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Raydale Dower - Cryptic Nights at CCA, Glasgow, Thu 2 Feb 2012

Raydale Dower - Cryptic Nights at CCA, Glasgow, Thu 2 Feb 2012

Experimental but playful sound installation

(3 stars)8 Feb 2012

The title of Raydale Dower's new 'spatial sound composition' speaks volumes about the former Uncle John & Whitelock bassist and current Tut Vu Vu clarinettist and sonic architect's methodology.…

Zach Braff, writer, director and star of All New People - interview

Interview: Zach Braff, writer, director and star of All New People

The Scrubs and Garden State star discusses his new theatre production

2 Feb 2012

‘I’m still Jenny from the block,’ says Zach Braff after a moment’s reflection. ‘Even now I feel a bit underground in the acting world.’ For those who enjoyed Braff (and 20 million viewers around the world did) as the lovable JD in US comedy drama…

Alasdair Gray prepares for a second reading of Fleck - interview

Alasdair Gray prepares for a second reading of Fleck - interview

Scots version of Faust myth to be performed at Margins Book Festival

2 Feb 2012

Will Self described you as ‘a creative polymath with an integrated politico-philosophic vision’, but you say you're ‘a fat, spectacled, balding, increasingly old Glasgow pedestrian’. Which do you prefer as an official description? I don't approve of…

Ten things you might not know about Zach Braff

Zach Braff: Ten things you might not know

The star of Scrubs, Garden State and All New People also voices the US Andrex puppy

2 Feb 2012

1 He is the youngest of four children. He has two brothers, Adam and Joshua, and a sister, Shoshanna. His mother and father are divorced and have both remarried. He says he now spends Thanksgiving with his ‘four parents’. 2 He had an ‘American…

Swallows and Amazons

Swallows and Amazons

Slick, spirited musical play with Neil Hannon score grasps essence of original

(4 stars)2 Feb 2012

The four children of the Walker family, aged 12 to 7, are given permission by their naval father to set off alone on the sailing dinghy Swallow to camp on an uninhabited island on Coniston Water in the Lake District. Their imaginations let loose, they…

Passing Through charts encounter between a magician and a young woman

Passing Through charts encounter between a magician and a young woman

Theatre romcom two-hander from Peapod Productions

2 Feb 2012

Striking out on your own can be tough. But for actor Philip Kingscott, who set up Peapod Productions in 2010, the gamble has been worthwhile. Last year’s touring production The Garden was a five-star success, leading Kingscott to commission a new play…

Visible Fictions to revive Zorro

Visible Fictions to revive Zorro

The theatre company's popular swashbuckler to play at Scottish Youth Theatre

2 Feb 2012

In case you didn’t know, the word ‘zorro’ is Spanish for ‘fox’, and that’s exactly what this cunning fictional hero does – fox those around him, not just with his deeds but his entire persona. Starting life as a serial in a 1920s US magazine, the tales…

Mark Fisher dicusses The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide

Mark Fisher on The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide

Theatre critic's book of essential advice to aspiring Fringe performers

1 Feb 2012

1 Choosing a title takes ages It’s as straightforward as they come, yet The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide was a title born of months of discussion. The subtitle, How to Make Your Show a Success, was arrived at no quicker. My editor couldn’t believe…

Greg Hemphill makes An Appointment with the Wicker Man

An Appointment with the Wicker Man

Robin Hardy’s 1973 classic to become the play-within-the-play for new NTS production

1 Feb 2012

‘There are many films that people would love to see adapted cleanly onto the stage,’ says Greg Hemphill, and if current trends are anything to go by, he looks to be right, ‘but when we discussed it with Vicky [Featherstone, National Theatre of Scotland…

Interview: Choreographer Christine Devaney

Interview: Choreographer Christine Devaney

Artistic director of Scottish contemporary dance company Curious Seed

1 Feb 2012

Christine Devaney, artistic director of Scottish contemporary dance company Curious Seed, tells us all about her new production, PUSH What made you want to be a choreographer? I’ve honestly never thought ‘I want to be a choreographer’, but I knew I…

