Roundabout @ Summerhall Archives

Tones: A Hip-Hop Opera – Roundabout @ Summerhall

27Aug

By Saira KunjuvalappilNo Comments

Scotland

Tones: A Hip-Hop Opera – Roundabout @ Summerhall

"Tones" emerges as a compelling and thought-provoking piece in a world where art continues to challenge societal norms and push the boundaries of traditional storytelling. Written, acted, and performed by Gerel Falconer, this hip hop opera takes the audience on a visceral journey through the complexities of Black-British identity, class, and belonging. The show, centred around the life of Jerome—a young man grappling with his sense of self after immigrating from Jamaica to the UK—offers a poignant exploration of race and cultural assimilation. "Tones" follows Jerome as he navigates the harsh realities of being a Black immigrant in Britain. Upon his arrival, Jerome is met with taunts about his skin colour, leaving him isolated on the playground. His desperate attempts to fit in lead ...

21Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Playfight – Roundabout @ Summerhall

Their meeting place, an ancient Oak tree, all our echoed inner pain, three girls, Zainab the earth, Keira the animal and Lucy, like a cloud with legs. So writes Julia Grogan in the Playfight script notes, which I could hardly just walk past after watching this fire cracker. Summerhall’s crucible of dreams, the Roundhouse, is a perfect In the round venue for a play about the complexities of girlhood, which twists and turns following three fifteen-year-old school friends who spark off each other in multiple directions. Keira is the adventurous one and has just lost her virginity, on the tennis courts, doggy style, with an eighteen year old. Zainab is coming to terms with the idea that she might prefer girls, and Lucy floats along, struggling to balance her love of the church with her ...

11Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

VL – Roundabout @ Summerhall

Hilariously parochial! VL stands for Virgin Lips, a label that no teenager wants to be saddled with. When Max and Stevie, two wee Scottish F…., oops lads, miss the bus to the end of year 2 school disco at the local ice rink, they are in two minds to just go home to watch telly instead. After all, Robin Hood Prince Of Thievesis on! But no, they have to go, because at least one of them is a VL and this might just be his last chance to pop that cherry. And if your still a VL after tonight, before you go into 3rd year, you just might be a VL forever! Seasoned comedy writers and performers, Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair play it just about perfect as the day-glow-clad youngsters trying to navigate romance in the hormonal pressure cooker of Hammersten High School. Stevie has, tech...

Every Brilliant Thing – Roundabout @ Summerhall

9Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Every Brilliant Thing – Roundabout @ Summerhall

Every Brilliant Thing, by Duncan MacMillan and Jonny Donahue is back and goes straight in at number one on my list of brilliant things. And with Donahue himself performing it, this is better than ice cream. Like a prodigal son returning from distant shores, the womb-like space that is The Roundhouse, at Summerhall, welcomes back, Every Brilliant Thing, a play that has globe trotted after it’s first showing here in 2014. And the public cannot get enough of it, it is completely sold out, with two additional dates already added (sold out) but surely more to follow. (Check the Fringe web site, every five minutes!) It’s one of those shows that it’s best to know nothing about before you see it. I am therefore going for the mysterious, enigmatic vibe on this one. Lets just say it is the...

8Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Nation – Roundabout @ Summerhall

Within the womb-like space that is The Roundhouse, at Summerhall, one of my favs in the scrum that is the Fringe, magic can happen. Nation might have been written for this space, and this time. It may not be the kind of launch pad writer and performer Sam Ward would have wanted, but the spate of xenophobic far-right riots sweeping the UK makes this story chilling pertinent. Ward welcomes us into the tent and asks us to exist in the moment, right now you are an audience listening to a storyteller. Right now, I’m a postman, on a High Street of an ordinary town. We are asked to imagine the ordinary town, not too big, not too small, and the ordinary people that inhabit it. The Butcher, the Baker, the Pilates Instructor, Ward points at people in the audience, assigning identities, ...

29Aug

By Anna ChiariNo Comments

Scotland

Heart – Roundabout @ Summerhall

In Heart, actress Jade Anouka’s debut play offers a raw and sincere exploration of femininity, love, trauma, and mental health. It’s a journey of self-discovery and self-empowerment, but it’s the mode of presentation that captivates: the actress transcends herself and presents a narrative, a sort of monologue, where music, trap beats, and storytelling blend seamlessly. In sync with beatboxer Grace Savage, who also happens to be her life partner, Anouka shares the story of a failed marriage, insecurities, societal pressures, and, ultimately, the process of rebirth in discovering her own bisexuality and her relationship with Grace. At the core are themes of mental health, often described as a dark beast capable of taking over, and the toxicity of social and romantic relationships that...