Theatre and Reviews

At The Sans Hotel

A sophisticated exploration of the form/content dichotomy

8 Aug 2011

Being invited to ‘come feel from the front’ of the stage is indicative of a bohemian love-in, but At The Sans Hotel is instead a sophisticated exploration of the form/content dichotomy. The play balances large ideas of perceived reality with humour and…

One Under

Energetic piece of devised theatre based on London Underground

8 Aug 2011

Inspired by interviews conducted on the London Underground, this energetic piece of devised theatre looks beneath the sweat and stress of the cramped carriages to unearth the inner lives of people travelling on the tube. Their stories are variously…

Sideshow

Freakshow-themed one-man show lacks pay-off

8 Aug 2011

Surrounded by the paraphernalia of the freakshow, Robert Ingham (Lewis Davidson) reminisces on his life as an oddity and the world behind the velvet curtain. Switching between biography and sideshow acts, Davidson’s one-man show plays out like the pitch…

The Magical Faraway Tree

Multi-character comedy not really based on Enid Blyton tale

8 Aug 2011

If you’re looking for a family-friendly rendering of an Enid Blyton tale, beware – this isn’t it. Instead, the supremely silly boys of Sleeping Trees Theatre have concocted a multi-character comedy with only the slenderest of roots lodged in Blytonian…

Belt Up’s The Boy James

Well-executed drama based on JM Barrie's childhood

8 Aug 2011

The Boy James, loosely based on the childhood of JM Barrie, begins with childish enthusiasm but gradually moves into more sinister ground, and ends with no firm resolution. Although the acting and script occasionally falter, the overall effect is one of…

Nobody’s Home: A Modern Odyssey

Powerful portrayal of mental illness

8 Aug 2011

Confined to his bathroom (and his own mind), returning soldier Grant battles war-born demons, which parallel the perils faced by Ulysses, tussling with wife Penny (who doubles as Homer’s monsters) for firm mental ground. Excellently devised and…

Radio Deluxembourg

Parodic retro-kitsch with utterly unfunny script and weary cast

8 Aug 2011

A parodic retro-kitsch adventure in which a twee sibling pop duo are kidnapped by an evil alien overlord and forced to perform radio plays on his intergalactic frequency could work, but here it doesn’t. More foot in mouth than tongue in cheek, the cast…

The Seagull Effect

Enthusiasm and visual techniques let down by overdone score and direction

8 Aug 2011

It’s raining on the way to Idle Motion’s The Seagull Effect, setting the audience up nicely to appreciate a play about small but consequential events in the world and the weather. Unfortunately the performance is similarly damp with overly literal…

Remembering Annabel

Edgar Allan Poe adaptation feels messy despite flashes of humour

8 Aug 2011

Riding high on the critical success of their 2010 show Pale Moon, the young members of Cathartic Connections chose to adapt Edgar Allan Poe’s Annabel Lee as their follow-up. While there are clever flashes of humour, much of the plotting feels messy and…

Shhh: The Musical

Enthusiasm let down by unoriginal script and forgettable songs

8 Aug 2011

There is little doubting the enthusiasm of this young cast, as they do their best with a ‘romcom’ script about finding love in a bookshop. Sadly their energy is largely wasted on a script lacking in originality and punch. The characters are roundly…

The Dipper

Utter nonsense misses the mark completely

8 Aug 2011

What should have been the sting in The Dipper’s tail is inexplicably revealed in one of the very first moves anyone makes in this show, rendering the next 40 minutes pointless. A convoluted set-up results in a well to-do housewife cum jewel thief…

Dr Apple’s Last Lecture

Energetic acting, but ultimately without a point

8 Aug 2011

Depicting a drug trip live on stage was always going to be challenge. But in this tale of an uptight psychology professor deciding to expand his consciousness, the end result is self-indulgent rather than revelatory. Many of the play’s images are…

Terezin: Children of the Holocaust

Fictionalised account of a concert fails to convey emotional weight

8 Aug 2011

Writer Anna Smulowitz, who lost relatives in the Holocaust, presents a fictionalised account of a concert performed at the Czech concentration camp Terezin. Using a revolving cast of youngsters to portray the daily suffering of camp internees the piece…

