Traverse Theatre Archives - Page 4 of 16

Soundhouse: Paul Harrison’s Trio Mágico & Guests: Encontros – Traverse Theatre

6Sep

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Soundhouse: Paul Harrison’s Trio Mágico & Guests: Encontros – Traverse Theatre

Launching their latest album, Encontros, Paul Harrison’s Trio Mágico graced the Traverse Theatre once again, bringing with them an evening filled with Brazilian-inspired jazz rhythms and grooves. From original compositions, to rearrangements of renowned Brazilian jazz pieces (many of which were taken from Brazilian jazz player and composer Egberto Gismonti) Paul Harrison’s trio is Mágico by name, and Mágico by nature. The first act hit us with high-energy, highlighting the beauty of Harrison’s chord harmonisation and bassist Mario Caribé’s enthusiastic and lively playing. Drummer Stu Brown keeps the trio rolling along with his relaxed approach - that is until the second act where he completely unleashes the full power of his playing. Brown’s kit is perfectly collated t...

I’m Ready to Talk Now – Traverse Theatre

19Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

I’m Ready to Talk Now – Traverse Theatre

One audience member at a time, for 45 minutes, in a room dressed like a hospital ward. That is the premise of I’m Ready to Talk Now, an award-winning piece created and performed by Australian artist Oliver Ayres, and it is as bold and unusual as it sounds. Developed in Melbourne before arriving at the Traverse for its UK premiere, the show has already drawn acclaim for its innovation, but to experience it first-hand is something else entirely. You are welcomed gently, even tenderly. The host tucks you into a bed, adjusts the space for your comfort, and slips headphones over your ears. What follows is a guided immersion into his own story, spoken in his voice, paced by his movements around the room. At times he is by your side, at times he drifts into shadow, and once, when he gazes ...

Nowhere – Here and Now – Traverse Theatre

18Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Nowhere – Here and Now – Traverse Theatre

The Traverse has always been a home for ambitious, politically charged theatre, and Nowhere – Here & Now sits firmly in that tradition. Created and performed by Khalid Abdalla, the show is an urgent, deeply personal exploration of revolution, displacement, and identity. It is at once sweeping in scope and intimate in detail, and though its ambitions sometimes spill over into excess, the experience is powerful and memorable. From the outset, Abdalla frames the performance with haunting questions: “This nowhere is safe. But there are places in the world where nowhere is safe. And when the unfathomable becomes persistent, where do you go?” That sense of uncertainty and statelessness runs through the performance, which draws heavily on his own experiences during the Egyptian u...

17Aug

By Saira KunjuvalappilNo Comments

Scotland

She’s Behind You – Traverse Theatre

She's Behind You, a Johnny McKnight script and a John Tiffany direction, is a seasonal yet contemplative dive into the world of pantomime. In a co-production between the Traverse Theatre and the National Theatre of Scotland, the play grabs the art form's sense of enjoyment while nipping at its deeper cultural importance. From the moment McKnight—portraying his alter ego character, Dorothy Blawna-Gale—appeared on stage, the audience was mesmerized. The laughter was almost continuous, with spontaneous applause in rhythm to music and dance. Audience participation was a whopping 100%, with bystanders caught up in the infectious energy from start to finish. Visually, the production dazzled. Bright, sparkly, and totally immersive, the lighting and stage design contributed both to the c...

The Beautiful Future Is Coming – Traverse Theatre

8Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

The Beautiful Future Is Coming – Traverse Theatre

This is an ambitious, well-crafted and very watchable play about the climate crisis. Flora Wilson Brown has written an intriguing drama which covers a period of 246 years. In 1856 we are in New York with Eunice and her husband, John. This part of the story was inspired by the American scientist, Eunice Foote, who discovered the greenhouse effect: that higher carbon dioxide levels lead to a hotter planet. Phoebe Thomas (Eunice) gives a captivating performance as the brilliant scientist who is increasingly frustrated by the fact that men won’t take her seriously because she is a woman. Eunice has apocalyptic nightmares about the fate facing the world if people won’t listen to her warnings. Matt Whitchurch is impressive as her husband, John, who tells his wife she can be ‘difficult’...