Jemima Levick discusses Steel Magnolia revival

Jemima Levick on Steel Magnolias revival

The theatre director aims to retain the humour and tenderness of Robert Harling's original script

1 Feb 2012

‘I would rather have 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special,’ says Dolly Parton as brassy hairdresser Truvy in the 1989 film adaptation of Steel Magnolias. The country singer led a cast of big name Hollywood hitters that included…

Lovesong looks at beginning and end of a marriage

Lovesong looks at beginning and end of a marriage

Frantic Assembly, Abi Morgan, Steven Hoggett and Scott Graham

1 Feb 2012

During its runs in Plymouth and London, Lovesong has had audiences reaching for the tissues in huge numbers. Penned by Abi Morgan (27, The Hour), produced by Frantic Assembly (Beautiful Burnout) and directed by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett (the…

Mwana is a new play from Glasgow-based Ankur Productions

Mwana is a new play from Glasgow-based Ankur Productions

Debut play from Tawona Sithole examines culture of Zimbabwe

1 Feb 2012

Mwana is a salad boy. It’s a Zimbabwean joke, what people who live in the country and eat a heavy, starchy diet call the urban lettuce-munchers. Despite this dietary preference Mwana comes to Glasgow to study and Tawona Sithole’s play takes his return…

Melmoth The Wanderer

Melmoth The Wanderer

Stage adaptation of Charles Maturin’s 1820 epic, sardonic shaggy dog

1 Feb 2012

The Northern Irish company Big Telly Productions has a taste for adapting unruly texts such as Spike Milligan’s manic novel Puckoon. Their latest production is an adaptation by Nicola McCartney of Charles Maturin’s 1820 novel Melmoth the Wanderer. An…

Playwright Ishy Din dicusses new play Snookered

Playwright Ishy Din dicusses new play Snookered

Former cabbie creates characters that transcend cultural divides

1 Feb 2012

The latest production from London-based theatre company Tamasha explores the issues faced by young men reaching adulthood and how the choices they make inform the rest of their lives. In Snookered four friends meet for a tense drink on the anniversary…

Samuel Beckett's 'The End' to be adapted by Gare St Lazare

Samuel Beckett's 'The End' to be adapted by Gare St Lazare

Conor Lovett and Judy Hegarty Lovett adapt absurdist short story

1 Feb 2012

A nameless man, ejected from an anonymous institution, lost in a city. ‘The End’, a short story written by Samuel Beckett in 1954, is one of Gare St Lazare’s favourite pieces of the Irish absurdist’s work. They are well placed to have a preference…

Double Nugget combines shows Marymassacre and Seven Year Itch

Double Nugget combines shows Marymassacre and Seven Year Itch

Random Accomplice take two duet plays on tour

1 Feb 2012

With hits like Little Johnny’s Big Gay Wedding and last year’s Smalltown, Random Accomplice have proved themselves to be one of Scotland’s best-loved theatre groups. Now, they’ve revived 2008’s Marymassacre and 2009’s Seven Year Itch in a touring double…

The Infamous Brothers Davenport

The Infamous Brothers Davenport

Captures excitement of Victorian public séance but makes for unsatisfactory theatre

(3 stars)1 Feb 2012

Some 52 members of the crew on this co-production between Vox Motus and the Lyceum were required to sign secrecy clauses, so it’s no surprise that the show has its fair share of ‘how-did-they-do-that’ moments. In one scene, a table rises from the ground…

Preview of 2012 - King Lear

Preview of 2012 - King Lear

New Citizens Theatre boss Dominic Hill brushes up his Shakespeare

6 Jan 2012

Take on the Citizens Theatre and you take on the past. Any artistic director of the Glasgow institution can only be aware of the building’s history. Opened as the Royal Princess’s Theatre in 1848, it became home to James Bridie’s Citizens’ company in…

