Traverse Theatre Archives - Page 13 of 15

We Were Promised Honey! – Traverse Theatre

13Apr

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

We Were Promised Honey! – Traverse Theatre

In We Were Promised Honey! members of the audience become travellers on a prophetic tour of our own futures. We are not merely observers. We are participants within the world of the story. In 2018 Richard Russell, an airport baggage handler, stole an empty passenger plane and flew it for over an hour. He had learnt to fly by playing video games. Unfortunately, Russell had never practiced landing. Russel conducted some astonishing aerial manoeuvres, experiencing and sharing moments of pure joy – but hearing his story, our delight is tempered by our awareness of how the story must end. Writer and performer, Sam Ward, tells stories about the future lives of the people in the audience. Stories that will unfold over the next few centuries. (He is optimistic a...

11Apr

By Nazaret RaneaNo Comments

Scotland

Stornoway, Quebec – Traverse Theatre

The year, 1888. The place, Stornoway. But far from the sharp coastline characteristic of the Outer Hebrides, the action is set in a forgotten town in Quebec during the worst snow blizzard of the year. The set up is simple: five people who shouldn’t be near each other end up trapped in a saloon where a mix of whisky and ether seems to be the soup of the day. Stornoway Quebec is the latest (and probably the only one of its kind) play by prolific writer Calum L. MacLeod for Scotland’s Gaelic language drama company Theatre Gu Leòr. It follows the story of Màiri MacNeill - Elspeth Turner-, a Barra-born but Texas-raised bounty hunter who after a betrayal, is on the hunt of Canada’s most wanted outlaw, Donald Morrison. A series of leads brings Mairi to a remote inn run by Mrs and Mr Bouc...

7Apr

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

Family Tree – Traverse Theatre

This production, by Actors Touring Company and Belgrade Theatre Coventry, in association with Brixton House, is about Henrietta Lacks (played here by Aminita Francis) the African-American woman who was the unwitting source of the cancer cells now known as the HeLa cell line, the first immortalized human cell line and one which continues to be a source of invaluable medical data to the present day, from helping fight cancer, to HIV, to COVID. However, her cells were taken without her or her family’s knowledge or permission (they only found out decades after her death, and by accident) and continue to be exploited financially. Henrietta was not the only black woman whose body has been exploited. In some cases, such as this, it was by the medical establishment with some kind of medical bas...

31Mar

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

How Not To Drown – Traverse Theatre

This might not be the best production one sees this calendar year but it’s a shining example of why theatre itself, companies like ThickSkin and venues like The Traverse are so important. Having said that, the village and/or town halls of middle England might benefit from a tour, the front five rows reserved for Daily Mail readers. It’d be nice to think this ninety minutes would prove more nourishing than the three-word-slogan diet they’ve been addicted to for the last seven years. For amongst the complexities of what constitutes home or how essential the family is, the key message here is that conditions and circumstances exist in some countries of which plenty have no concept. It explains, at the very end, why Dritan’s father took the shocking decision to send his 11-year-old son on a ha...

Revelations of Rab McVie – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

27Feb

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Revelations of Rab McVie – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Every now and again you review a show which really stands out. Here is one. The Revelations of Rab McVie is advertised as an immersive journey through a psychedelic dreamscape of live painting, live music and theatre and the real buzz in the packed theatre bar before this show was ready evidence of the unique event to come. Experimental, raw, flawed, real. The irony of this five-star show is that with more performances, it can be even better. Barely rehearsed and on only the second night of its world premiere, this experimental ground-breaking show has been and gone, and it was my undoubted privilege to have witnessed its brief existence. Five strong band, The Filthy Tongues, from Edinburgh were at the top of their game, showcasing works from their new album, In These Dark Pla...

