Theatre

Early mourning - 4.48 Psychosis

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Nine years ago, uncompromising playwright Sarah Kane ended her own life. In an old Warsaw variety theatre, Mark Fisher is shaken by a mesmerising staging of her final work.

Foe play - Class Enemy

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

In times of both war and peace, Haris Pasovic has created crucial theatre. Malcolm Jack speaks to him about taking a story set in 1970s Brixton and plunging it into contemporary Sarajevo.

Hard times - Gladder to be Gay?

Festival of Politics

22 Jul 2008

Simon Callow is heading our way with both Stonewall and Dickens on his mind. Anna Millar chats to one of theatre’s hardest working men about his love of acting and support for gay rights Mere minutes out of London rehearsals for The Magic Flute and…

Real gone kids - Architecting

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

Fringe favourites The TEAM return to Edinburgh with a reimagining of Margaret Mitchell’s iconic Southern drama. Kirstin Innes caught up with them to discuss everything from Barack Obama to Scarlett O’Hara.

Video nation - Looking at Tazieh

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Aiming to debunk some of the cruder myths of Iran and its people, acclaimed director Abbas Kiarostami brings us a filmed account of an ancient drama. Miles Fielder talks to him about universal themes.

The Body Politic

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

A story of prostitution, oppression and torture might not sound like fun, but throw in a bit of belly dancing and you have a Fringe hit. Steve Cramer talks to Craig Murray, formerly our man in Uzbekistan, about baring souls on stage.

Wilde boys - Matthew Bourne’s Dorian Gray

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Matthew Bourne is taking his biggest risk yet by revamping The Picture of Dorian Gray. Kelly Apter talks to him about sensuality, satire and the death of Heath Ledger.

Death becomes them - The Two Widows

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Jane Irwin and Kate Valentine are at very different stages in their operatic careers. But Carol Main finds them both in exuberant mood ahead of Scottish Opera’s take on Smetana’s 19th century comedy.

The IT crowd - Mortal Engine

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

An enormous technological feat and huge physical challenge, Chunky Move’s new show has been universally acclaimed. Kelly Apter hears how choreographer Gideon Obarzanek’s dream came vividly to life. Bumps, bruises and bunions. It’s all in a day’s work…

Swede Dreams - Britt Ekland

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

A true icon of the 60s and 70s, Britt Ekland has lived a life of glamour and glory. She tells Liz Joseph why she’s telling the Fringe her story and how she keeps from feeling her age.

Shopping & trucking - The Great American Trailer Park Musical

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

When a show is dubbed as a cross between Desperate Housewives and South Park, it’s going to get noticed. Emma Lennox hears some trash talk from those behind The Great American Trailer Park Musical

Reach for the sky - Charlie Victor Romeo preview

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

If you have a debilitating fear of flying, Charlie Victor Romeo might not be on top of your must-see Fringe list. But Liz Joseph believes that anyone interested in heart-stopping theatre should check in now

The Tell-Tale Heart

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Tension-filled hour of Edgar Allan Poe’s psychological chiller. Barrie Kosky made his mark last year with the vulgar extravagance of Poppea, a show that blended Monteverdi opera with the songs of Cole Porter. Now he’s back with an altogether more…

Best of the rest - Kids shows

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

The Gruffalo. Mouse can scare hungry animals away with tales of the terrifying Gruffalo, but what happens when he comes face to face with the very creature he imagined? Potted Pirates. From the good people who brought you Potted Potter comes this…

I Went to the House But Did Not Enter

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

A collage-based approach to theatre from maverick creator. Heiner Goebbels’ latest work may be in the Edinburgh International Festival’s drama programme, but the scope of this maverick composer and theatre maker is far more expansive. In 2001…

New Electric Ballroom

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

If Karl Marx was right that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce, no one told Enda Walsh. He’s done it the other way around. After the riotous surrealism of last year’s Fringe First-winning The Walworth Farce, the playwright is back…

The Mozart Question - Kids theatre

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

Over the last couple of years, Fringe audiences have wept at his stories. Kelly Apter finds former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo continuing that tearful trend with a sad tale from World War II Michael Morpurgo is standing on a sun-drenched…

Best of the rest - Edinburgh International Festival

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Giselle. Under the artistic direction of Nina Ananiashvili, the State Ballet of Georgia will be performing what many view as the definitive interpretation of this romantic ballet. Gabriela Montero Two performances here from the superb Venezuelan…

Bittersweet symphony - Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Brecht and Weill’s Mahagonny has inspired an artistic generation. Neil Cooper analyses the pair’s enduring appeal.

