Pleasance Courtyard Archives - Page 2 of 8

Temi Wilkey (Lover Girl) – Pleasance Courtyard (Upstairs)

12Aug

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Temi Wilkey (Lover Girl) – Pleasance Courtyard (Upstairs)

Well… the fact our Lover Girl has Daddy issues explains a bit. She also has Mummy issues, which explains a whole lot more. That’s w-h-o-l-e, with a ‘w’. Having caught something on a poster or flyer predicting ‘low-brow content with high-brow delivery’, no-one will be disappointed with this show. But this wasn’t low brow; it was just open, honest, brave… and funny. And due to the ‘high-brow delivery’ even the double entendres elicited a healthy reaction where usually there would have been only groans. As the hour progresses it turns out this was just the aperitif to some more thought-provoking passages. Temi is single and perplexed. She’s an excellent singer and dancer, taking the audience with her as she rails upon her situation with righteous, frustrated – and comic - indignation. ...

Kevin!!!!! – Forth at Pleasance Courtyard

9Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Kevin!!!!! – Forth at Pleasance Courtyard

Last year Recent Cutbacks gave me one of my picks of the Fringe. Fly, You Fools! was gloriously inventive, while Hold On To Your Butts proved equally adept at turning a much loved blockbuster into breathless, brilliantly silly theatre. So, I arrived at KEVIN!!!!! expecting another hit. Instead, they have given me Christmas in August. This Home Alone parody may be described as something wildly different from the company’s other Fringe offerings, but there is an irony here. KEVIN!!!!! was originally developed around ten years ago and, having seen what Recent Cutbacks have subsequently become, this feels less like progression and more like a retro step too far. The approach is predominantly puppet led, with handmade miniature s...

Kanpur: 1857 – Above at Pleasance Courtyard

9Aug

By Ella BeckleyNo Comments

Scotland

Kanpur: 1857 – Above at Pleasance Courtyard

The Fringe First-winning production follows true events of Indian uprisings against British colonisers, told from the perspective of both the coloniser and the rebel. The siege of Kanpur, formally anglicised as Cawnpore, was a major event of the Indian rebellion of 1857 in which several hundred British were slaughtered by rebels on the banks of the River Ganges. British women and children were held captive in a house named Bibi Ghar where all 200 of them were brutally murdered. In retaliation, British troops captured and executed rebel soldiers by hanging, and on occasion would tie them to a live canon, with an audience of onlookers. &n...

Colin Cloud: Hoax – Pleasance Courtyard Grand

9Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Colin Cloud: Hoax – Pleasance Courtyard Grand

If illusions and magic are your thing or you just fancy a good mind-boggle, Colin Cloud has you covered. From guessing the names and dates of people’s first kisses to getting an audience member to read the audiences’ minds, this show is sure to have you leaving more confused than you started. Cloud has an incredible stage presents: Funny, trustworthy and somewhat other worldly. He is incredible skilled at what he does and despite there being 700 plus people in the room, he made sure to make the whole room feel included. Now I don’t want to spoil too much so the tricks themselves will remain a secret, but the show is well paced and has you on the edge of your seat throughout. Audience participation is guaranteed with a large number of audience being chosen for set tricks or ...

Youth in Flames – Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker 1

6Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Youth in Flames – Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker 1

‘Youth in Flames’ makes a triumphant return to Edinburgh following a sell-out run in New York. Last year, Mimi Martin’s brilliant life-enhancing play garnered a Scotsman Fringe First and a hatful of 5 star reviews. The play tells the story of a British teenager, Millie, coming of age as protests erupt in 2019 against the Hong Kong Government’s proposal to extradite criminal suspects to mainland China. Mimi Martin has written a sparkling script which elicits a mesmerising performance from the playwright herself. She grabs our attention from the very first moment as a strong-willed, sometimes rebellious, schoolgirl venting her feelings about her teachers, peers and parents. There are plenty of light moments in the early scenes but things take a serious turn when Jesse, Millie’s clo...

