find a play which turns out to be largely about our need to find a place to belong. The Jolly Fisherman isn't actually inside the Gardens at all. Eventually I discover it outside, beside the box office, housed in what looks remarkably like a Portakabin. Perhaps accidentally, it is the perfect introduction to John Dinneen's thoughtful new play about place, identity and what happens when the buildings we invest with meaning cease to be ours. At its centre are Alan and Amir, childhood friends growing up in a changing East London. The Jolly Fisherman pub becomes the physical point around which their lives, and eventually their differing ideas about belonging, revolve....
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Garry Starr – Underbelly, George Square
16Aug By Greg HolsteadNo Comments
Scotland

Garry Starr – Underbelly, George Square

Some Fringe shows are clever. Some are chaotic. And some, like Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, gleefully throw themselves off the rails and somehow land in a place of dazzling, ridiculous beauty. Damien Warren Smith’s alter ego, Garry Starr, attempts to perform every Penguin Classic novel in the space of 70 minutes. Dressed in the publisher’s signature flippers and not much else, in fact, absolutely nothing else for most of the show, he cycles through Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Little Women, Of Mice and Men and dozens more at a breakneck pace, each rendered in his distinctive cocktail of physical clowning, improvisation, and subversive silliness. Yes, he’s naked. The first thing an audience member needs to know is that this isn’t a fleeting gimmick, it’s the performance unif...
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I Wish you Well: Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical – Underbelly, George Square
24Aug By Michelle KnightNo Comments
Scotland

I Wish you Well: Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Trial Musical – Underbelly, George Square

A camp parody of amusement based on the infamous 2023 ski trial of Gwyneth vs Terry.   “Nothing ever happens in a court in Utah” then Gwyneth comes to town, and that is when the fun starts.  With a cast of 4 this fast-paced musical picks at the not so subtle evidence in court where Terry is suing Gwyneth for a brain injury sustained in the accident. Gwyneth is suing Terry for $1 for the inconvenience of it all, she is not happy.  From the outset the scene is set, staged in court and it is not long before each character bursts onto the scene with their individuality, and musical style. The story lines flow seamlessly, the musicality is on point, and all mixed in with a cabaret choreographic style that Judge Jude, Idnss Kargbo showcases perfectly.  He leaves not...
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Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch – Underbelly, George Square
21Aug By Kat CliffordNo Comments
Scotland

Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch – Underbelly, George Square

Can I give this show 6 stars?! Unfortunate is a phenomenal, intelligent, filthy, satirical extravaganza! Every part of this camp, queer, raunchy retelling of the little mermaid from the perspective of Ursula, the sea witch, was on point. The cast were an extremely gifted group of individuals.  Ursula, played in this performance by Robyn Grant, was absolutely magnetic and had a voice that was pure electricity. Nearly the entire cast played multiple characters and their portrayals were so unique and different it really felt like watching an entirely different person each change. This is an extremely talented group of performers who have honed their craft to near flawless. The duets between Triton (George Whitty) and Ursula were exhilarating and every song in the show was performed wi...
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