Minute After Midday

Pared-down performance based on Omagh bombing

8 Aug 2011

Pared-down performances resonate here as three very different stories are told, in overlapping monologues, from the day the Omagh bombing devastated Ireland. A young survivor, a widow, and the driver who left the car bomb on Lower Market Street, relive…

Toulouse-Lautrec: The Musical

Japanese one-man show dedicated but lacking in pace and musical gravitas

8 Aug 2011

Toulouse Lautrec’s life was a colourful one, worthy of musical exploration, and this Japanese company’s dedication is admirable, in a one-man show, helmed by Japanese performer/songwriter Jun Sawaki. But while Sawaki undoubtedly offers his all to the…

The Billie Holiday Story

Enjoyable insight into a unique talent

8 Aug 2011

Under the pretence of a gig, actress Nina Kristofferson uses the ‘stage patter’ sections of the show to provide narrative about the singer’s tragic life, whilst nailing down Holiday’s voice and mannerisms. Enjoyable insight into a unique talent, plagued…

Dream Pill

Poignant insight into the unsettling reality of sex work in the UK

8 Aug 2011

Produced by Clean Break and based on real experiences, this minimalist performance focuses on two young girls trafficked from Nigeria. The two actresses adopt child-like language and mannerisms to provide a poignant insight into the unsettling reality…

The One Man Show

Late-night high-tech deconstruction with Jaffa Cakes

5 Aug 2011

So post-modern it hurts, The One Man Show is a piece of theatre about watching a piece of theatre. It has a mysterious start, a set of emotional states, a philosophical moment where we cough and eat sweets, a cheesy musical interlude and a point when we…

Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut

Morag Fullerton's stage adaptation is a charmingly chaotic classic

21 Jul 2011

It’s almost impossible to tell that the team behind Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut have not staged their increasingly lauded production in the Tron before tonight. Originating as part of Òran Mór’s Cult Classics series during its pint/pie-filled…

A Midsummer Night’s Dream - Botanical Gardens, Glasgow, until Sat 9 Jul

Gordon Barr's outdoor production retains its Shakespearean sparkle

8 Jul 2011

First things first: it is a bit of a shame that this year’s opening production for the 10th anniversary programme of Bard in the Botanics has been consigned to a small corner at the rear of the Kibble Palace. While the cast work as hard as ever and the…

Knives in Hens

Revival of David Harrower's 90s play tours Scotland

14 Jun 2011

Lies Pauwels’ revival for the NTS of David Harrower’s 1995 play is the very definition of ‘marmite’ theatre. From its opening moments, in which Susan Vidler as the Ploughman’s Wife, and Vicki Manderson as her alter-ego rampage around, flashing their…

Anna Karenina

Dundee Rep ensemble pull off moving and powerful version of Tolstoy's classic love story

6 Jun 2011

Despite the occasional casting oddities that arise from matching a permanent ensemble to the requirements of a text, Dundee Rep pull off a moving and powerful version of one of the pinnacles in Russian literature. Jo Clifford’s lovely 2005 adaptation of…

Dunsinane

Roxana Silbert's production of David Greig's play stars Jonny Phillips and Siobhan Redmond

27 May 2011

Much has been made of the parallels between David Greig’s depiction of 11th century Scotland and modern day Afghanistan in his audacious sequel to Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The tortuous relationship between conqueror and vanquished is certainly…

Tony Cownie's production of Liz Lochhead's Educating Agnes bubbles with wit and charm

Peter Forbes, Mark Prendergast and Nicola Roy star

28 Apr 2011

There’s lots to enjoy in this revival of Liz Lochhead’s translation of Moliere’s L’ecole des femmes, but perhaps the greatest pleasure comes from the wit and dynamism offered by the text itself. A palpable sense of anticipation grips the audience as we…

Rona Munro's rom-com-thriller Pandas features candid humour and fine performances but lacks focus

25 Apr 2011

Pandas set-up as a series of two-handers between seemingly disparate characters, all with a connection to tax-dodging businessman Andy (Keith Fleming), who imports rugs from China. When he’s shot in the backside and suffers a heart attack the main…