Damned Beautiful

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Kelly Apter finds another Dorian Gray show kicking about in the form of Helix Dance’s Fringe adaptation. Matthew Bourne isn’t alone in finding Oscar Wilde’s 19th century novel inspirational. Cambridge-based company Helix Dance also saw potential for a…

Night terrors

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

A traumatic childhood accident inspired Adam Rapp’s latest play, Nocturne. Mark Fisher chats to the US writer about death, drama and decapitation

Regal king size - Król Roger

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Fitting neatly into the EIF’s theme of Artists Without Borders, the majestic Król Roger opens up audiences to an innovative collaboration. Carol Main chats to Festival director Jonathan Mills about the opera’s arrival in the city. Listening to a…

Fall

War requiem - Traverse

17 Jul 2008

New director of the Traverse Dominic Hill’s own directorial debut is an unobtrusive choice. Kirstin Innes meets Zinnie Harris, the playwright behind Fall

Pornography - Simon Stephens interview

Shock values - Traverse Theatre

17 Jul 2008

As the Traverse embarks on its first Edinburgh Festival Fringe season under the artistic directorship of Dominic Hill, Steve Cramer talks to acclaimed dramatist Simon Stephens, writer of Pornography, about 7/7 and a new definition of the pornographic

Overarching drive - Jackie Wylie new artistic director of the Arches

17 Jul 2008

It’s been less than a week since Jackie Wylie was appointed artistic director of the Arches (bringing the grand total of women in that position in Scottish theatre up to three), but the 28-year-old has already jumped in with both feet. ‘I’m excited.

The Tailor of Inverness

17 Jul 2008

Matthew Zajac’s play traces a man’s life, from his boyhood spent on a farm in Galicia (now Western Ukraine) to carving out a career as a tailor in the Highland capital. Dogstar’s production, directed by Ben Harrison, explores issues of identity and…

Theatre - List picks

17 Jul 2008

Scratch Night Performers, writers and dancers are given ten minutes to try out their latest ideas on a live audience, who offer their feedback later on. See preview, left. Arches, Glasgow, Tue 22 Jul. Much Ado About Nothing The second instalment in…

Edinburgh Fringe - LGBT Highlights

17 Jul 2008

Allan Radcliffe selects the best the Fringe has to offer in comedy, theatre and music

Bex' eviction worry

Big Brother

14 Jul 2008

Bex thinks there will be a surprise eviction tonight. The busty nursery nurse became convinced one of the 'Big Brother' housemates would be heading home after she heard noises similar to those the group hear on Fridays when the eviction stage is being…

Ian Smith - Peeping at Bosch

3 Jul 2008

Some performance projects simply have to be seen to be believed. This is certainly the case with Mischief La-Bas’ fascinating slice of live, interactive entertainment, Peeping at Bosch, the first stage in an attempt to realise the iconic Hieronymus…

Materials For a Small Winter

3 Jul 2008

DANCE THEATRE CCA, Glasgow, Sat 12 Jul The teenage years can feature some pivotal moments. For choreographer Angus Balbernie it was the discovery of Malcolm Lowry’s 1947 novel Under the Volcano, widely regarded as one of the great literary works of…

Our House

3 Jul 2008

MUSICAL Theatre Royal, Glasgow, until Sat 5 Jul; Playhouse, Edinburgh, Mon 7–Sat 12 Jul Following in the footsteps of popular jukebox musicals Mamma Mia! and We Will Rock You, comes this effort from writer Tim Firth (Calendar Girls), featuring the…

The Merchant of Venice

3 Jul 2008

OUTDOOR THEATRE Botanic Gardens, Glasgow, until Sat 12 Jul Don’t be put off by Glasgow’s unpredictable weather and miss this summer’s Bard in the Botanics. Cheerful and casual in its approach to theatre, the outdoor play season is a big hit with…

The Show Must Go On . . . Musicals and More

3 Jul 2008

This unique gala concert will have fans of stage musicals drooling in anticipation. The show features selections from some of the best-known stage hits of the last 50 years, from classics such as My Fair Lady, Les Miserables and Cats to recent box…

Underwater overwater - Fuerzabruta

edfest.tv - video

25 Jun 2008

Fuerzabruta brought a unique spactacle to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2007. It had no narrative, no dialogue, occupied a grey area somewhere between a performance art piece and a club night and cost £25 a ticket. But it managed to pack the punters in and…

