Kelly Apter

Into The Hoods

1 Aug 2007

One of the undisputed hits of last year’s Fringe is making a welcome return to Edinburgh.

Pick of 2006 - Hot 100

Pick of 2006

12 Dec 2006

I can admit it now: I was a fool to set up the Hot 100. When you think of the broad spectrum of cultural activities that we cover in The List, from film and music through to eating out, shopping and occasionally sport, it’s clear that the number of…

Wilde boys - Matthew Bourne’s Dorian Gray

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Matthew Bourne is taking his biggest risk yet by revamping The Picture of Dorian Gray. Kelly Apter talks to him about sensuality, satire and the death of Heath Ledger.

Lazytown Live!

4 Oct 2007

From Jamie’s School Dinners to Honey, We’re Killing The Kids, there’s no shortage of advice on how to feed our children. But perhaps the most successful TV programme to combat rising levels of childhood obesity, is aimed at the kids themselves. Created…

Scottish Dance Theatre

6 Sep 2007

In the past ten years, Scottish Dance Theatre has commissioned over 30 works, none more captivating, emotive and engaging than Liv Lorent’s Luxuria. So it’s little wonder that for its 21st anniversary tour, the Dundee-based company has chosen to…

Comedy Shuffle - New Art Club

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

New Art Club are aiming to stretch beyond their usual crowd by injecting some daftness into dance. Kelly Apter finds out how steps and stand-up can go hand in hand.

Nederlands Dans Theater 2

5 Jun 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Tue 10 & Wed 11 Jun Many people claim to find inspiration from above. But French choreographer, Medhi Walerski looked skyward for more practical reasons – the clouds. Creating his debut work for…

The IT crowd - Mortal Engine

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

An enormous technological feat and huge physical challenge, Chunky Move’s new show has been universally acclaimed. Kelly Apter hears how choreographer Gideon Obarzanek’s dream came vividly to life. Bumps, bruises and bunions. It’s all in a day’s work…

How the Giraffe Got its Neck - Tall Stories

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

Choosing a Fringe show can be a pot luck affair. So it’s nice to know that year after year, Tall Stories can be relied upon to come up with the goods. The team behind The Gruffalo and The Snow Dragon are back with a new show that fuses physical…

The Mozart Question - Kids theatre

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

22 Jul 2008

Over the last couple of years, Fringe audiences have wept at his stories. Kelly Apter finds former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo continuing that tearful trend with a sad tale from World War II Michael Morpurgo is standing on a sun-drenched…

Here comes the fun

17 Jul 2008

As the school holidays stretch out before us, Kelly Apter finds there’s no shortage of ways to get your hands dirty and learn something new this summer

GoMA Family Festival 2008

3 Jul 2008

FUN DAY Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Sat 5 Jul Messing around with paint, glue and glitter is fun at any age, so why should kids have all the fun? Although aimed primarily at 3–12-year-olds, the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) Family Festival…

Materials For a Small Winter

3 Jul 2008

DANCE THEATRE CCA, Glasgow, Sat 12 Jul The teenage years can feature some pivotal moments. For choreographer Angus Balbernie it was the discovery of Malcolm Lowry’s 1947 novel Under the Volcano, widely regarded as one of the great literary works of…

Dance Base & Dance House

4 Jan 2008

DANCE CLASSES There was a time when dance classes meant scraped back buns, stern ballet teachers and splinters from the church hall floor. Not anymore. At the sleek studios of Edinburgh’s Dance Base, there’s not a loose plank in sight, and enjoyment…

Helen Mirren - In the Frame: My Life in Words and Pictures

Memoir

4 Oct 2007

‘I have a blissfully forgetful brain,’ Helen Mirren informs us in the opening paragraph of her autobiography, which hardly bodes well for a book which demands total recall. But Mirren has dredged the past up from somewhere, or someone, because In the…

Méli Mélo II

1 Aug 2007

To parody something, you have to know it inside out, which is why The Chicos Mambo are so good at what they do.