The Infamous Brothers Davenport

Playwright Peter Arnott discusses The Infamous Brothers Davenport

Arnott and Vox Motus to resurrect the 19th century American spiritualists

6 Jan 2012

This new show from playwright Peter Arnott and Vox Motus promises to be part Dickens, part Derren Brown. It focuses on real-life American magicians William and Ira Davenport, who in the 1860s were a central part of the spiritualist movement, which first…

The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon discusses new theatre production Swallows and Amazons

The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon discusses theatre production Swallows and Amazons

The musical is to be directed by War Horse's Tom Morris

6 Jan 2012

‘I don’t think of myself as much of a collaborator...’ muses Neil Hannon. A chuckle follows, the irony of his statement kicking in. When he’s not being frontman to The Divine Comedy, the Northern Irish pop star has written music for Father Ted and…

The King and I

The King and I

This stylish production of the musical classic can't disguise the script's patronising tone

(3 stars)6 Jan 2012

Like most of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s quintet of hit musicals, the deceptively light surface action in The King and I struggles to keep the lid on the problematic themes rumbling away underneath. Where the culture clash between prim, feisty governess…

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel (Platform, Glasgow)

Magical and truly unpatronising update of the Grimm Brothers' classic

(4 stars)21 Dec 2011

If the Grimm Brothers had grown up in Easterhouse, their version of the cannibalistic horror story for kids, Hansel and Gretel, might have turned out slightly differently. In Platform’s magical, and truly unpatronising 2011 update, Gretel (Becki…

The Lost Sock Princess

The Lost Sock Princess

Puppet Lab's festive show for under-sevens is infectious, interactive fun

(4 stars)19 Dec 2011

Ever wondered what happens to your socks when they disappear from the washing machine? Puppet Lab provides some highly persuasive answers to this conundrum in a big-hearted entertainment pitched at children under the age of seven. The show kicks off in…

Simon Hart, artistic director of the Manipulate Visual Theatre Festival - interview

Interview: Simon Hart, artistic director of the Manipulate Visual Theatre Festival

Highlights of the 2012 theatre and puppetry festival programme

19 Dec 2011

What can we expect from this year’s Manipulate programme? A great festival with an eclectic international mix: of stylish and sophisticated object theatre, digital projections, animations – and lots of water – in the Theatre Sans Soucis’ Hamletmachine…

The Captain’s Collection

The Captain’s Collection

Matthew Zajac of Dogstar Theatre to play Gaelic music preservationist Captain Simon Fraser

19 Dec 2011

The latest production from Inverness-based company Dogstar is a rich tale about a composer and former British Army officer who courts fame by publishing his volumes of Highland music. The piece, which is being performed in Glasgow as part of Celtic…

The Hot 100 2011: 100-40

The Hot 100 2011: 100-50

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

100: Gordon Ferris. Kilmarnock crime author makes good. The already packed Scottish crime writing field has finally found a bit of elbow room for another burgeoning talent. Joining the likes of Rankin, Brookmyre, McDermid and co is this Ayrshire-born…

HOT 100 2011 - 49 to 1

Hot 100 2011 - No. 49 to 1

The definitive list of Scottish creative talent

16 Dec 2011

The Hot 100 is the definitive list of Scottish creative talent. From fashion designers to performance artists, everyone who has made a sizeable splash in 2011 has a place in this countdown. It’s for people who’ve created a buzz, but it’s also about…

Hot 100 2011 - 54: Summerhall venue offers something special

Hot 100 2011 - No. 54: Summerhall venue offers something special

Festival debut marks beginning of major creative space in Edinburgh

16 Dec 2011

Before this August it seemed the Edinburgh Festival was already home to every sort of show and venue imaginable. So, when an entirely new major space sprang up, it was difficult to see what it might offer above the usual. On the programme at…

Best of 2011: Theatre

Best of 2011: Theatre

The best theatre work of 2011, including The Age of Arousal and The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Har

