Anna Millar

Über Hate Gang

Explosive and well executed play on terrorism

23 Aug 2010

The audience become (un)willing members of a terrorist act in this well-executed play, as the Über Hate Gang plan to blow up the theatre. A slightly meandering start gives way to some explosive confrontations as personal rifts and deeply hidden secrets…

Speechless

Giving voice to a powerful story

17 Aug 2010

As the familiar strains of ‘Jerusalem’ play out, a pair of twins, June and Jennifer, emerge onto the stage. Unable to find a language to communicate with the outside world they are almost silent, speaking only to each other, creating a fantasy world in…

Tribute concert to Sir Charles Mackerras at EIF

Fantastic celebration of a wonderful man

15 Aug 2010

One of the leading lights on the EIF, Sir Charles Mackerras has long been synonymous with the talent and the creativity at the heart of the Edinburgh International Festival. Fitting then, that they should celebrate his passing earlier this year with a…

The Man Who Was Thursday

Injects some far-fetched fun into a light-hearted romp

14 Aug 2010

This young, enthusiastic company injects some far-fetched fun into a light-hearted romp about the war on terror, in a noughties reimagining of the original novel by GK Chesterton. A cheeky wink to the left-not-knowing-what-the-right-hand’s doing is…

Elsie and Mairi Go to War

High on initial interest but short on the requisite drama

14 Aug 2010

This well-acted tale follows two heroines of WWI dispatched to Belgium as ambulance drivers. Using extracts from the women’s diaries and contemporary press interviews, the play is adapted from a book by Diane Atkinson, who here ill-advisedly narrates…

Kronos Quartet

So many strings to their bow

13 Aug 2010

They’ve worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails and Nelly Furtado, and had their music featured in movies such as Requiem for a Dream. The dance world adores them, leading to collaborations with Merce Cunningham; lest we forget the extraordinary band…

Camille O’Sullivan – Chameleon

More of a purr than a growl

13 Aug 2010

There’s a sense of great expectation with Irish charmer Camille. The sexy chanteuse has long wooed us with her brand of sultry, ballsy theatrics and whether rock, blues or ballads, Cave, Waits or Bowie, she can belt them out like the best of them. This…

Step inside a payphone booth for a spot of storytelling

The Invisible Dot provides audiences with a new form of entertainment

12 Aug 2010

What with the Fringe being the Fringe, it’s only right and proper that some of this year’s shows should crop up in the most unlikely of places. And so it is that The Invisible Dot have brought four old British Telecom payphone booths to this year’s…

The Gospel at Colonus reveals authentic traditions at its heart

Reworking of Greek tragedy takes centre stage at EIF

11 Aug 2010

His celebrated version of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House cast dwarf actors opposite Amazonian women performers while his reimagining of Peter Pan using pint-sized puppets made audiences look anew at JM Barrie’s classic children’s tale. Now theatrical maverick…

More Light Please

In search of further illumination

9 Aug 2010

The emotional and economic reality of emigration is fertile ground for theatre, and More Light Please provides another addition to the canon with its story of young Natalia moving from Poland to Dublin in search of a better life. The scene is set in…

Wolf is a innovative and well-imagined piece of theatre

Engaging exploration of human/wolf relations

9 Aug 2010

The audience heads into the Caves with a growing sense of trepidation. We’ve been told that the ‘wolves’ may want to touch, move or smell us. We’ve been told we should let them. We should also make ourselves comfortable; we’ll be standing…

Merrill Grant: A Twentieth Century Fox

A cabaret homage to silver-screen greats

5 Aug 2010

With her Southern twang, strawberry-blonde hair, beaming smile and can-do attitude, Merrill Grant is the epitome of a 1930s belle. Which is just jim-dandy, given the cabaret act she’s bringing to this year’s Fringe. Inspired by her love of Shirley…

Jonathan Biss opens EIF Queen's Hall series

Young American talent will bring passion to EIF launch

5 Aug 2010

Whether volunteering for Barack Obama in the Primaries or traversing the globe with his intimate piano recitals, the young Jonathan Biss has long proved he’s no run-of-the-mill talent. Light on pomp and heavy in enthusiasm, the Indiana-raised pianist…

