Theatre and Allan Radcliffe

Gordon Barr on Bard in the Botanics 2012

The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It to be staged in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens

15 May 2012

This season, for us as we move into our second decade, is all about discovery, exploration and new horizons so we were looking for plays that tied in to those themes. The link to The Tempest is fairly clear but As You Like It covers some similar ground…

Roman Bridge

An unflinchingly claustrophobic production with bold performances and muscular dialogue

9 May 2012

There’s a knowing nod to Samuel Beckett in Martin Travers’ Roman Bridge, the first full production in the National Theatre of Scotland’s Reveal 2012 season. The main protagonists are a pair of ragged-trousered hobos, who cling to each other, eat, sleep…

Enquirer

3 May 2012

Whether by luck or incredible foresight, the National Theatre of Scotland’s exploration of the demise of the newspaper industry couldn’t be playing at a more auspicious time. Entering the top floor of the Hub at Pacific Quay, the first thing that draws…

Further Than the Furthest Thing

Haunting, beautifully-designed production of Zinnie Harris' play

30 Apr 2012

From ripping out the seating for a powerful in-the-round production of Peter Shaffer’s Equus to the Mad Men-style two-storey 1950s maisonette of A Doll’s House, Dundee Rep has often impressed with its bold, imaginative use of design. The company’s…

King Lear

David Hayman heads an impressive ensemble cast in a gripping production of Shakespeare's play

26 Apr 2012

Incredibly, it’s 33 years since David Hayman appeared in a Shakespeare play at the Citz, and his casting here, as the Bard’s aged monarch, raging against the dying of the light, provides a link to that spell in the 1970s-1990s when the Glasgow…

Playwright Martin Travers on Roman Bridge

Travers' first full-length play was completed with the aid of the National Theatre of Scotland

16 Apr 2012

The initial inspiration for Roman Bridge was the fact that rural Scotland is peppered with old stone bridges. Loads are called the Roman bridge but not many of them are. I like that, things seeming to be one thing and turning out to be something else.

The Silence of Bees

New play by the writer of Roadkill explores family tensions against a backdrop of bee-keeping

13 Apr 2012

This moving site-specific piece written and directed by Stef Smith, award-winning playwright behind 2010’s human trafficking drama Roadkill, focuses on three generations of women who have dedicated their lives to bee-keeping and honey production.

For Once

Poignancy and lyricism in play exploring fragility of family unit

7 Apr 2012

The sight of a hyper-realistic kitchen set, complete with fridge, cluttered shelves and fully functional sink usually portends an hour or two of domestic desolation of the kind favoured by the Angry Young Men of 50s/60s British drama. And when the…

Moonlight and Magnolias

Ron Hutchinson's comedy explores the story behind the making of a Hollywood epic

2 Apr 2012

The strange alchemy that sorts screen hits from cinematic turkeys is energetically explored in Ron Hutchinson’s play about the events leading up to the shooting of Hollywood blockbuster, Gone with the Wind. The story behind the filming of Margaret…

The Man Who Lived Twice

Stylish, striking and poignant study of 1930s dramatist Edward Sheldon and actor John Gielgud

28 Mar 2012

For a few years in the early 20th century playwright Edward Sheldon was the toast of Broadway, with melodramas such as Romance notching up lengthy runs and inspiring movies with Garbo and Dietrich. Crippled by rheumatoid arthritis, he withdrew…

Antigone

Lung Ha's Theatre impresses with an excellent, stripped-back adaptation of Sophocles' Theban tragedy

19 Mar 2012

Lung Ha’s Theatre Company has gone from strength to strength in recent years, notching up acclaimed adaptations of everything from Chekhov to Aldous Huxley and Jules Verne. The company’s latest outing returns to the origins of European Theatre and…

ANA

Audacious, enjoyable bilingual co-production from Scottish and Québécois companies

12 Mar 2012

The eponymous heroine of this enjoyable co-production between Scotland’s Stellar Quines and Québécois company Imago Théâtre is one of those everlasting figures present throughout history, a cross between Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Dr Who, whom we…

Betrayal

Dominic Hill's treatment of Pinter's celebrated play is humourous and affecting

9 Mar 2012

With works by Pinter, Shakespeare and Beckett scheduled for his first season as artistic director at the Citz, Dominic Hill couldn’t have made a bolder statement about his ambitions for the venerable Glasgow institution. Yet his production of the late…

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…

The Infamous Brothers Davenport

Captures excitement of Victorian public séance but makes for unsatisfactory theatre

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…

The King and I

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

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…

The Lost Sock Princess

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

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…

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 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 - 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…

Cinderella (Dundee Rep)

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

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…

Cinderella (King's Theatre, Edinburgh)

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

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…

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

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

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…

South Pacific

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

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…