Pleasance Dome Archives - North West End UK

29Aug

By Anna ChiariNo Comments

Scotland

Beautiful Evil Things – Pleasance Dome

Deborah Pugh’s one-woman performance, presented by Ad Infinitum Theatre Company, a co-creation between Deborah Pugh and George Mann, draws inspiration from Greek myths, channelling their epic power through a contemporary feminist lens. Beautiful Evil Things revolves around Medusa and her story. As she recounts the events that led to her head adorning Athena’s shield, she captivates the audience with tales of three Greek heroines: the fearless Amazonian queen, Penthesilea, engaged in a captivating duel with Achilles during the Trojan War; the prophetic Cassandra, cursed with the gift of foresight but doomed to be unheard; and the vengeful mother Clytemnestra, who seeks justice for her slain child. With its grand storytelling and potent script, the performance envelops us with the...

12Aug

By Stephanie DunkNo Comments

Scotland

Cowboys and Lesbians – Pleasance Dome

As I stepped into the theatre, the twang of country music surrounded me, setting the tone for the story that was about to be told. Each backdrop on the stage meticulously hand-painted, setting the scene for a world waiting to be explored, with this a ladder and a simple box, unassuming yet intriguing, overall, a very charming and well crafted set The audience buzzed, it was clear that this was a full house, ready for what we were about to see. The show started and we were transported into the lives of ordinary teenagers, casually chatting about crushes on teachers, which was nostalgic and familiar to most. The play developed into a coming-of-age narrative; a story that resonated with experiences many LGBT people have all shared. The transitions were accompanied by music that ...

Crizards: This Means War – Pleasance Dome

10Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Crizards: This Means War – Pleasance Dome

This was – The funniest show I’ve seen at the Fringe this year! They say you are your own worst enemy… well not during wartime. The UKs lowest energy double act, as they like to call themselves, are back. After a very successful Fringe in 2022 as Cowboys, Will Rowland and Eddy Hare take on the much sillier subject of war. Guitars in hand they strum their way into explaining that whether or not any of this is a good idea, they are going to do it anyway. The classic double act sees the serious Hare try, with mounting frustration to tell the true story (allegedly) of his granddad and the important role he played in winning the war. A fine example of the genre, deadpan Hare and mischievous Rowland, eyes shining, replete with dimpled cheeks and wide grin thinks up ways to parad...

The Brief Life and Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria – Pleasance Dome

6Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

The Brief Life and Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria – Pleasance Dome

What a cracking beginning to my Edinburgh Fringe Festival! After seeing Out Of The Forest Theatre’s Call Me Fury at The Hope Theatre in London in 2019, I was compelled to pay a return visit to their newest play. Here is a rough synopsis. Boris III became King after his father abdicated in 1918 after World War I, he married Princess Giovanna of Italy and in 1937 his son Simeon was born. Neither Boris, nor his father Ferdinand were Bulgarian due to the Turks occupying Bulgaria for 500 years, but they carried the burden of taking care of the people of Bulgaria now that Bulgaria was independent. Here is where the play begins, with Boris III, now married and the country is peaceful. Until of course World War II began! Boris (played by Joseph Cull...

6Aug

By Caroline WorswickNo Comments

Scotland

Tennessee, Rose – Pleasance Dome

The Tennessee in the title refers to playwright Tennessee Williams, the writer of such greats as The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire, and Rose was his sister, who has also been described as his muse. Tennessee, Rose examines the relationship between Williams and Rose by travelling through time with Rose to her childhood, and how her experiences shaped her future, leaving her with scars, both mental and physical. It is very easy to think of this show as a play about a playwright and his sister, but this play is so much more than that. The lack of understanding of mental health meant that Rose’s treatment was severe, without any care for her feelings, but only on the impact that her unguarded action and speech had on others. Clare Cockburn has written a re...

The Twenty Sided Tavern – Pleasance Dome

19Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Twenty Sided Tavern – Pleasance Dome

There are very few shows quite like the Twenty Sided Tavern, a choose your own adventure for theatre goers and dungeons and dragons fans alike. Step into the game with your own selected dice picked blindly from a bag determining your designated player. Are you a Fighter, a sorcerer or a Rogue? Either way you are in for a treat. Three professional improvisation artists take to the stage bringing the crazy world of Dungeons and Dragons to a live audience, determining their character’s movements with a combination of audience choice and the spin of the twenty sided dice. They are silly, bold and utterly hilarious. Guiding the gang is the “Game Master”, the dungeon master of the game. If you choose to embark on this quest adventurer, be prepared to use your mobile phone. Upon arriva...

15Aug

By Louise BalaguerNo Comments

Scotland

Speed Dial – Pleasance Dome

Vibrant colours, retro telephones and upbeat music, this show screams 70s – and dare I add Scooby Doo, in the best possible way. There is mystery, characters chasing after each other frantically (yet in a wonderfully choreographed manner), riddles, lurking figures and even stage fog, just to add that little extra bit of spookiness. Yes, this show is one that sucks you in from the very beginning. When a university Professor’s daily routine is disturbed by the ominous ringing of telephones following them at every turn, they are plunged into a spiral of puzzles to find their missing daughter. Making up this vibrant comedy-thriller that is Speed Dial, we find, alongside The Professor (Hamish Lloyd Barnes), The Dean (Tullio Campanale), Flora, the daughter (Genevieve Sabherwal), The Groundsk...

The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much – Pleasance Dome

14Aug

By Anna ChiariNo Comments

Scotland

The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much – Pleasance Dome

An intoxicating vortex that for an hour sucks you in, leaving you breathless, captures your senses with its live music and virtuoso acrobatics, and ravishes your mind in an excess of incidents, accents, jokes and twists. Everything is perfect in this little gem of visual storytelling, a rare example of physical theatre where the theatrical action surpasses in suspense, action and acrobatics the speed and pace of a cinematic experience. A genre parody, the play retains the tone of a 1960s comedy and the suspense typical of Hitchcock, of which it is a satire without ever descending into exaggerated grotesquery. Rather than farce, in fact, the show claims the self-deprecating, light-hearted tones of some 1960s comedy-thrillers, such as Charades, where the grimaces and impressive facial ex...