And Then There Were None

19 Jun 2008

Established in 2005, the Agatha Christie Theatre Company has exclusive rights to the Queen of Crime’s back catalogue and has staged a number of touring productions, providing work for familiar actors off the telly and established directors. And Then…

Antigone in New York

19 Jun 2008

ADAPTATION GilmorehillG12, Glasgow, Fri 27–Sun 29 Jun Known for finding inspiration in outdoor spaces, Theatre Found will transform Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park into Central Park for a production of Janusz Glowacki’s Antigone in New York as part of the…

Ascendance Rep

19 Jun 2008

SITE-SPECIFIC DANCE St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, Wed 25 Jun; St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, Fri 27 Jun Weddings, worship, baptisms and burials – the usual line-up of events at your local cathedral. This month, however, pulpits will be pushed aside…

Bard in the Botanics

19 Jun 2008

If you accept the notion that ‘a sad tale’s best for winter’, it follows that a pair of comedies make the best entertainment for a summer backdrop. The programmers behind Bard in the Botanics certainly appear to think so. This year, Glasgow’s outdoor…

Evita

19 Jun 2008

MUSICAL Playhouse, Edinburgh, until Sat 21 Jun Performers bursting into song for no apparent reason is the slightly odd, but wholly accepted, calling card of musical theatre. But what better way to sidestep that moment of incongruity than to never…

Les Parents Terribles

19 Jun 2008

REVIVAL Dundee Rep, until Sat 21 Jun The repression of our natural sexual urges was, in Freud’s view, a necessary step in the production of a civilised society. Mention this along with his theories on the Oedipus complex, and you can expect…

Nederlands Dans Theater 2

19 Jun 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Fri 20 & Sat 21 Jun Given the enormous influence Jirí Kylián has had over Nederlands Dans Theater during the past 30 years, it should come as no surprise that even when he’s not there, his presence is felt.

Old People, Children and Animals

19 Jun 2008

NEW WORK Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 19–Sat 21 Jun Many of us have elderly relatives, kids, even pets, but in our busy lives, how much time do we actually spend worrying about their welfare? Certainly, these three groups have rarely appeared on a stage…

Swindle and Death

19 Jun 2008

NEW PLAY Byre Theatre, St Andrews, Thu 19 & Fri 20 Jun, then touring until Sat 28 Jun Great drama usually boils down to a battle between the rational and the irrational. It is the buttoned-up Pentheus fighting with the anarchic Dionysus. It is the…

The Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland awards announced

19 Jun 2008

The Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland concluded last week with Best Production, Director and Performance (male) going to the NTS/Dundee Rep production of Peer Gynt; Best Performance (female) went to Amy Manson for the Lyceum's Six Characters in…

The Winter's Tale

19 Jun 2008

OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE East Quadrangle, University of Glasgow, Until Sun 22 Jun Back in the day, going to see a show meant turning up at your village green or hostelry garden. Things have moved on since the 1500s, and there’s much to be said for modern…

Unravel

19 Jun 2008

NEW PLAY CCA, Glasgow, Thu 26–Sat 28 Jun Director Peter Lamb was cautious when he heard actor Mark Tominey’s idea. Could a show work in which the audience saw not only the characters but also the characters’ subtexts – their inner thoughts – fleshed…

The List and edfest.tv unite to provide Edinburgh Festivals video content

6 Jun 2008

Over 200 clips from the award-winning edfest.tv will be available at www.list.co.uk alongside related articles and content from The List throughout August.

Nederlands Dans Theater 2

5 Jun 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Tue 10 & Wed 11 Jun Many people claim to find inspiration from above. But French choreographer, Medhi Walerski looked skyward for more practical reasons – the clouds. Creating his debut work for…

Refugee Week

5 Jun 2008

This year, Refugee Week has built a programme loosely themed around the idea of ‘Different Pasts, Shared Futures’, with exhibitions looking at the different ways individuals interpret the cities around them, plays, talks, fairs and film festivals…

Liar

5 Jun 2008

CHILDREN’S THEATRE Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 7 Jun, then touring Scottish travelling songs and family secrets are revealed together in Davey Anderson’s play for young adults, which explores the difficulties people have when they are…

Ann Louise Ross - Les Parents Terribles

5 Jun 2008

In the early 20th century Paris, Jean Cocteau was considered avant-garde. He was the kind of artistic butterfly who, when he wasn’t publishing volumes of poetry, giving encouragement to young (and sexually attractive) artists and hanging out with the…