Damned Beautiful

Edinburgh International Festival

22 Jul 2008

Kelly Apter finds another Dorian Gray show kicking about in the form of Helix Dance’s Fringe adaptation. Matthew Bourne isn’t alone in finding Oscar Wilde’s 19th century novel inspirational. Cambridge-based company Helix Dance also saw potential for a…

Scottish Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty

29 Nov 2007

CHRISTMAS BALLET Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 11–Sat 29 Dec Since his arrival at Scottish Ballet, Ashley Page has been like a Christmas cracker – when his festive shows open, you never know what you’ll find inside. Both The Nutcracker and Cinderella…

Harry Hill

Horsing around

28 Sep 2006

Ricky Gervais, Charlie Higson, Nigel Planer: many a British comedian has deviated into the world of children’s literature. Yet none of them seemed quite so born to it as Harry Hill. The question wasn’t so much if the man who created the ‘Badger Parade…

Fireman Sam - To the Rescue!

Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Fri 8-Sun 10 Sep

1 Sep 2006

Fireman Sam - To the Rescue! at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Evita

19 Jun 2008

MUSICAL Playhouse, Edinburgh, until Sat 21 Jun Performers bursting into song for no apparent reason is the slightly odd, but wholly accepted, calling card of musical theatre. But what better way to sidestep that moment of incongruity than to never…

Bang On! - Junk Percussion Workshop

16 Aug 2007

Before you leave home to attend this workshop, take a good look around you. What have you got that’s broken, unwanted, and, most crucially of all, makes a good noise when you whack it, shake it or scrape it? Whatever it is, bring it along – because the…

Cat and No Mouse

16 Aug 2007

Dressed in bow ties and tails, a bossy cat and gullible mouse attempt to put on a show. Only trouble is, Cat is convinced she can go it alone as the star of the show – hence the title. Setting her ego aside for one minute, Cat agrees to perform the…

Ascendance Rep

19 Jun 2008

SITE-SPECIFIC DANCE St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, Wed 25 Jun; St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, Fri 27 Jun Weddings, worship, baptisms and burials – the usual line-up of events at your local cathedral. This month, however, pulpits will be pushed aside…

Akram Khan Dance Company and National Ballet of China: Bahok

22 May 2008

INDIAN/CONTEMPORARY/CHINESE DANCE Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 22 & Sat 23 May Bringing different cultures together has always been one of Akram Khan’s strengths. For the past ten years, the acclaimed dancer/choreographer has created an entirely new form of…

Scottish Ballet's Romeo and Juliet

22 May 2008

NARRATIVE BALLET Theatre Royal Glasgow, Wed 4–Sat 7 Jun Big narrative ballets are filled with opulent sets and long drawn-out scenes – right? Not this time. Scottish Ballet has taken a different approach to Shakespeare’s tragic love story. Gone is the…

The Curve Foundation 10th Anniversary Gala

8 May 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Tue 20 May ‘I thought if I were to have a party to celebrate ten years of the Curve Foundation, who would I invite?’ says Ross Cooper, artistic director of Curve Foundation. ‘Who has been relative to our…

Romeo and Juliet

8 May 2008

When the curtain falls on Scottish Ballet’s new production, it won’t just be the performers who deserve a round of applause. Sitting in the audience, it’s easy to forget the months of planning, preparation and perspiration that go into staging a…

Havana Rakatan

27 Mar 2008

CUBAN DANCE Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Tue 8–Sat 12 Apr To the untrained eye, Cuban dance can seem like one big mass of hip-rolling passion. When in fact the country is rich with individual dance styles, each with its own tale to tell. The history of…

White Christmas

15 Nov 2007

MUSICAL Edinburgh Playhouse, Mon 19 Nov–Sat 8 Dec For 13 years he was JR’s arch enemy, but these days Ken Kercheval is more likely to have a song, rather than hate, in his heart. As Scotch-drinking oilman Cliff Barnes in Dallas, Kercheval became a…

Susan and Darren

4 Oct 2007

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 17–Sat 20 Oct DANCE THEATRE Reality television may dominate the small screen, but seldom has it found its way into the theatre. And although the creators of Susan and Darren find the term ‘Reality Theatre’ too…

Tracy Beaker

Tracy Beaker Gets Real

26 Mar 2007

MUSICAL THEATRE She’s rude, inconsiderate, bolshy and the bane of many parents’ lives. Tracy Beaker may be a fictional creation, but her cheeky expressions - both facial and verbal - have been embraced by pre-pubescents across the…

Nederlands Dans Theater 2

19 Jun 2008

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Fri 20 & Sat 21 Jun Given the enormous influence Jirí Kylián has had over Nederlands Dans Theater during the past 30 years, it should come as no surprise that even when he’s not there, his presence is felt.

