Theatre
Locker Room Talk
[This is a #TwoReviews™ Review – Two different reviews of the same performance] #TwoReviews is a literary creation owned by EdinburghFestival.org Locker Room Talk by Catherine Carnie Locker Room Talk by James O’Brien The slimy, self satisfied and sexually soaked voice of our current President of the Free World – which booms at the beginning…
Read MoreThe Darling Monologues
You’re not likely to meet three much more different women in 50 minutes than Lily, Sadie and Ruby, but all are revealed in acute detail and vivid characterisation by Angela Jackson, until now better known as a writer than an actress. The main character of the Darling Monologues is male – Mark Darling. The clever…
Read MoreGlory on Earth
[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text] A vibrant, youthful and feisty Mary Stuart duels verbally with a dark, dour and determined John Knox. But when you suddenly realise that the harp playing on stage is actually rendering Party Fears Two, an ’80s Associates song, you realise that this play is here to remind us that history can still…
Read MoreHay Fever
Noel Coward was, and still is known for his fast wit, and for snappy dialogue in his writing, and Hay Fever is one of his most enduring works. But it’s difficult to follow a conversation when the dialogue is too fast. Unfortunately, that’s what’s taking place on stage right from the start. The actors playing…
Read MoreThe Winter’s Tale
If ever you wanted to know just how joyous and vibrant Shakespeare can be, come see this production. But don’t expect the cast to be leaping around in tights and cod-pieces. The shift of costume is to the 21st century, and to a very Scottish place – it also has a shift of language and…
Read MorePicnic at Hanging Rock
There’s a volcanic rumbling beneath this deftly staged production, and the stark minimalism of the set design and staging add to the sense of something dark, primal and unstoppable at work. The story at the heart of Picnic at Hanging Rock centres on the unexplained disappearance of three schoolgirls and one of their teachers on…
Read MoreThe Suppliant Women
There are a few things that immediately set this production of The Suppliant Women apart. One is the libation at the start – a local politician is invited to use a bottle of wine to anoint the thrust-forward, open stage. Real politician. Real wine. The names of those who have contributed financially to the play…
Read MoreBakersfield Mist – Arkle Theatre
Maude Gutman is an unemployed ex-barmaid who lives in a trailer park. Lionel Percy is a former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art who works for an art foundation to authenticate disputed works of art. Think for a moment about your first assumptions about those two characters. Then imagine them thrown together. This is…
Read MoreMuch Ado About Nothing – Arkle Theatre
All the boys are dressed as girls, and all the girls are dressed as boys. This is the first surprise from Arkle Theatre – they bend the gender of every member of the cast to add a twist to this Shakespeare classic, which was in its day controversial for challenging accepted gender stereotypes. The venue…
Read MoreEdith in the Dark – Harrogate Theatre
A mixture of horror and hilarity, this deft and superbly acted piece balances humour and dark terror, with superb acting of multiple characters from all of the actors. The background to the piece surrounds children’s author E Nesbit, best known for The Railway Children, and reveals that not only does she write bleak and terrifying…
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