14 Dec 2011

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart. The story of the overly curious girl/boy who encounters the Devil is as old as theatre itself, but David Greig’s inspired play-cum-ceilidh brought a dynamic twist to the Border Ballad form. Touring pubs around the…

Theatre critic Mark Fisher casts his eye over the Shakespeare productions planned for 2012

Theatre critic Mark Fisher on the Shakespeare productions planned for 2012

Alan Cumming, David Hayman and more to stage the Bard next year

13 Dec 2011

In 1964, the Polish critic Jan Kott published Shakespeare, our Contemporary. The book caused a stir for framing a long-dead playwright through the lens of 20th century totalitarianism. Director Peter Brook was delighted to find a commentator who could…

Lost Sock Princess

Lost Sock Princess

A puppet theatre performance that lets you join in – all you need is an odd sock

13 Dec 2011

Try as you might to wash and dry them together, socks have a way of parting company somewhere between the laundry basket and underwear drawer. It’s at that point you need the Lost Sock Princess to help you reunite the estranged pair. Or do you? One…

The List launches new cultural awards

The List launches new cultural awards

The List Award 2011 shortlist includes David Greig, Karla Black, Aidan Moffat and David Mackenzie

12 Dec 2011

The List introduces its own end-of-year cultural award, plus a Best Newcomer award. The awards complement The List's annual creative talent list The Hot 100, the 2011 edition of which is published on 14 Dec The winners to be announced at a Hot 100…

The Tree of Knowledge

The Tree of Knowledge

David Hume and Adam Smith point out obvious pitfalls of 21st century life

(3 stars)12 Dec 2011

The central conceit of Jo Clifford’s new play is an interesting one. Two influential figures from 18th century Scotland find themselves in early 21st century Edinburgh, surveying the world they helped create. The witty lines flow thick and fast, as…

Cinderella

Cinderella (Dundee Rep)

Witty script, excellent performances and bold lack of concern for tradition

(4 stars)12 Dec 2011

Writer Phil Porter has taken perhaps the best-loved of all festive tales, pulled it apart and reassembled it with a bold lack of concern for tradition. Yes, folks, this is Cinderella but not as we know it. For starters, this version is set on a…

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty

King’s Theatre panto sends everyone home happy

(3 stars)9 Dec 2011

As much a part of the Glaswegian festive season as green and blue santa hats, the King’s Theatre panto looks like an institution defiant of change. So it is refreshing to find a new face, Arron Usher as Jimmy Jingles the Jester, going through the…

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel (Citizens Theatre, Glasgow)

Musical theatre of dry ice, flashing lights and belting numbers

(3 stars)9 Dec 2011

The Citz, of recent years, have taken their festive shows down a musical theatre route and Alan McHugh’s Hansel and Gretel ticks all the genre’s boxes. Older audience members may prefer a quirkier Christmas production but the dry ice, flashing lights…

Cinderella

Cinderella (King's Theatre, Edinburgh)

Panto dream time Allan Stewart, Andy Gray, Grant Stott and Paul Elliot strike gold once again

(4 stars)8 Dec 2011

The great strength of the King’s panto, year upon year, is its ability to hook audiences of all ages and tastes. The script, co-written by Paul Elliott and everyone’s favourite dame, Allan Stewart, features great dollops of slapstick and toilet humour…

Rudolf

Rudolf

The Arches strike again with imaginative alt.panto starring Ross Allan and Rob Evans

(4 stars)7 Dec 2011

For the last couple of years, The Arches have offered an offbeat alternative to the traditional panto – and this year’s Rudolf is no exception. The classic reindeer tale (red nosed fella, rejected by society, wins out in the end by saving Christmas) is…

Mister Merlin

Mister Merlin

The Weegie-centric Tron panto continues to entertain despite uncertain future

(3 stars)7 Dec 2011

Renowned for their particularly weegie take on a festive tale, the Tron may sadly be unable to continue their affordable Christmas shows due to the loss of their corporate sponsor. Unless they find another, the theatre will need to raise £20,000 a year…

