Greenside @ Riddles Court Archives

The Red Room – Greenside @ Riddles Court

15Aug

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

The Red Room – Greenside @ Riddles Court

The infamous red room of Lorraine Castle is said to be haunted and has seen the deaths of several people. But our protagonist (Ellie Ball) is a sceptic and, despite the warnings from the 3 castle inhabitants, has decided to spend the night in the room, alone. Or is she...? The Red Room was adapted from a story by HG Wells (writer of The War of The Worlds, The Invisible Man, and The Time Machine, amongst others) by the performer's sister Charlotte Ball. It's told entirely from the point of view of the protagonist and on that single night (with a few semi-flashbacks through tellings of what happened to previous occupants), with only the performer, a torch and a covered mirror in the corner. Ball is an energetic and likable performer, bringing both urgency and the occasional moment ...

Author, Composer, Soldier-of-a-sort – Greenside @ Riddles Court

14Aug

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Author, Composer, Soldier-of-a-sort – Greenside @ Riddles Court

Written and performed by Jan Carey, Author, Composer, Soldier-of-a-sort sees Marion Scott present a biography of her relationship with Ivor Gurney by means of their letters to each other and the music of Gurney. Carey masterfully swings between the voices of both Scott and Gurney, giving us a sense of the eccentric personality of Gurney, and the wistful nature of Scott as she reflects on the pair’s friendship. Despite being Carey’s first piece of writing, this play is a true, heartfelt representation of what theatre should be. The audience are taken on a journey of reminiscence that leaves us with both a hollowness and fullness that only an exceptional show can conjure. With humour and sadness, we are given a glimpse into a beautiful relationship and the themes tha...

Yes, We’re Related – Greenside @ Riddles Court

13Aug

By Rebecca FosterNo Comments

Scotland

Yes, We’re Related – Greenside @ Riddles Court

Grief does crazy things to people and Yes, We’re Related explores the different reactions of two sisters to the loss of their mother on the first-year anniversary of her death. The play starts with the three actors emerging from the audience and raving whilst in squirrel masks. It was an entertaining, albeit odd, start to the show which I Sara wakes from sleeping in a tent in the siblings’ mother’s old house before her serious sister, Saskia, and her dopey boyfriend, Mark, arrive to help set up the party Saskia has organised to mark the first death anniversary. When questioned about the noise coming from her bedroom, Sara confesses that there is a squirrel living in there. The play suggests that the squirrel is a metaphor for their dead mum as Sara discusses not wanting to let...

7Aug

By Susan CohenNo Comments

Scotland

Girlhood – Greenside @ Riddles Court

Over the course of a New Year’s Eve, this play portrays how three women confront their ideas and perceptions of motherhood and shows how their relationships with their mothers have defined most of their lives. With sharp use of dialogue, space and movement, three vignettes unfold on stage at the same time and we observe how an unrealistic obsession with a perfect future contrasts with an unplanned single pregnancy and a resistance to being pressurised into motherhood. Tiegan Byrne, a new playwright, has created a complex play here which touches upon manipulation and vulnerability, fear and expectation and raises that all-important question, why do we women feel the way we do? Her answer is clear – we are the daughters of our mothers. Or is it that strai...

15Aug

By Danielle FarrowNo Comments

Scotland

Ophelia – Greenside @ Riddles Court

Do women still need to fight for space simply to be? As uncomfortable as it is to watch a woman always holding back, are we willing to see her rage? I recommend watching Bristol University Spotlights’ ‘Ophelia’ to help answer such questions with their play based on Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ but very much set in the world of a modern Ophelia. This is a world where we don’t quite learn how Hamlet would come to kill Ophelia’s father, but that is actually in keeping with it being Ophelia’s story and with the narrowness of the space within which she is confined. The play is particularly strong at the start, revealing the young protagonist’s mind: very real, very relatable. Her meeting with Hamlet beautifully demonstrates why she is attracted to him and why he can take such possession of ...