4Aug

By Tom ScottNo Comments

Scotland

Consumed – Traverse Theatre

Playwright Karis Kelly believes in challenging audiences even if that makes them feel uncomfortable. And she certainly does that in ‘Consumed’ which opens the lid on a dysfunctional family in Northern Ireland. Four generations of women gather in Bangor to celebrate the 90th birthday of Eileen who lives with Gilly, her 65 year old daughter. Gilly’s daughter, Jenny, aged 40, and her 14 year-old daughter, Muireann, fly over from London for the occasion. Eileen wears a party hat as the play starts, but there is tension in the air as Gilly returns from her last minute shopping. And things don’t get any better when Jenny and Muireann arrive. This is not an easy watch. Light moments are few and far between. And in fact what starts as a naturalistic kitchen sink drama develops into someth...

Standing In the Shadows of Giants – Traverse Theatre

2Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Standing In the Shadows of Giants – Traverse Theatre

You get the feeling that the substantial metal frames, the chunky lighting rig and mirror -walled set surrounding Lucie Barât on her oh-so-shiny red stage are all compensating for the flimsy mental scaffolding that supports her own psych, It teeters like a five-storey bamboo structure. The show begins with Lucie launching into a song, she has a clear and powerful voice, before signing cut to the sound desk. She interrupts herself to talk directly to the audience and give us a bit of personal history. Lucie always wanted to be an actor. But, from Drama School golden girl to dole queue drop out she fell, to call-centre fill-in, to failed STD advert auditionee and the very occasional paid acting job. A low point occurs in the earlie naughties when she throws up on the open-toed sandals ...

A Gambler’s Guide to Dying – Traverse Theatre

2Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

A Gambler’s Guide to Dying – Traverse Theatre

Well, no surprises, it’s brilliant! The endlessly Gallus (dictionary definition – Bold, daring, cheeky person bordering on arrogant. Derived from the Latin word for cockerel or rooster) Gary McNair does it again. The wee big yin puts a smile on everyone’s face with a masterclass in storytelling, and makes it all look incredibly, infuriatingly, easy. But, having loved his five star ‘Dear Billy’ tribute last year at The Assembly Rooms, I had rather been primed to expect excellence. This year, the globe-trotting Scotsman serves up a tale of a young boy and his gambling-obsessed grandad in his attempt, against the odds to reach the year 2000 and win a fortune off the bookies. Like a kilted, David Walliams creation, if you can overlook the odd sweary word, this is Roy-of-the-rovers...

2Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Rift – Traverse Theatre

The stage is sparse in the underground black box of Traverse 2, just a plain table, two folding plastic chairs and a bright red bag of Doritos. A projector advises, keep hands in plain view, the unmistakable soundscape of prison echos through the small space before the projected image starts counting off the years of incarceration. 1, 2, 3… The play starts at year 4. The tight three-sided seating focuses on a spotlight which focuses on the bag of Doritos, two men enter. The story follows two half-brothers one a white supremacist convicted murderer, the other a rising young ‘woke’ writer over the course of 20+ years as they meet at various intervals. A relationship broken apart by lies and mistrust tries and tries again to be re-glued with their shared blood like an intricate Kintsugi...

2Aug

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Red Like Fruit – Traverse Theatre

Good sex, bad sex, wrong sex. What’s the difference? And does it really matter? Why struggle to articulate something that no one wants to hear anyway…? When a Canadian investigative journalist starts researching a high-profile domestic violence case, it leads her to relive and reconsider some of her own life experiences, the results are disarming and disturbing. This beautifully constructed two hander from the pen of Hannah Moscovitch has Lauren’s (Michelle Monteith) story being delivered as a deliciously hypnotic monologue by Luke (David Patrick Flemming). Flemming’s voice control and delivery are the real star of this show, a symphony of tone and indent, emphasis and half-finished sentence are a joy to the ear. @RILEYSMITHPHOTO Lauren sits on a raised Dias, swaying or head in...