Blackbird

5 Jun 2008

REVIVAL Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Mon 9–Sat 14 Jun The gruesome ongoing discoveries in the Jersey abuse scandal and the uncovered horrors of Austrian Josef Fritzl’s secret basement have done little to quell the worst nightmares of parents. It is into…

Corona Classic Cuts

5 Jun 2008

NEW SEASON Oran Mor, Glasgow, until Sat 29 Jun King Lear in 50 minutes looks a pretty tall order, but it’s just one of four canonical classics reduced to lunchtime length in this new season from Oran Mor’s A Play, a Pie and a Pint. Producer David…

Evita

5 Jun 2008

It won’t be easy, you’ll think it strange . . . Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice’s musical trawl through the rise to sainthood of Eva Perón, is back on the road with a brand new national tour. Since the musical’s original incarnation as a concept album…

Swindle and Death

5 Jun 2008

NEW WORK Tron, Glasgow, Wed 11–Sat 14 Jun; Byre, St Andrews, Mon 16–Fri 20 Jun There’s a long history of plays by Scottish writers about the Scottish theatre, and too often these pieces become mired in self referential jokes. While Peter Arnott’s new…

The First to Go

5 Jun 2008

HOLOCAUST DRAMA Tron, Glasgow, until Sat 7 Jun, then touring Seeing disabled actors performing in a mainstream theatre is rare enough. Benchtours’ production of Nabil Shaban’s play about the treatment of the disabled in Nazi Germany is doubly…

The Infinite Pleasures of the Great Unknown

5 Jun 2008

NEW WORK Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 6 & Sat 7 Jun The provocative Dr Mabuse trilogy, made by Fritz Lang in the 1920-30s, was banned by the Nazis, before the filmmaker fled the country. It’s frightening, though unsurprising, that a work steeped in the…

The Red Room

5 Jun 2008

DANCE/PHYSICAL THEATRE Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Fri 13 & Sat 14 Jun Listening to David Hughes and Al Seed talk is like dropping in on a mutual appreciation society. Taking a break from rehearsals at Edinburgh’s Dance Base, the two men talk…

The Sound of My Voice

5 Jun 2008

ADAPTATION Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 7 Jun Most people live a life torn between the conformities of consumerism and some more primal urge for happiness, yet we only really notice this schism when a person goes off the rails. One such…

Three Harbours Arts Festival

22 May 2008

We’re all about the community arts festivals this week, it seems. Summer is finally coming, and we can’t think of a nicer way to spend a sunny weekend than tracking down art in unusual places. So, in East Lothian, the main premise behind the Three…

Little Otik - Sandy Grierson

22 May 2008

‘It’s a bit of wood!’ ‘That’s my baby!’ ‘It’s a bit of wood!’ ‘My BABY!’ The air in the Citizens’ Theatre is thick with the smell of peat, spread all over the stage where actors Sandy Grierson and Louisa Ludgate are rehearsing what, taken out of…

Liar

22 May 2008

CHILDREN'S THEATRE TAG at the Citizens’ Theatre, Sat 24 May–Sat 7 June Children’s theatre is relatively uncharted territory for Davey Anderson. The young Glasgow playwright is best known for Snuff and Rupture, jet-black, heavily political pieces set…

Nominees revealed for 2008 Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland

22 May 2008

Dundee Rep has been hailed as the frontrunner for the 2008 Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). The Rep heads the bill with 13 nominations across 9 categories, including Best Performance in both the male and female categories, Best Ensemble…

Akram Khan Dance Company and National Ballet of China: Bahok

22 May 2008

INDIAN/CONTEMPORARY/CHINESE DANCE Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 22 & Sat 23 May Bringing different cultures together has always been one of Akram Khan’s strengths. For the past ten years, the acclaimed dancer/choreographer has created an entirely new form of…

Reality

22 May 2008

REVIVAL Tron, Glasgow, Thu 29–Sat 31 May A good three decades have passed since the talking heads of the media first declared masculinity to be in crisis. If at times this idea has been overplayed, there can be little doubt that the role of men in our…

The First to Go

22 May 2008

NEW WRITING Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, Fri 23 & Sat 24 May then touring British audiences nearly got to see The First to Go in 2002. Actor and playwright Nabil Shaban had the commission from Battersea Arts Centre and the government had pledged £50,000…

Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival

22 May 2008

For years, the Bank of Scotland Children’s International Theatre Festival was something of a tongue-twister. Getting the words in the right order was no mean feat – even for Festival director, Tony Reekie. ‘I always got Children’s and International…

Doctor Dolittle

22 May 2008

MUSICAL Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Tue 20–Sat 31 May With a Hollywood pedigree that includes The Happiest Millionaire, Finian’s Rainbow and Half a Sixpence, Tommy Steele needs no lessons in how to turn in a charismatic lead performance in a musical.