A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol

Dickens' festive spook story is given a compelling and creepy outing by Graham McLaren

(4 stars)7 Dec 2011

Scrooge and Marley’s gloomy office. Dangerous cables loop across the ceiling, piles of dusty papers fill the walls. As we enter in twos and threes to a whooping, fussing welcome, Scrooge himself – a grizzled figure in shrunken tailcoat and slippers…

Jackie and the Beanstalk

Jackie and the Beanstalk

Johnny McKnight's panto manages to entertain while challenging traditional gender roles

(4 stars)7 Dec 2011

According to panto dame Dott Von Trott, things have got so bad in the austerity-stricken pantosphere that ‘parents in Bridge of Allan have started firing their nannies and learning their own kids’ names’. Serious times indeed, and there’s something…

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

Stuart Paterson's 'children's play' is enjoyable but lacks the energy of true panto

(3 stars)6 Dec 2011

The basic story is so simple it’s mythic: girl meets beast, they fall in love, beast turns into boy. Stuart Paterson’s venerable adaptation is a tad more complicated. There are ugly sisters (as if a titular ugly character weren’t enough), played with…

Liam Rudden of the Brunton Theatre’s Aladdin - interview

Liam Rudden of the Brunton Theatre’s Aladdin - interview

The writer-director shares his insight into the panto-creating process

6 Dec 2011

What are the challenges of adapting such a well-known story? The biggest challenge is ensuring that the narrative is not lost in amongst all the routines, gags and songs. Finding the right routines and songs to advance the story is crucial. How does…

Top Hat

Top Hat

Loving tribute to the Fred'n'Ginger classic, starring Tom Chambers and Summer Strallen

(4 stars)24 Nov 2011

According to legend, screen hoofer Fred Astaire was such a perfectionist that, during the 40th take of a scene from Swing Time (1936), his partner Ginger Rogers’ feet started to bleed through her satin slippers. In this stage adaptation of one of…

Alan Cumming to perform free show at Glasgow's King’s Theatre

Alan Cumming to perform free show at Glasgow's King’s Theatre

Scots-born actor in NTS show combining discussion and performance

18 Nov 2011

For Scots-born actor Alan Cumming, a single performance at the King’s Theatre Glasgow on Saturday 26th November, will mark a return to his roots in more ways than one. Panto, Variety and the Scottish People, will see Cumming delve into Scotland’s…

Pantomimes and Christmas shows in Scotland 2011

Pantomimes and Christmas shows in Scotland 2011

Festive work aimed at young audiences in Edinburgh and Glasgow

15 Nov 2011

In the UK, pantomimes traditionally form the first encounter that children have with theatre. But for children under three years old, the noisy drama of a panto can be a disorientating and unnerving experience. However, in recent years, theatre-makers…

South Pacific

South Pacific

New York revival with refreshing emphasis on character in Rodgers and Hammerstein classic

(4 stars)15 Nov 2011

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Pulitzer-winning musical set in and around a US naval base during World War II includes so many songs that have become standards that the plot seems almost surplus to requirements. You can almost feel the smiles of recognition…

The King and I

The King and I - Ramon Tikaram interview

The Eastenders star set for role of King in Rodgers and Hammerstein musical

15 Nov 2011

He’s played conflicted bisexual courier Ferdy in This Life, portrayed a tyrant in controversial dub punk opera Gaddafi and recently returned to Albert Square as the ruthless but charming father of Amira in Eastenders. Seldom one to resist a…

Nowwhatnow?

Nowwhatnow?

Dance Base presents new work from Andy Howitt, Alan Greig, Steinvor Palsson and Matthew Hawkins

15 Nov 2011

She’s one of the biggest champions of contemporary dance in Scotland, but Morag Deyes isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. The artistic director of Edinburgh’s Dance Base has put together a programme of choreographic comedy that takes an affectionate dig…

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