Theatre and Anna Millar

Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2009 launches

10 Sep 2009

Singer Karine Polwart is just one of the many names putting her name – and voice – behind this year’s Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. Now in its third year, the festival explores mental health in its broadest sense with almost 200 events…

Words with AL Kennedy

Meanders delightfully

25 Aug 2009

AL Kennedy proves herself a consummate storyteller in this sharp meditation on the power of words. A largely autobiographical look at her love affair with language, Kennedy meanders delightfully from paranoia about her recent Costa award win through her…

Almost Like a Virgin

Strikes an impressive pose

19 Aug 2009

The problem with pretending to be someone else is that there’s always a chance the audience will want more of them and less of you. This ode to the Queen of Pop is a case in point. Madge impersonator Evelyne Brink strikes an impressive pose as she belts…

King Ubu

Playfully robust take on power and its outrageous (mis)fortunes

12 Aug 2009

Runaground theatre adapts Alfred Jarry’s absurdist masterpiece, setting the scene for the rise and fall of their greedy protagonist against the inspired backdrop of a vaudeville theatre. A talented ensemble cast shamelessly over-plays it, capturing with…

Catwalk Confidential

70s fashion icon Robyn Peterson

10 Aug 2009

Talent-spotted by Valentino aged 14, 70s fashion icon Robyn Paterson jumped a plane from Miami to Paris in search of fame and fortune. While a familiarity with the lifestyle of 00s glitterati makes the shock value of this well-heeled one-woman show a…

Conversation Pieces at Royal Concert Hall

Bill includes Michael Palin, Kenny Logan and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies

6 Aug 2009

Michael Palin, Kenny Logan and Sir Peter Maxwell are just a clutch of the names rocking up to the Royal Concert Hall as part of their Conversation Pieces season. The talks, held in September and October, boast talents from across the board, including…

Belt Up bring Tartuffe and Trial to the Fringe

The award-winning physical theatre company provide an inspired spin on some enduring classics

23 Jul 2009

If the Fringe is about anything, it’s about an inexhaustible ability to surprise an audience, whether it be with a crazy venue space, a thrilling new script or a suitably memorable performance. Step forward - Belt Up.

Precious Little Talent

Playwright Ella Hickson is living proof that Scotland’s got talent. She meets Anna Millar.

23 Jul 2009

It may be the title of her latest show, but Precious Little Talent is not a description you could apply to last year's Fringe darling, Ella Hickson. 2009 should be her year again.

Sex-themed shows at the Edinburgh Festival

Three very different Fringe shows with a lust for life

13 Jul 2009

From origami private parts to Jesus as a nightclubbing homosexual, the Edinburgh Fringe seldom lacks controversy. Talk of The Chippendales rocking into town direct from an oiled-up stint in Las Vegas, has already had the chattering classes gasping for a…

Alice Through the Looking Glass

9 Jul 2009

With Tim Burton and Johnny Depp set to re-imagine Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for the silver screen, Lewis Carroll’s fantastical tales are firmly back in the public eye. So rich is Carroll’s storytelling that, since its publication in the 19th…

Singin’ in the Rain - Long to rain over us

25 Jun 2009

Anna Millar looks forward to some old-school hoofing in Singin’ in the Rain

Setting the stage - Edinburgh International Festival

2 Apr 2009

EIF artistic director, Jonathan Mills, referred to the ‘menace and magic’ of this year’s festival programme, as he unveiled the highlights last week. In keeping with 2009’s Homecoming celebrations the Edinburgh International Festival launched works rich…

The Hot 100 2008

11 Dec 2008

It’s been a helluva year. 2008 has been a time of significant global change, socially, politically and culturally, with Scotland no exception. So here, for your delectation, is The List’s pick of the 100 people, places and things that rocked our world…

Vagina Monologues set for Edinburgh Playhouse

27 Nov 2008

A new production of Vagina Monologues will rear its much-hyped head at the Edinburgh Playhouse from 16-21 Feb next year, starring Kaye Adams, Karen Dunbar, Michelle McManus and Gail Porter.

I am Robert Mugabe

11 Aug 2008

Al Carretta is so fascinated by Robert Mugabe he’s writen two shows about the Zimbabwean despot, as Anna Millar discovers. The late, great George Bernard Shaw wrote: ‘We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.’ Never was a truer word…

Polish theatre

Poles apart

31 Jul 2008

Sitting in a picturesque café in the heart of Warsaw – Poland’s capital and largest city – it’s easy to forget the turbulent history that has shaped this country’s place in the world today. The city has long had a reputation as a vibrant playground…

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…

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…

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…

NEWS - Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre

17 Jan 2008

Last week’s announcement that there was ‘no imminent threat’ of closure to Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre arrived amid increased fears that the space would have to close its doors to comply with safety regulations. With any major much-needed facelift…

Film City Glasgow takes Ibsen play to big screen

4 Oct 2007

One of the Edinburgh International Festival’s most successful productions is set to make its silver screen debut, with the help of a Glasgow film company. DollHouse, based on Henrik Ibsen’s classic text, was showcased at this year’s EIF by leading…

Orpheus X

23 Aug 2007

The gods are surely smiling on Edinburgh this month, as the American Repertory Theatre rocks up to the Edinburgh International Festival with a modern version of the Orpheus myth. The brainchild of master performer and maverick musician Rinde Eckert…

Òran Mór presents theatrical greatest hits

23 Aug 2007

It has proved to be one of Oran Mór’s most popular exports, paving the way for many variations on a theme. In early September, the hip Glasgow venue will celebrate the success of its Play, A Pie and A Pint with a special ‘best of’ week. Ae Fond Kiss…

Scottish Opera appoints new director

News

9 Aug 2007

Italian conductor Francesco Corti signed up as new music director

Kelvingrove to host charity art sale

NewsArts sale in aid of breast cancer charities

9 Aug 2007

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is to hold an arts sale in aid of breast cancer charities across Scotland.