Painted Eggs

22 May 2008

THEATRE St Bride’s Centre, Edinburgh, Thu 29–Sat 31 May Gay-themed theatre is a rare beast, but drama based around the experience of transsexuals is even more exceptional. This fortnight, The Luvvies, Scotland’s LGBT community theatre company, are set…

Rigmarole

22 May 2008

DEVISED THEATRE Arches, Glasgow, Wed 28–Fri 30 May, Ah, the youth of today. They skulk around at bus stops, they commit acts of arson . . . they devise experimental theatre pieces structured around Pirandello farces. . . Phil Spencer, one member…

Scottish Ballet's Romeo and Juliet

22 May 2008

NARRATIVE BALLET Theatre Royal Glasgow, Wed 4–Sat 7 Jun Big narrative ballets are filled with opulent sets and long drawn-out scenes – right? Not this time. Scottish Ballet has taken a different approach to Shakespeare’s tragic love story. Gone is the…

Sleuth

22 May 2008

REVIVAL Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Mon 26–Sat 31 May Since Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth first appeared in 1970, its countless revivals and two film versions attest to its capacity to intrigue audiences. But will the much-hyped, though ultimately slightly…

The Drawer Boy

22 May 2008

SCOTTISH PREMIERE Tron, Glasgow, until Sat 24 May All of us live by personal myths; stories we tell ourselves about our own past actions that justify the present. It seems easy enough to uncover these in others, but much harder to identify our own…

Fears eased over Festival performer visa crisis

8 May 2008

Fears that thousands of performers at the Edinburgh Festival would be prevented from entering the UK due to new immigration legislation have been eased with the introduction of a new type of visa. The Home Office has announced that visiting…

Nova Scotia

8 May 2008

NEW WORK Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 24 May Next time you’re trapped behind an oldie trying to use a cash point, quietly contemplating the benefits of euthanasia, you might want to reflect on Phil and Spanky, and buy yourself some patience.

As You Always Do

8 May 2008

NEW WORK Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 21–Sat 24 May Behind the stories of the media there are truths that we will never see. When we view reports of murders, disappearances and wars, our perspective is controlled by the scripting, editing and camera…

The Wasp Factory

8 May 2008

REVIVAL Regal Theatre, Bathgate, Thu 15 May, then touring Our fractured, alienating and individualist society is bound to produce some disquieting anomalies among its youth. In a world where the first priority is self, our capacity to empathise with…

Jeremy Raison - The Sound of My Voice

8 May 2008

Perhaps it’s merely a coincidence, but it seems somehow appropriate that the Citizens’ Theatre production of The Sound of My Voice should premiere exactly 40 years after the Paris disturbances of May 1968. For this great outcry was not about a lack of…

The Curve Foundation 10th Anniversary Gala

8 May 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 20 May ‘I thought if I were to have a party to celebrate ten years of the Curve Foundation, who would I invite?’ says Ross Cooper, artistic director of Curve Foundation. ‘Who has been relative to our…

Skin Piel (Without Sin)

8 May 2008

NEW WORK The Arches, Glasgow, Tue 20-Thu 22 May Morally questionable animal testing aside, in vivo research has proven its worth through centuries of scientific study, with experimentation on, or dissection of, entire systems providing valuable…

Colette Sadler: The Making of Doubt

8 May 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 9 & Sat 10 May She has danced throughout Europe, won a Creative Scotland award and choreographed for Belle and Sebastian. Yet the inspiration for Colette Sadler’s latest work was found practically on her…

Death Story

8 May 2008

NEW WORK Oran Mor, Glasgow, until Sat 10 May The thriller format that we’ve come to associate with Alma Cullen’s film and television work in such programmes as A Touch of Frost and Inspector Morse is abandoned in her latest play for a more reflective…

Educating Agnes

8 May 2008

NEW TRANSLATION Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow, run ended; Perth Theatre until Fri 9 May When Molière’s L’école des femmes was translated as Let Wives Tak Tent by Robert Kemp in 1948, it set in motion a half-century tradition of Scottish reworkings of…