<strong>Tam O’Shanter, Tales and Whisky – Traverse Theatre</strong>

27Jan

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Tam O’Shanter, Tales and Whisky – Traverse Theatre

One Burns Night, a group of friends gather around the soothing glow of a campfire in an Edinburgh forest, to tell stories and sing songs. On a chilly January afternoon, Traverse 2 is sold out as folks gather to celebrate the poetry and music of Scotland. The set, by Polly Morris, is cosy – a campfire, with logs for the performers to sit on, and the musicians at the back in amongst the spooky trees. The lighting, by George Cort, creates a dappled forest floor effect. When I came downstairs to go into the theatre, I briefly thought I had got lost, and that I was about to go outside. Happily, the room is nice and warm, and not at all Januaryish in temperature. Some tickets include a complementary nip of whisky, which would further enhance the atmosphere, but sadly I’m dri...

<strong>The Memories Will Mostly Be Bright – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh</strong>

5Dec

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

The Memories Will Mostly Be Bright – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

Creating and crafting theatre from scratch is a brave endeavour. Part of you is being measured, assessed and critiqued and it takes guts to put your ideas and interests out there for the public to judge. And so, I applaud this young writer and director, Conçalo Gois. Napier University Drama Society is clearly a very active group with 27 members of cast in this production about the nature of memory and significant moments in time remembered differently by different people. It didn’t quite hit the mark but was admirable in concept. Some things that needed attention include sound effects - ease them up, ease them down. Here it was a sudden assault on the senses and just as a surprise when they stopped - bam; lighting - use it to enhance the atmosphere/mood or concept. As this was about ...

<strong>Cell Outs – Traverse Theatre</strong>

25Nov

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Cell Outs – Traverse Theatre

Two ex-screws take to intimate interior of the thrust stage of Traverse 2 to provide a thought-provoking insight into the British prison system. Glasshouse Theatre Company’s, Harriet Troup and Ella Church play themselves as graduates cajoled into the prison system on the promise of putting their arts backgrounds to good use in rehabilitation, only to find that barely six weeks later they are ‘lambs to the slaughter’ as fully qualified Prison Officers. In a comedic twist the two friends are posted to prisons within waving distance, one to a male prison, the other a female, covering both bases as it were, and provided rich material for this production. Set against a period of government cut-backs and lay-offs, the play takes us from initial recruitment through the ‘breakthrough grad...

<strong>Redcoat – Traverse Theatre</strong>

20Nov

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Redcoat – Traverse Theatre

Lewis Jobson treats us to some extra sparkle, joy, and magic in this exuberantly light-hearted one-man show. He celebrates his youthful adventures as a Redcoat in Bognor Regis, a world where you are never fully dressed without a smile, and a public altercation with Barney the dinosaur can earn you a verbal warning. If you like singing and clapping along to unashamedly cheesy music, you will certainly love this show. A group karaoke rendition of I Will Survive is a delightfully guilty pleasure, and there are plenty more of your favourite songs included. This is a tale of a young adult living away from home for the first time, and Redcoat Lewis reminisces about his crush on The Slushy Guy, cooking pizza on a George Foreman grill, and cheerfully entertaining children at b...

<strong>Witch Hunt – Traverse Theatre</strong>

17Nov

By Roger JacobsNo Comments

Scotland

Witch Hunt – Traverse Theatre

One could happily have stayed seated and watched this show all over again. Straight away, not tomorrow night (the second and last night in Edinburgh and, sadly, of the entire tour). It had almost everything; music, dance, poetry, slapstick, puppetry, magic, limericks, puns, double-entendre, songs, nudity, but above all… laughter. Abigail Dooley & Emma Edwards did not name their company ‘A & E Comedy’ half-heartedly. There was even some of the most genuine audience participation yet witnessed though in this day and age it’s pretty cathartic to join in with the refrain ‘It’s a shitshow, an asshole rodeo’. A one-woman show with a twist this Ricket and Rattled along from the opening scene - featuring some ill-fitting dentures and malfunctioning hands - through to the last. There’s H...