The Space UK Archives - North West End UK

The Dead Ducks – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

8Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Dead Ducks – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

You can expect the weird and somewhat wonderful as The Dead Ducks troupe take the stage for a sketch show that takes place within a dead grandmother’s funeral, acting out scenes in which said grandmother has written in her will. The Dead Ducks are a comedy sketch troupe from the University of York, bringing another one of their sketch shows to the Fringe after a successful run last year. Made up of 6 young performers, the sketch team create the kind of strange content you would expect to see in a student’s showcase relying heavily on the element of absurdity to gain laughs. Whilst there are a handful of pretty funny scenes in this show, personally the set up did not quite hit my funny bone as often as I’d have liked it to, but that’s not to say they didn’t have other members of the a...

Lord Of The Flies – The Space, Edinburgh

7Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Lord Of The Flies – The Space, Edinburgh

American High School Theatre Festival (AHSTF) by WorldStrides presents St Francis High School Theatre’s adaptation of this classic William Golding tale about a group of English boys who are being evacuated to a safe country in the pacific to escape worldwide war fallout, until their plane crashes on a deserted island. This certainly has the feel of a devised and improvised piece, where the boys have been left (metaphorically) on a desert island, without adult supervision. At times it could certainly have benefitted from much more precise direction, both in terms of lines and movement. Having said that, I did like the visceral energy. It starts with promise as we are introduced to Ralph and ‘Piggy’, two teenage schoolboys struggling to come to terms with their new situation on the...

The Drowsy Chaperone – The Space @ Venue 45

5Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

The Drowsy Chaperone – The Space @ Venue 45

This is – Way better than you might expect from a school production – a hidden gem. I had to see this. Given that this is one of my all-time favourite musicals, and this is the only Chaperone on the Fringe this year, I had little choice! However, I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer quality of this American schools production, by Charter Oak High School, supported by AHSTF, WorldStrides The show's own history is more recent than you might imagine. It started as a small sketch format comedy in 1998 before emerging as a more starry and elegant Los Angeles production a year later. The buzz stirred up by that production immediately set the wheels in motion for its transfer to Broadway, and the rest as they say is history. We view each scene through the eyes of the narrator (th...

After this Plane has Landed – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

5Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

After this Plane has Landed – The Space @ Surgeons Hall

I had to see this musical out of guilt. John McCarthy was incarcerated in Beirut while I was mourning my mother’s passing. His capture wasn’t even a teardrop amid my grief. Five years later, I gave birth to my first born. A friend sent a message excitedly proclaiming it is the day that John McCarthy is released. Who? Nothing compared to the miracle of ten tiny toes and ten little fingers. A real human being who’d lodged in my womb for nine dark months had finally escaped. Then, just 32 years later, almost to the day, this play appears. I can now pay attention. Exit Productions “After This Plane Has Landed” provides a one-hour precis of The Friends of John McCarthy, Jill Morrell’s quest to free her then boyfriend, and the pressure upon their relationship once they are reunited. ...

Stop The World We’re Getting Off – The Space, Venue 45

20Aug

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Stop The World We’re Getting Off – The Space, Venue 45

Stop The World We’re Getting Off takes a different approach to the concept of “the apocalypse”, no zombies, no nuke war, just the results of the damage that we the human race are currently doing to the world. The play takes place in a not-so-distant future when the world is no longer inhabitable due to a thick smog that has taken over as a result of the human races’ lack of care for the planet. 5 Survivors find themselves living their day to day lives hiding away in a bunker, however 5 is soon to become 6 when Ava (Georgie Cunningham) falls pregnant and dark secrets are revealed. With oxygen running low and so little time before the baby can arrive, it’s up to the team to work together to find an improbable solution. Tenderfoot Theatre Company are a global activist group specializing...

31Jan

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

REVIEWS

Behind The Beyond – Online@The Space UK

At a time when a night at the theatre means sitting in front of our TV, laptop or phone, Edinburgh venue ‘The Space UK’ have stepped up to the plate for the second time to give us Season 2 of their online fringe theatre festival. Created by BMV Theatre Productions and adapted by Brian Cano during a 2020 lockdown, ‘Beyond The Beyond’ has been filmed for Zoom by the actors in their own home, and then edited to create a piece of theatre which exams the 19th Century ‘problem play’. ‘Behind The Beyond’ the play, delves into Stephen Leacock’s book ‘Behind the Beyond: And Other Contributions To Human Knowledge’ written in 1913, to give a satirical glance at this genre of play. The problem plays of the 19th Century gave playwrights the ammunition to use the stage to exam social issu...

The Complete Works of Shakespeare*…*but just the Deaths (and the gory bits too) – The Space UK

29Aug

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Complete Works of Shakespeare…but just the Deaths (and the gory bits too) – The Space UK

Even though the title may be a tad too long, I could have carried on watching this play for much longer than its 45 minutes. Taking their name from a quote in Macbeth, the Cream Faced Loons have done a remarkable job to stage this wonderfully refreshing take on Shakespeare’s plays in a digital environment. Before the pandemic ‘the Loons’ liked to perform in site specific locations such as castles and parks but have adapted their style to You Tube and it showcases their versatility and unique take on the Shakespearean classics. The challenge is to perform all 10187 deaths that appear in Shakespeare’s 37 plays. That seems rather a lot I hear you say, but all is made clear later on in the show. Will you take up the challenge to tick off the deaths as the show goes o...

28Aug

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Beat Goes On – The Space UK

With the Edinburgh Fringe Festival not going ahead this year, there has been a huge gap in the diary of both Fringe lovers and artists. Wonderful venues such as The Space UK have not been able to host their usual Fringe events, so they have put on a digital festival instead. This festival offers a real mix of comedy, theatre, dance and cabaret. The Glummer Twins definitely come under the heading ‘comedy’. The Glummer Twins are a duo (as the name suggests), ‘The Beat Goes On’ is their reflection on how the last six months of lockdown have been for them. The duo was formed by David Harmer and Ray Globe who were once a part of a comedy group called ‘Circus of Poets’ which also included Ian McMillan and John Turner. This 25 minute performance is packed full of...

The Murder(ed) Musketeers – The Space UK Online Festival

18Aug

By Paul DownhamNo Comments

Scotland

The Murder(ed) Musketeers – The Space UK Online Festival

As the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was not able to go ahead this year, venue ‘The Space UK’ have devised a replacement online festival to allow the artists who were due to perform at this year’s festival a chance to show off their production and to earn money via donations. Theatre company Highly Suspect, are more than just a theatre company, they also specialize in staging murder mystery events and given the fun injected into this production, I am sure their murder mystery evenings are equally packed with jolly japes. Before you begin to watch, it is a good idea to wander over to their website, as during the play, you will be asked to view the evidence to help in your quest to solve the crime which is saved on their website, it is a good idea to have access to this before you start.&n...