Fringe 2010 cabaret offerings are as colourful as ever

Smoke & Mirrors, Alan Cumming and The Crack

30 Jul 2010

From pared down to jazz-hands up, this year’s variety and cabaret offerings are as colourful as ever. Anna Millar meets the makers to find out why we just can’t get enough It’s a certain man who can shimmy from club door whore to straight-talking…

Celebrity Autobiography satirises stars using their own words

Eugene Pack and Phill Jupitus target Tiger Woods and Miley Cyrus

27 Jul 2010

Whether it’s Ugly Betty’s Michael Urie waxing lyrical as Miley Cyrus or Eugene Pack ‘stroking his putter’ à la Tiger Woods, few things can raise a smile like celebrities getting their come-uppance. And award-winning show-cum-comedy book club, Celebrity…

Poignant preview

A bold, imaginative retelling of three Argentinean tales

26 Jul 2010

As if getting into bed in the dark with strangers wasn’t intriguing enough, Micaela Tettamanti’s 45-minute show Poignant features one of the smallest audiences on the Fringe (only four are admitted at any one time) and has no actors or stage to speak of.

Edinburgh gallery opens new space in Leith

Axolotl gallery to open sister space OXO in Leith

23 Jul 2010

As any self respecting Leither will tell you, the area’s renaissance continues. First the decent bars and restaurants took root, then the ever burgeoning Leith festival. This fortnight its cultural kudos gets another boost with the addition of a new…

New York stories: The Sun Also Rises and Vieux Carré hit Edinburgh 2010

Elevator Repair Service and Wooster Group head up International Festival

16 Jul 2010

If the world of theatre was like a finely crafted china shop, then two very impressive bulls are preparing to charge at this year’s International Festival. As leaders of the experimental pack, Elevator Repair Service and the Wooster Group perform, not…

Edinburgh Festival 2010: Getting around town

16 Jul 2010

Those dusty, noisy roadworks getting in your way wherever you want to go? They’re called tramworks. The plan is to make the journey between Leith and Edinburgh Airport easier by installing a partial tram system by 2011, but this year the quickest way to…

Storm Large - The hellraiser crazy enough to visit the Edinburgh Fringe

The rebellious performer explains her inspiration

15 Jul 2010

Storm Large doesn’t do small. With her Amazonian stature and gallus gift for making the F-word sound lyrical, she is, in the flesh, larger than life. Whether as mohawked rebel teen, twentysomething heroin dabbler or a reality TV rock star in her 30s…

Edinburgh Book Festival's Unbound invites fresh approach from DisComBoBuLate, Irregular and Gutter

7 Jul 2010

Here at List Towers we love a bit of innovation, and this year’s festivals appear to be bringing it in spades. Case in point, the Book Festival’s all-new Unbound. Taking a refreshingly out-of-the-box approach, over 18s are invited to a nightly free…

Mela 2010 programme includes Cargo, Jaz Dhami and Bonafide

7 Jul 2010

Setting its stall from 6–8 Aug in Leith Links, this summer’s Mela jamboree includes the premiere of Cargo, a large-scale outdoor performance on the theme of migration, funded by the Scottish Parliament. Other highlights include sports at Leith Links, UK…

Edinburgh Art Festival work from Richard Wright

5 Jul 2010

Things are getting inventive at the Edinburgh Art Festival courtesy of 2009 Turner prize-winner Richard Wright, who has unveiled his specially commissioned painting for the EAF. Showcased in the west stairwell of the Dean Gallery, the black-on-white…

Tron Theatre summer production sets sail for Valhalla!

23 Jun 2010

Theatre-goers beware: reality will leave the building for artistic director Andy Arnold’s latest summer production. Following on from last year’s darkly comic Cooking With Elvis, Valhalla! looks similarly offbeat, replete as it is with magic swans…

How to holiday in Scotland: Scottish Travel A-Z

9 Jun 2010

We’re here to persuade you that you don’t need foreign beaches or backpacking tours to make the most of the summer. There’s a world of wonder right on your doorstep, with plenty of Scottish excursions to keep you entertained until autumn. Anna Millar…