The Emperor’s New Kilt

10 Apr 2008

CHILDREN’S THEATRE King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 12–Sat 19 Apr, then touring When Hans Christian Andersen first penned The Emperor’s New Clothes in 1837, he was issuing a veiled attack on the excesses of the Danish church. Many years later…

Hot 100 - 2007's hottest talent

13 Dec 2007

Scottish culture has shone in 2007, and so have Scottish stars. Throughout the year we have been working tirelessly to spot the hottest talent out there. We also invited you to nominate the people, places and events you think have made the greatest…

White Christmas

29 Nov 2007

MUSICAL Edinburgh Playhouse, until Sat 8 Dec Starring in a soap opera can leave you typecast forever. So it’s testament to Craig McLachlan’s ability that in White Christmas he’s most definitely Bob Wallace, ex-soldier turned performer – and not…

Ricky Gervais and Harry Hill

20 Sep 2007

CHILDREN’S BOOKS Once upon a time, it was perfectly acceptable for an entertainer to devote their life to one career. These days, however, if you don’t learn to ice skate, cook or dash off a kids’ book in your spare time, you’re a veritable…

Druthers

1 Aug 2007

Last year, Bristol-based company Precarious Dance proved that dance, physical theatre and technology can work together in perfect harmony.

Les Ballets C. de la B - VSPRS

Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 3 - Sat 5 May

23 Apr 2007

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Belgian company, Les Ballet C. de la B is the spider plant of the dance world. Small cuttings spliced from the main group regularly take root elsewhere, creating diverse work under the same moniker. This unique structure means that…

Tales of Beatrix Potter - DVD review

Tales of Beatrix Potter

11 Dec 2006

DANCE Dance on screen rarely captures even half the magic of seeing it live on stage. Which is why this adaptation by the Royal Ballet is so successful - it doesn’t even try. Instead the action takes place in a variety of locations, from the green…

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

24 Apr 2008

CONTEMPORARY CHINESE DANCE Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Fri 25 & Sat 26 Apr Since its formation in 2000, the Dance Consortium has brought us an array of international treats. From ballet to hip hop, the Consortium introduces diverse, innovative and…

Puppet Animation Festival

27 Mar 2008

PUPPETRY Various venues across Scotland, until Sat 26 Apr Puppetry has come a long way since the days of Punch & Judy on the beach. And puppetry in Scotland has made some leaps of its own. Back in 1984, when the Puppet Animation Festival first came…

Heelie-Go-Leerie

14 Feb 2008

CHILDREN’S THEATRE Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Wed 20–Sat 23 Feb, then touring When Virginia Radcliffe decided to write a show about play, she knew her imagination would only take her so far. That if she wanted to capture the fantastical worlds…

La La La Human Steps: Amjad

31 Jan 2008

MODERN BALLET They say a picture tells a thousand words, and the poster for La La La Human Steps’ latest show pretty much tells you all you need to know. Standing 20ft tall, male dancer Dominic Santia is wearing a sharp black suit and pointe shoes.

Celtic Connections

17 Jan 2008

KIDS’ WORKSHOPS Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Sat 19 Jan (percussion) & Sat 26 Jan (singing) Given that most children derive pleasure from a) making lots of noise and b) hitting things, a drumming workshop for kids seems like a match made in…

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

15 Nov 2007

AERIAL SHOW Opposite Ocean Terminal, Leith, Sat 24 Nov, 5pm The words ‘Christmas’ and ‘free’ rarely go hand in hand these days, but a one-off event in Leith is bucking the trend. ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas is a free outdoor family event…

Rambert Dance Company

1 Nov 2007

CONTEMPORARY DANCE Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, Wed 7–Fri 9 Nov Grace, finesse and refinement – three things every Rambert dancer has at their disposal. But the arrival of Australian choreographer, Garry Stewart this summer, turned the company on…

John Moran and his Neighbour, Saori

16 Aug 2007

First off, this is not the show we’re supposed to see. At time of reviewing, the eponymous Saori was still in New York, nursing a burnt foot. By the end of Moran’s Edinburgh run, the Japanese dancer should be on stage with him – albeit slightly less…

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

16 Aug 2007

With all of his books recently being re-published, the re-make of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and a touring production of The Twits doing the rounds, Roald Dahl is more popular than ever. So it’s quite timely that York-based theatre company…

State of Matter

1 Aug 2007

When 2FaCeD DaNcE company first came to the Fringe in 2004, their young, energetic approach to breakdance won them a legion of fans.