Theatre and Greer Ogston

The Gymnast

Harrowing history makes for unsatisfying theatre

14 Aug 2008

This curious collage of movement, speech, sound and lighting FX creates an impressionistic portrayal of life under the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. Opening with a series of statistics and dates, we are bombarded with the major losses and severity of…

I Love You, Bro

Tragedy for the dotcom generation

14 Aug 2008

Johnny (Ash Flanders) just wants to be someone, and online he can be anyone he wants. What starts out as a humorous look at socialising in the digital era swiftly morphs into a dark analysis of our atomised society. After a chance online meeting…

Lynn Ferguson – Heart and Sole

14 Aug 2008

Lynn Ferguson’s witty play deals with loneliness, relationships and one woman’s love for a fish named Dave. The star’s effortless talent for characterisation allows her to switch between fish fanatic, brash west coast wifey and timid teacher, mixing wit…

Christie in Love

14 Aug 2008

Howard Brenton’s play follows the police interrogation of John Reginald Christie, infamous serial killer and rapist. The actors submerge themselves in the roles of the repugnant Christie, an anxious constable (Marco Violino) and domineering inspector…

Confessions and Obsessions of a Thirtysomething Divorcee

14 Aug 2008

In this light-hearted rant about being a thirtysomething woman Xara (Melanie Sherwood) poses questions about love, sex and relationships with a wry sense of humour. With clichés such as dildos, shoes and support pants thrown in, this is a warm-hearted…

The British Ambassador's Belly Dancer

Shaking things up

7 Aug 2008

Belly dancing, spanking, stripping and politics are the intriguing ingredients of this rags-to-riches tale in which object of media notoriety Nadira Aleiva (who was mistress to the controversial former ambassador in Uzbekistan, Craig Murray) tells her…

Lynn Ferguson - The Plan

Pure dead good

7 Aug 2008

Lynn Ferguson knows how to spin a good yarn. Her second theatrical offering at this year's Fringe is a mesmerising, character-based dark comedy in which Death kills time in her office, listening to the news and marking off the fatalities on her…

Tied Up in Knotts

7 Aug 2008

Having spent her career trying to escape the shadow of her prominent Hollywood dad, Don Knotts, Karen's one-woman show is, ironically enough, all about her famous father. Knotts attempts to engage with her audience by conjuring up characters from her…

The Elephant Man

7 Aug 2008

Mary Swan and Saul Jaffe's play confronts us with the true story of Joseph Merrick, charting his struggle from circus freak to medical marvel. Jaffe uses his physicality to manoeuvre himself around Sam Pine's inspired set, which comes complete with…

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…

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…

Flight Path

1 Nov 2007

NEW WRITING Traverse, Edinburgh, Tue 6–Sat 10 Nov David Watson’s new play, presented by Out of Joint, explores Britain’s youth from a multi-generational perspective. The piece presents 12 months in 12 scenes depicting the life of an 18-year-old…

Blood Brothers

18 Oct 2007

MUSICAL Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 27 Oct There’s no flying car, singing animals or pyrotechnics, yet Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, which explores class, poverty and unemployment, remains one of our longest running musicals. Just…

Playhouse Creatures

18 Oct 2007

REVIVAL Dundee Rep, Sat 27 Oct–Sat 10 Nov April De Angelis’ Playhouse Creatures focuses on the first women in theatre. According to actress Irene McDougall, who plays Mary Betterton, the play ‘looks at women’s struggle in a male world. There are…

Desire Under The Elms

18 Oct 2007

AMERICAN CLASSIC Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 25 Oct–Sat 17 Nov According to Jeremy Raison, artistic director of the Citz, theatre is about conveying ideas through stories. ‘I think now there’s a need for great stories and to see huge passion…

Waiting for Groucho

4 Oct 2007

Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 17–Sat 20 Oct NEW WORK It may be hard to believe now, but the Marx brothers shocked audiences in the 1930s. As American critic Roger Ebert commented, ‘How much more anarchic the Marx brothers must have seemed in their time…

Beneath You Spider Girls Are Everywhere

4 Oct 2007

A report from the National Consumer Council warned that by the age of ten, many children have become brand aware shoppers and labels can become a dangerous obsession. Birds of Paradise’s latest production examines this phenomenon basing their latest…

Game?

23 Aug 2007

If you’ve ever been to a dinner party and wanted to scream in frustration then this creative company, Tangled Feet, have the play for you. What begins as a get together to welcome the neighbours soon morphs into a sharp, surreal insight into the…

Scarborough

23 Aug 2007

An ever controversial issue, teacher/pupil relationships are by no means a novel subject matter, but you will rarely have experienced a performance quite so up close and personal as Scarborough. The audience line the walls of a very intimate seedy hotel…

Skolka

23 Aug 2007

Three mail order bride applicants sell themselves to the audience, and before you know it you’ve followed their life history and found out exactly how they ended up smiling at a camera in desperation. This physically enthralling piece draws you into the…

The Importance of Shoes

23 Aug 2007

A story of obsession, infidelity and wondrous shoes, this piece uncovers the bad situations people can get into. With sharp, snappy dialogue exchanges the play stylishly skips along, light-heartedly exploring our faults and vices. Shoes become the…

The Last

23 Aug 2007

The last party, the last drink, the last time for, well everything. The end of the world is ‘fucking nigh’. The world is literally counting down to the end as a group of friends spend their last hysterical hours together. Filled with drugs, drink and…

Best Western

Rich Hall's motel life

23 Aug 2007

Although listed under comedy and written/directed by Fringe favourite, comedian Rich Hall, Best Western is far from a light-hearted romp. It looks at two interlinking families in a middle America Motel, where the owners are being forced to sell and the…

Tell

23 Aug 2007

This stylish piece depicts the abject loneliness of two peoples’ lives as they try to recapture former happiness in their own unique ways. Alfred recounts memories of his honeymoon in Paris while Vivien dreams of a garden of her own. The couple draws…

The Swingers

23 Aug 2007

This inventive mix of film and live performance is a comical romp about one couple’s foray into the seductive world of swinging. Film sequences are used to hilarious effect with perfect timing and some brilliant character acting. The German porno is a…