Theatre and Laura Ennor

Classic Cuts Summer Season at A Play, a Pie and a Pint

Bite-sized classics being served up for lunch at Oran Mor

23 May 2012

In what is traditionally a quiet time for theatre, Glaswegians in search of a dramatic fix are strikingly well-served, and for those who don’t fancy giving up their precious long summer evenings there’s an especially tasty array of bite-sized classics…

The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Comedy about republicanism, terrorists and dead cats follows predictable arc

25 Apr 2012

A comedy about republicanism, terrorists, and dead cats that’s more fun than it sounds, The Lieutenant of Inishmore displays Martin McDonagh’s talent for harnessing the comic potential in those peculiarly Irish turns of phrase. Many of the play’s best…

The Marriage of Figaro

DC Jackson breathes new life into Beaumarchais’ 18th-century original

28 Mar 2012

With this energetic adaptation of Beaumarchais’ 18th-century original, DC Jackson has breathed fresh life into a classic. It’s a good-humoured, good-time show, with just enough emotional power up its sleeve (plus a few other surprises) to make you feel…

Of Mice and Men

Quietly shocking aftertaste of Lyceum Steinbeck adaptation

27 Feb 2012

Director John Dove breaks his run of eminently solid productions of Arthur Miller plays at the Lyceum with this solid adaptation of John Steinbeck. And in a similar style to shows like 2010’s The Price, the sets here are towering, intricate and…

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…

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…

Director Stewart Laing on The Salon Project

Immersive theatre project hopes to recreate the intellectual gatherings of late 19th century Paris

21 Sep 2011

Show us the man or woman who isn’t even a little excited by the thought of dressing up and becoming someone else for the night, and we’ll show you a liar. Now best known as a director, but originally a designer, Untitled Projects’ director Stewart Laing…

Medea

Modern-edged take let down by cast

23 Aug 2011

Critical Mass theatre’s modern-edged take on Euripides’ story of the woman who killed her children never quite delivers the emotional clout promised by its heart-wrenching storyline. Stella Duffy’s script is gutsy and raw, but delivered unimaginatively…

Devotion

Incredible performances hindered by weak story

23 Aug 2011

Insofar as it attempts to convey the depth of feeling engendered by the traditions and solemn ceremony of the bullfight, Devotion just about succeeds, powered by two stunningly intense performances from its male leads. However its story is too slight…

Crunch

Cunning manipulation of attitudes to money

17 Aug 2011

A theatrical performance acutely parodying motivational lectures, or an actual motivational lecture? Gary McNair is playing with his audience, and they’re probably not the type who thought they were susceptible to such things. They probably think…

The Tour Guide

A tour guide going off the rails on real Edinburgh tour bus

16 Aug 2011

A real Edinburgh tour bus, a real leaflet with a route map and all the sights, a real MacTours uniform, and an actor playing a tour guide who’s going off the rails. But the ripe potential of having an audience who are literally captive – not to mention…

The Star Child

Sweet piece of storytelling theatre

16 Aug 2011

Fairytale fun and a cautionary but light tale about the dangers of vanity from nimble young ensemble Tell Tale Theatre, who have created a sweet piece of storytelling theatre, marred only by the odd bit of stilted delivery. In a small space they…

Oedipus by Steven Berkoff (after Sophocles)

Archly stylised production from a contrary master

11 Aug 2011

Steven Berkoff has written, directed and taken a key role in this quasi-modern retelling of one of Greek mythology’s most notorious plots, and it’s got his contrary stamp all over it. An odd and stylised production set around a huge, long, Last…

I Hope My Heart Goes First

Remarkable young company delves into matters of the heart

8 Aug 2011

If you want to know what it feels like to watch this show, you could do worse than to listen to the song from whose lyrics it takes its title – Cardiff indie-poppers Los Campesinos’ ‘We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed’ – a four-minute scrunched-up ball of…

The Table

Puppet show silliness backed up by serious skill

8 Aug 2011

Blind Summit are a company of puppetry geeks, with the triptych of pieces that make up The Table, they’ve made a show that lovingly reflects that. They’re also a company with a great sense of fun, and happily this hour-and-a-bit more than embodies that…

Roar

Stylish, sexy romp is frequently hilarious but not without emotion

8 Aug 2011

If you want your ‘sexy romp’ boxes ticked, this is the place to do it. Dumbshow’s Roar is a stylish, exuberant tale of gin-soaked 17th-century wenches led by a ‘Moll Cutpurse’ channelling Beyoncé in full-on she-lion mode. Bawdy, slick and…

Radio Deluxembourg

Parodic retro-kitsch with utterly unfunny script and weary cast

8 Aug 2011

A parodic retro-kitsch adventure in which a twee sibling pop duo are kidnapped by an evil alien overlord and forced to perform radio plays on his intergalactic frequency could work, but here it doesn’t. More foot in mouth than tongue in cheek, the cast…

Remembering Annabel explores memory and regret

Edgar Allan Poe-inspired show by tipped Scottish company

27 Jul 2011

Edgar Allan Poe-inspired show by tipped Scottish company Young company Cathartic Connections, all students or graduates of Queen Margaret University’s well regarded drama and performance courses, already have something of a home team advantage in the…

The Girl with the Iron Claws

Dark fairy tale about a woman who falls in love with a bear

26 Jul 2011

It’s hard to think of anywhere further from the electrified hustle of Edinburgh in August than a stove-lit yurt on Dartmoor in the depths of winter – and yet that’s where the seeds were sown in Hannah Mulder’s mind for her company The Wrong Crowd’s…

Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut

Morag Fullarton's classic compact, lunch-hour friendly show

15 Jun 2011

It’s nothing new of course, but the Oran Mor has been incubating many a theatrical hit in its lunchtime theatre slot of late, and the latest to make the jump into the evening hours and bigger stages is Morag Fullarton’s Casablanca: The Gin Joint…

Generation

Glasgow theatre company Glas(s) Performance looks at the political views of today's teenagers

27 May 2011

Following swiftly on from a winter of discontent that was nowhere more pronounced than among our nation’s young people, comes a new show from Glasgow company Glas(s) Performance looking at the perspectives of today’s 17- and 18-year-olds on life, the…

Jemima Levick and Jo Clifford adapt Tolstoy's Anna Karenina for the Dundee Rep

20 Apr 2011

Jemima Levick is what you might call a safe pair of hands – a fact borne witness to by a string of well-received shows at Dundee Rep and an armful of awards from her freelance days. Couple that reputation with a classic novel and a script by Jo Clifford…

Mother Courage and Her Children

Birds of Paradise production of resonant Brecht classic

18 Mar 2011

The depressing thing about Brecht is that his plays never go out of date. At a time when Western governments stand accused of propping up corrupt dictatorships with a lucrative arms trade, his black comedic musical on the commodification of war and the…

Magnetic North's Wild Life explores idea of modern day feral child

Playwright Pamela Carter's play inspired by ‘Wild Boy of Aveyron’

24 Feb 2011

From travelling freak shows to Channel 4’s sensationalistic Bodyshock series, voyeurism has long been a part of human nature, and the internet has only increased the opportunities for pointing and staring at those who stand out somehow from what our…