Pleasance Archives - North West End UK

19Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Alright Sunshine – Pleasance

All Right Sunshine, written by Isla Cowan and directed by Debbie Hannan, is a blistering one-woman play that probes power, gender, and the policing of public space, with a performance that holds the room in an iron grip. At its heart is Molly Geddes as PC Nicky McCreadie, delivering a turn of such intensity and nuance that it feels less like acting and more like possession. From the outset, we know this is about the police, but the framing is unexpected, Geddes’ McCreadie is just five foot tall, far removed from the towering physical ideal once required of recruits. The irony is not lost. Once upon a time, men had to be six feet tall and women five foot eight to join the force. Now here is a small-statured officer, pigeonholed as a “mother figure” on weekend shifts, yet treated with...

18Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Hot Mess – Pleasance

The Fringe thrives on bold ideas, and Hot Mess, the new pop rom-com musical from Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote, delivers one of the festival’s cleverest conceits. Earth and Humanity meet, date, fight, fall in and out of love, and in the process chart the fate of the planet itself. It’s a relationship comedy where the stakes couldn’t be higher. The show is anchored by two knockout performances. Danielle Steers (best known for SIX: The Musical and Bat Out of Hell), as Earth, has the kind of vocal power that can fill a West End house, let alone a Pleasance studio. She moves effortlessly from the low, smoky tones of conversational numbers to full-on belt, with songs like The Next Big Thing and Better With Time (appearing early and reprised later with even greater punch) setting the...

Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin – Pleasance

18Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin – Pleasance

If you want big budget spectacle, this is not the show for you. If you want to spend an hour wedged into a tiny basement with less than 50 people while laughing at the genius of Charlie Chaplin brought to life, then you have come to the right place. The Pleasance Below is a tiny venue, just a few rows of tightly packed raked seating, and when I was there, it was full. This is theatre in its most intimate form, no one more than a couple of metres from the performer, and absolutely nowhere to hide if you are picked for a bit of audience interaction. Marcel Cole, who both wrote and performs Smile, takes on the impossible task of distilling Chaplin’s life and art into a single hour, and somehow makes it feel both complete and personal. The show mixes physical comedy, mime, and a light s...

17Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Fly, You Fools – Pleasance

One does not simply walk into the Pleasance, buy a ticket for Fly, You Fools! and watch a brilliant parody. Or do they? Well, yes, they probably do. Although, if you can arrange a giant eagle, that might be even quicker. Recent Cutbacks lovingly absurd retelling of The Fellowship of the Ring manages to cram an entire epic into a single, glorious, hour of physical comedy, shadow play, live Foley, and a flurry of blink and you miss them references. This is the sort of show that rewards a second viewing, there are so many visual and verbal easter eggs for Tolkien fans that you will spot new gags each time. The cast of three, Nick Abeel, Kyle Schaefer, and Regan Sims, handle an impossible number of roles with effortless dexterity. Gandalf, played full height while everyone else shuff...

Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People – Pleasance

16Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People – Pleasance

Well, don’t make the same mistake I made by queuing like an idiot at Below instead of Beneath. I should have figured when I was the only one waiting in line! Lorna Rose Treen follows up last year’s Skin Pigeon with a more cohesive, diner-themed hour that’s still packed with the absurdity and oddball characters she’s known for. From a long-armed trucker to a teenage orthodontic nightmare, it’s silly, self-aware, and frequently hilarious, even when it knowingly “fails” at its own stated mission. If you enjoyed Skin Pigeon last year, you will love this. Here, the whole thing revolves around an American diner, albeit a diner as seen through Treen’s surreal lens, and also around her tongue-in-cheek mission statement: having allegedly “broken comedy” in 2023 with her Dave’s Funniest Jo...

Hold On To Your Butts – The Pleasance Courtyard (Forth)

15Aug

By Gill LewisNo Comments

Scotland

Hold On To Your Butts – The Pleasance Courtyard (Forth)

Ingenious and hilarious! Who needs special effects and CGI when you have Recent Cutbacks, who are back at the Fringe with a playful retelling of the biggest prehistoric hit movie ever made. Fresh from a critically acclaimed UK tour, a West End debut, and a sell-out run at Fringe 2024, Hold On To Your Butts is a frantic, non-stop whistle stop parody of 1993’s Jurassic Park. Iconic moments and shots are recreated in such hysterical and imaginative ways you’ll wonder why Spielberg bothered with the animatronics. Two actors and a Foley artist hustle their way through the entire film, conjuring up dinosaurs, and drama providing an enjoyable retelling. This creative parody delivers as much spectacle and ‘special affects’ as the Blockbuster it’s based on. Scene for scene, the cast na...