Limbo/Zarraberri

8 May 2008

TRANSLATION Òran Mór, Glasgow, Mon 12 May–Sat 17 May In the 14th century, Dante described limbo as the ‘first circle of hell’ in The Divine Comedy. This 800-year-old concept of limbo, in which unbaptised babies who die are said to be stuck between…

Romeo and Juliet

8 May 2008

When the curtain falls on Scottish Ballet’s new production, it won’t just be the performers who deserve a round of applause. Sitting in the audience, it’s easy to forget the months of planning, preparation and perspiration that go into staging a…

The Song from the Sea

8 May 2008

CHILDREN’S THEATRE Platform, Glasgow, Wed 14 & Thu 15 May In these hectic times, rarely do you hear a child complain of having nothing to do. On the contrary, moments of calm are in short supply for most children. Tapping into this modern phenomenon…

Leith Festival announces line up

8 May 2008

Leith provided further evidence of its status as one of the city's most vibrant areas with the launch of its annual festival. Organisers revealed that the Leith Festival would showcase its trademark brew of home grown talent, alongside big name…

Miranda Richardson confirmed for Reading Room

1 May 2008

Actress Miranda Richardson has been confirmed as the guest reader for choreographer and director Jonathan Lunn 's Reading Room at Stirling's MacRobert. The show, which features text by the late Anthony Minghella and 'draws on the worlds of film…

Scottish Arts Council funding shift causes controversy

1 May 2008

A redistribution of Scottish Arts Council funding, announced today, has readjusted the balance of financial power within the Scottish arts. Among those to benefit under the new plans are: Arika , who run experimental music festivals Instal and Kill…

Glasgay! announces Tennessee Williams Festival

1 May 2008

The Glasgow-based LGBT festival Glasgay! has announced a new Tennessee Williams Festival for Autumn 2008, to commemorate the author on the 25th anniversary of his death. Among the events scheduled for the Williams Festival are four UK premieres of…

Edinburgh Festivals Forum appoints Susan Rice as Chair

24 Apr 2008

The Edinburgh Festivals Forum, the commission set up to oversee the strategic development of Edinburgh's Festivals and to maintain the city's position as the pre-eminent festival city, has announced the appointment of Susan Rice as Chair. Rice, who…

Nova Scotia - John Byrne

24 Apr 2008

‘Thirty years! Thirty years!’ John Byrne is standing in the middle of Victoria Street in Edinburgh, looking like one of his own drawings. Perfectly-sculpted, curled white quiff, battered layers of tweed and colour, thoroughly imposing, nicotine-stained…

Big in Falkirk - Ajay Chhabra and Mike Roberts

24 Apr 2008

Anyone staging outdoor theatre in Scotland crosses their fingers – and toes and eyes – that the weather will behave itself at showtime. But for Ajay Chhabra, co-artistic director of nutkhut, who is bringing the dance and pyrotechnic spectacle Bollywood…

The Drawer Boy - An interview with Andy Arnold

24 Apr 2008

The Tron seems to be undergoing its own version of a glorious 100 days at the moment as its newly appointed artistic director, Andy Arnold, hits the ground, not so much running as sprinting. The former artistic director of The Arches avows that a very…

The Emperor’s New Kilt

24 Apr 2008

CHILDREN’S THEATRE Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Thu 24–Sat 26 Apr It’s hard to know who to praise most for this clever, funny and engaging show. There is not a single weak link to be found. The intelligent script blends humour, pathos and insightful…

That Night Follows Day

24 Apr 2008

NEW WORK Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 1–Sat 3 May ‘My own observations show that we have rated the powers of children too low and that there is no knowing what they cannot be given credit for.’ Freud believed growing up became a matter of submitting to…

Elephant

24 Apr 2008

VISUAL SPECTACULAR Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 3 May We’ve seen enough McTheatre in recent years to spot the big, spectacular, all singing, all dancing, massive special effect extravaganza a mile off. Inside the profession such shows are…

Trumpets and Raspberries

24 Apr 2008

FARCE Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 10 May Farce is a form that seems to thrive on dangerous times. From the great war disillusionment and depression that saw Travers and Coward at their peaks, on to the social revolution of the 60s that…

Magpie

24 Apr 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Dundee Rep, Wed 7 May Aptly named after a cocky wee beastie with an eye for cherry-picking gems, Magpie is an expertly-curated rummage through some of the most exciting contemporary choreography of the last 20 years – a modern…