Traverse Theatre Archives - Page 9 of 10

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Traverse Theatre

21Oct

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Traverse Theatre

Maureen Folan (Julie Hale) leads a frustrating and angry life looking after her elderly mother Mag (Nuala Walsh), thanks in great part to the latter's mix of necessary dependency due to old age and her less than charming personality. Maureen has a few issues herself, highlighted by the forced proximity and partly due the frustrations of missed opportunities, a personal grief echoed by the many Irish folk forced to pursue other lives in America and England. One such person is the attractive Pato Dooley (Paul Carroll), older brother of neighbour Ray (Ian O'Reilly), who is back in his hometown for a short stay, and with whom a meeting offers Maureen some escape from her troubles, though in what way remains to be seen. The Beauty Queen of Leenane is the first part of Martin McDonagh's fi...

549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War – Traverse Theatre

17Oct

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War – Traverse Theatre

The 549 of the title is the number of Scots who took part in the Spanish Civil War, fighting a losing battle in the name of democracy (and, in some cases, money) against fascism, which was encroaching its way into Spain with Franco in much the same way it was everywhere else with Hitler, Mussolini, Mosley, Petain, etc. The parallels to modern nationalism are difficult to miss (particularly with our own modern European war for which many non-natives have volunteered), and the show goes into them further still with a framing device set in the modern day. We then travel back in time to the true story of the four men from Prestonpans who went to Spain to fight, George Watters, Bill Dickson, Jimmy Kempton and George Gilmour. This is clearly a personal story. The team have spent eight year...

Don’t. Make. Tea. – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

6Oct

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Don’t. Make. Tea. – Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

It is a rainy night in Edinburgh. I expect to find a car parking place easily, but to my horror find the streets jammed, there is a rock concert on next door. I park three streets away and jog towards the venue. 3 minutes to spare. If I was disabled, I would be in a right pickle. Appropriate, given that the show tonight is from BOP, a leading force of disability led theatre in Scotland. Established in Glasgow in 1993, Birds of Paradise (BOP) Theatre Company became Scotland’s first touring theatre company employing disabled and non-disabled actors. The remit of the company has always been to produce accessible theatre and to highlight the challenges faced by the disabled community. I am delighted to see that the 250-seater theatre is near capacity and the demographic is refresh...

6Aug

By Kathleen MansfieldNo Comments

Scotland

Psychodrama – Traverse Theatre

Emily Bruni knocks your socks off in Psychodrama. Playing a talented actor with middling past success who now works in a boutique while taking acting jobs here and there, she finds herself enmeshed in a murder case. Bruni walks us through the events leading up to the incident and what a walk it is! The audience is taken into her confidence. You are genuinely convinced she is telling you personally. This woman can turn on a sixpence: one minute meek and fragile, the next filled with power, dancing carefree and wild. It is awesome to observe and the standing ovation she received is well deserved. Matt Wilkinson’s script requires a fully-rounded performer. It scopes the entire range of personality traits - a palette of such breadth and depth that we hungrily anticipate what comes next. ...

6Aug

By Natalie GoringNo Comments

Scotland

Happy Meal – Traverse Theatre

Happy Meal from writer Tabby Lamb is a gloriously nostalgic feel-good fringe must-see. From the moment we enter the audience are transported back to 90s penguin digital world, meeting the cast during incoming. The soundscape from Eliyana Evans is redolent perfection throughout the show and ensures transition to this millennial world is easy. The space is dominated by two giant Happy Meal boxes with projections, the use of projection throughout us incredible and enhances audience experience throughout. Lamb skilfully uses identifiable pop culture throughout to create connection with the audience and ultimately the story. From MSN, Twitter, MySpace, Leeds Fest, Limewire, Busted and loads more were bombarded by references but they never feel forced, just used as a toll to unite. ...

6Aug

By Dylan MooneyNo Comments

Scotland

This is Paradise – Traverse Theatre

Michael John O’Neill’s This is Paradise takes place in 1998 in Belfast, just as the Good Friday Agreement is signed bringing supposed peace to the nation. However, away from the political turmoil, O’Neill’s play explores the life of Kate, swapping countrywide tragedy for that of the personal kind. The one-woman monologue follows Kate, played by Amy Molloy, a woman entering her thirties, who is thrust back into the life of an ex-partner after a phone call regarding concerns for his welfare. O’Neill’s beautifully crafted text allows Kate’s story to unravel, exploring the various relationships that still haunt her. Undertones of the impact of the IRA and Orange Order are subtly placed throughout the story, certainly adding to it but not overshadowing it, instead allowing Kate’s own struggl...

13Jun

By Louise BalaguerNo Comments

Scotland

Beneath the Surface – Traverse Theatre

Originally halted by lockdown in 2020 before the play had even had its initial run, Beneath the Surface will have had to remain just so for a little while longer. From tonight’s performance, I like to think that the extra lapse of time (and come on, when do you ever get that really?) will have only given the cast and crew the opportunity to hopefully make this show the best it could be. True to its name, the play explores what lurks beneath, what feeds the pressures that young people might feel today. As 5 friends are drawn to venture into a cave as a storm hits them and they are looking for a bit of adventure during the holidays, they find themselves pushed to confront their shadows. You know, those parts of ourselves that we don’t want to dig too deep for and would rather leave buried...

Seven Minutes in Heaven – Traverse Theatre

11Jun

By Beth EltringhamNo Comments

Scotland

Seven Minutes in Heaven – Traverse Theatre

Strange Town Youth Theatre brings us a 1-hour short play written by Edinburgh writer Shelley Middler exploring the struggles teenagers face in this current world. We get a glimpse into serious issues such as the sharing of personal pictures, the sexual pressures on young people today and discovery of sexuality, all of this is brought together in the setting of a small house party. Every cast member has a chance to showcase their skills with an overwhelming abundance of characters, demonstrating some brilliant mime work and use of freeze frames and monologues. There’s an overall story that someone has been attacked and each of the characters have moments in which they are questioned by the police in their own spotlight. This is designed to keep the audience on their toes allowing them to...

10Jun

By Oliver GigginsNo Comments

Scotland

On Air – Traverse Theatre

"On Air" mixes classic Fairy-tale characters and stories with modern sensibilities and need for "content". It evolved from small improvisations based around fairy tale characters in unusual settings, which were subsequently structured and developed by director Bradley Lewis Cannon. It is presumably from this latter stage we get the wraparound story involving a group of high-schoolers (an out-of-his-depth director played by Christie Gill, an ambitious Runner played by Emma Makin, and the genial sound-man Peter played by Jamie Duffin) trying to make a fake show as an audition piece for a TV channel together with its host, Kerry Minger (Finlay Gilzean). Within this structure we get three individual pieces, two of them involving tabloid talk shows around Sleeping Beauty (Layla Crombie-Su...

The Metamorphosis – The Traverse Theatre

18Apr

By Melissa JonesNo Comments

Scotland

The Metamorphosis – The Traverse Theatre

Think of Kafka’ Metamorphosis and images of a tragicomic cockroach writhing on its back amongst filth and disarray usually springs to mind. Vanishing Point’s production of The Metamorphosis approaches this famous production from a refreshingly modern new angle, spurring on new connotations for the audience to mull on. Director Matthew Lenton and Associate Director Joanna Bowman take The Metamorphosis to 2020’s. Gregor’s profession isn’t as driven, but it’s still arguably crushing. Now, as a delivery cyclist, he’s at the mercy of his jobs worth boss and a victim of the gig economy. Sporting a bug-like helmet and sizeable rucksack, he bustles onto the stage and into bed before the transformation begins. When his family realise they can no longer rely on him for a source of income, t...