David Laing

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

24 Apr 2008

REVIVAL Dundee Rep, until Sat 26 Apr, then touring This popular modern fable focuses on introverted songbird Little Voice (Debbie Saloman), who retreats to her bedroom to escape the attentions of her boisterous mother, Mari Hoff (Elaine C Smith).

Black Watch

10 Apr 2008

WORLD TOUR Rothes Hall, Glenrothes, until Sat 5 Apr, then touring While many Scots disagree with the continuing troop presence in Iraq, there remains an undeniable sense of pride in and anxiety for our troops overseas, and it’s this sense of a shared…

Gods are Fallen and All Safety Gone

10 Apr 2008

NEW WRITING Òran Mór, Glasgow, Mon 14–Sat 19 Apr The moment when a parent descends from their all-powerful pedestal to become a person just like everyone else can be shocking. Yet, the horrifying thought, as childhood dwindles, that our parents are…

Mamma Mia!

10 Apr 2008

MUSICAL SECC, Glasgow, until Sat 27 Apr Truly global phenomena are becoming something of a cliché: there’s a McDonald’s on every street corner, a Nestlé product in every home, and a production of Mamma Mia! running in every country in the world…

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice

27 Mar 2008

REVIVAL Perth Theatre, until Sat 29 Mar, then touring Scotland’s own Terry and June, Elaine C Smith and Andy Gray are brought together for this touring production of Jim Cartwright’s now familiar urban fairytale, which focuses on a young girl who…

Zorro: The Musical

27 Mar 2008

MUSICAL King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Tue 25–Sat 29 Mar The renewed interest in superheroes that has taken place in recent years might owe something to the uncertain world we currently inhabit, but the enduring figure of the masked superhero owes a debt to…

Out on the Wing

13 Mar 2008

Oran Mor, Glasgow, Mon 17–Sat 22 Mar Being gay in the armed forces isn’t illegal any longer, but in the male-dominated world of sports, it would appear that, even in the 21st century, boys can only play football professionally if they’re avowedly…

Bailegangaire

13 Mar 2008

When an elderly loved one prefers to live in the memories of the past, it often falls to their children and grandchildren to care for them in the present. Such is the case in Andy Arnold’s swansong as artistic director of The Arches, as Tom Murphy’s…

Static

28 Feb 2008

NEW WORK Tron Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 23 Feb, then touring It sometimes takes a brush with death to remind people of the truly important things in life, the shock instantly cutting through the meaningless static that surrounds us. Evoking memories…

Great Expectations

14 Feb 2008

ADAPTATION Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Fri 15 & Sat 16 Feb; Paisley Arts Centre, Thu 21 Feb; MacRobert, Stirling, Tue 26 Feb Much of Charles Dickens’ most successful work draws on his own life experiences. Strange, then, that perhaps his most…

Jack and the Beanstalk (Cumbernauld Theatre)

13 Dec 2007

The Pitch Poor Jack (David Ashwood) spends his time milking the curiously udderless Buttercup in an effort to help his mother (Calum Beaton) stave off the bailiffs. Forced to get rid of the old cow, Jack comes across circus entrepreneur Monbodo (Andy…

Jack and the Beanstalk (Cumbernauld Theatre)

13 Dec 2007

The Pitch Poor Jack (David Ashwood) spends his time milking the curiously udderless Buttercup in an effort to help his mother (Calum Beaton) stave off the bailiffs. Forced to get rid of the old cow, Jack comes across circus entrepreneur Monbodo (Andy…

Tony Blair – the Musical

23 Aug 2007

This slick production provides plenty of laughs and generous helpings of satire as it chronicles the achievements of the Blair premiership. A well-voiced and good-looking cast accompany the plethora of lyrically and musically impressive songs, providing…

Arnold Wesker’s The Mistress

23 Aug 2007

We are all capable of turning a blind eye to the painful or immoral acts that happen all around us. Arnold Wesker’s tale of a lover’s guilt finds fashion designer Sam (Martha Lott) transposing facets of her personality onto her dressmaking dummies as…

Miracle in Rwanda

16 Aug 2007

The 1994 genocide, which resulted in the deaths of almost one million people in only 100 days, forms the backdrop to the powerful and uplifting tale of Immaculee Ilibagiza’s survival. Forced to hide in a tiny toilet for three months with seven other…

Denied

16 Aug 2007

The continued threat of terrorism across the UK, combined with a heightened awareness of honour killings, form the basis for a play that attempts to question the beliefs that cause some Islamic women to be denied what most would consider basic human…

Forgotten Voices

9 Aug 2007

The idea that war can be glorious has long since been purged, and yet the lessons of the past seem not to have been learned. For over ninety years now, World War One should have been used as an example of the human cost of conflict, yet wars continue…

Woody Sez

9 Aug 2007

Although the pop star world-saving concert is something we have become accustomed to in recent years, the politically aware musician is not a new invention. Long before Sir Bono or Sir Geldof, storytelling songwriter Woody Guthrie had hits describing…

The Spoils

9 Aug 2007

Youtube videos of the final minutes of deposed former dictators give us all pause to consider the human rights implications and responsibilities of a conquering power. Formal shirts and ties may have replaced orange jump suits in Shady Dolls new…

Inside Private Lives

9 Aug 2007

The chance to ask our favourite celebrities questions about their personal lives is one that few of us would turn down. All too often figures in the public eye are shrouded in mystery, and it’s precisely the de-bunking of these myths that producer and…

Extropia

9 Aug 2007

‘Perhaps a lunatic was simply a minority of one?’ So muses Winston Smith, hero of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the basis for machine-operator ‘August Eight’ in The Flying Carpet Theatre’s sci-fi adventure.

Coffee

9 Aug 2007

Before engaging in conversation or flirtation we make a number of assumptions about people based on the way they look, act or dress. Perhaps this is unsurprising in such an image-conscious society, but it is these assumptions that form the basis of…

Activity Sports - Snowboarding

Lower Slopes Drifter

27 Mar 2007

David Laing attempts to master one of the fastest growing sports in the world