Max Fulham: Full of Ham – The Cellar in Pleasance Courtyard

27Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

Max Fulham: Full of Ham – The Cellar in Pleasance Courtyard

This was Maxs last show at the Edinburgh Fringe, and it was a sell-out. A testament to his popularity in his debut run of Full of Ham. First impressions this guy has the comedic spontaneity of Micheal McIntyre with a ventriloquist dummy. Max Fulham is an innovative ventriloquist with originality and flare. For those of you who remember ‘Billy Bear Ham’ growing up, he breathes life into ‘Billy’ in a way that defies logic, but it works. “I’m ham not spam” Characters who appear in Max’s portfolio of puppetry is his very first red-haired hand puppet given to him as child and from here his interest in ventriloquism was ignited. With a nod to the great Keith Harris and Orvil. Be prepared to see ‘Jesus with his sandals’ grandad, and the ‘birthday boy’. Not forgetting a shopping trip at the...

Thanyia Moore: August – Pleasance Courtyard

21Aug

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

Thanyia Moore: August – Pleasance Courtyard

Thanyia Moore is a seasoned comedian and actress who has appeared on Mock the Week (BBC) Drunk Histories Black Stories (Comedy Central) and Cats does Countdown (C4). First appearing at the Fringe in 2022 she returns with her show August. She named her show August because it was whilst she was at the Fringe she experienced a personal loss through an ectopic pregnancy which interrupted her long awaited run and resulted in her returning to London for treatment. Through comedy she tells the story of her journey and encounters from her favourite taxi driver, the NHS staff and her production team who supported her throughout. Determined to finish her run Thanyia returned and continued to what she described as not the best performance. Humble and steadfast she ploughed through to a standing ovati...

Cara & Kelly are Best Friends Forever For Life – The Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Three)

15Aug

By Gill LewisNo Comments

Scotland

Cara & Kelly are Best Friends Forever For Life – The Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Three)

A powerful two hander which packs a punch with its raw and honest portrayal of two larger than life best friends, with some fatal consequences. Nothing is off topic between best pals Cara and Kelly, inseparable soul sisters and best friends who each wear the other half of a heart necklace, a symbol of their friendship. Yet loyalties become blurred as their union is tested to its limits. A friendship, which as we discover, inhabits cracks observed during their scathing arguments, which are littered with hurtful truths. A co-dependence is suggested by Kelly feeling put upon and burdened by Cara’s needs fueled by her broken family background and absent care givers. Their different socio-economic backgrounds become increasingly and painfully apparent. Hanging o...

Hold The Line – Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two

12Aug

By Gill LewisNo Comments

Scotland

Hold The Line – Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two

A build-up of pressure is intensely captured as we take a call on the frontline of the NHS. With a brilliant use of movement and staging, creative elements beautifully demonstrate quite literally, how our frontline workers get tangled up in the ever-growing demand for help. Squeezed by the grip of bureaucracy so tight, the increasing pace of work leaves staff gas lighted into quitting, as they’re told “It is what it is”. Emerging writer Sam Macgregor taps into his own lived experience and perfectly portrays the relentless and urgent nature that NHS call handlers have to deal with, whilst keeping a smile in their voice and a calm, professional tone. This is an immersive two hander which delves inside the belly of an NHS 111 call centre. Macgregor, is Gary, a call handler with 5 ye...

#CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Play That Trump Does Not Want You to See! – Pleasance Courtyard

10Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

#CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Play That Trump Does Not Want You to See! – Pleasance Courtyard

In August 2017 white supremacists held a ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which erupted into violence resulting in more than 30 people being injured in clashes between the so-called Alt Right and counter-protesters. The next day a white supremacist deliberately drove his car into a crowd of counter protesters, injuring 35 people and killing Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal who provided legal help to people at risk of repossessions and evictions. Priyanka Shetty, who was at the time a student in Charlottesville, has written and performs this meticulously researched one person play. It’s a powerful production, directed by Yury Urnov, which lambasts the violent racism of the white supremacists, but also contends that what happened at Charlottesville was not an an...