Kirstyn Smith
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Interview: John Cooper Clarke set for 2013 UK tour
9 May 2013
Punk, poet and comic recaps 35-year career with humour and fresh insight
Like a recently awakened raven, all hair teased to eternity and trademark skinny suit, John Cooper Clarke is one of the most unique figures in poetry and punk. His forthright poetry, delivered in a breathless, freight-train rush of breath, was perfectly…
Johnny Marr - The Messenger
25 Feb 2013
Strong solo album from influential guitarist sticking to what he knows best
It seems fitting that in the same month as being crowned Godlike Genius by the NME (not to mention last year’s Q Hero Award), Johnny Marr takes his first crack at a truly solo solo album to see whether such sparkling claims are justifiable. In the 26…
A Taste of Honey
17 Dec 2012
New production of the Shelagh Delaney’s milestone kitchen sink drama
‘We have a lot to be grateful for in Shelagh Delaney,’ muses Tony Cownie, whose new production of the Salford playwright’s kitchen sink drama A Taste of Honey comes to the Lyceum in January. He’s not wrong. Although Delaney was only 18 years old when…
Mother Goose
13 Dec 2012
Allan Stewart, Andy Gray and Grant Stott head up 2012 King's Theatre panto
As traditional as turkey, tinsel and forcing a jolly grin to get you through the season, the only festive trio you’ll need this Christmas (three wise men? what three wise men?), Allan Stewart, Andy Gray and Grant Stott, return to the King’s for their…
Adrian Edmondson, Phill Jupitus and Neil Innes discuss the Idiot Bastard Band
23 Oct 2012
The comedy-music hybrid is all set to tour the UK
I’m sure you’ve wondered, on a slow evening, what exactly is the collective name for a quartet of cultish musical-comedy types who’ve banded together to keep the comic song fires burning. Here's your answer: ‘I’ve always liked the combination of the two…
Jess Latowicki discusses We Hope That You’re Happy, Why Would We Lie?
8 Oct 2012
The actor and playwright says the comedy tackles the current 'epidemic of apathy'
‘There’s an epidemic of apathy,’ explains Jess Latowicki, one half of Made In China Theatre, along with co-writer Tim Cowbury. ‘We think we’re feeling something, but you try to do so much and experience so much that you end up just being…
Tom McGovern discusses his role in a new adaptation of The Cone Gatherers
11 Sep 2012
Robert Jenkins' Scottish novel is being brought back to the stage by Aberdeen Performing Arts
Following their adaptations of Sunset Song and Silver Darlings, Aberdeen Performing Arts take another great Scottish novel to the stage, Robert Jenkins’ The Cone Gatherers. Telling the story of two cone gatherer brothers and the devastating effect they…
Linda McLean discusses her latest production, Sex & God
7 Sep 2012
The play takes the form of four interlinked monologues with feminist subtexts
Religion and sex are the hot topics in Linda McLean’s latest theatrical offering, the focus of which revolves around four women, each living at different points in the 20th century. In a narrative that’s far from linear, the play begins in each era…
Unmythable
28 Aug 2012
Infectiously energetic trio enthralls kids and adults alike in hour-long sprint through classical my
The action opens on the Argot where an overly zealous Jason, and his less competent shipmates, is on his way to fight the man-eating dragon that never sleeps and claim the golden fleece in order to prove himself to be a hero. Along the way, the…
Greg Proops
23 Aug 2012
Natural storyteller paints even overhashed topics a new shade of funny
Greg Proops is rambling (‘If there’s any critics in – fuck you. Why did you come on a Sunday night?’ Colour me chastised.) He finds tangents and embraces them, drawling on about the Scottish accent and his inability to understand that old chestnut: the…
Who’s Your Daddy?
23 Aug 2012
Poorly presented account of Johnny O’Callaghan's bizarre true-life tale
Johnny O’Callaghan went to Africa in the pits of a deep depression in the hope that spending time there would somehow increase his chances of dying. He came back the father of a small Ugandan boy. His one-man show, starkly set and told, it feels, in…
Roisin Conaty: Lifehunter
23 Aug 2012
Life-affirming show from joy-seeker comedienne
Lifehunter, explains Conaty, is all about searching for the ultimate happiness, a pursuit in which she is extremely well versed. With a forthright manner, like she’s your bubbly blonde mate and we’re all down the pub, Conaty weaves elaborate tales about…
Tim FitzHigham - Stop the Pigeon
22 Aug 2012
Grandiose storytelling from likeable madman
Stemming from the modern take on epic storytelling made popular in the noughties by Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace types, FitzHigham’s gimmick relies on accepting silly bets: if you engineer a ridiculous situation, your Fringe show will come. William…
Abandoman - Party in the Key of C Major
22 Aug 2012
Sharp hip hop comedy improv from highly acclaimed duo
Hip hop meets jokes meets improv in a mad mash-up from Abandoman, who are wildly popular right now having supported the diverse likes of Tommy Tiernan and Ed Sheeran, as well as selling out previous Fringe runs. So perhaps hopes are unfairly high for…
Nina Conti - Dolly Mixtures
21 Aug 2012
Pic’n’Mix show leaves audience with too much choice
Pic’n’Mix show leaves audience with too much choice Midway through Dolly Mixtures, Nina Conti’s granny puppet, arguably her most famous, states the obvious: ‘These puppets bring out different parts of your personality,’ swiftly tying together what…
Lights! Camera! Improvise!
21 Aug 2012
Giving improv a good name
Banish all preconceived notions of improv being cringey or stilted, as there are no such qualms when it comes to the Scat Pack troupe. The premise is to create an entire film from scratch, directed by a chirpy host (Oscar, naturally) who pauses…
Multi-disciplinary Ménage À Trois comes to Glasgow end of August 2012
20 Aug 2012
Claire Cunningham's soul-searching production will incorporate dance, animation and puppetry
‘Someone hung a jacket on a pair of crutches, like a scarecrow. There was something in it that really fascinated me and I wanted to come back to it.’ Unable to shake this innocuous image, multi-disciplinary performer Claire Cunningham, held onto the…
Steve Shanyaski’s Life-Survival Bible
20 Aug 2012
Perfectly pleasant jokes masking an aimless set-up
Shanyaski is an all-guns-blazing kinda guy, barrelling onstage and wasting no time ingratiating himself to a late-night crowd. His is a show, he promises, that will help the hapless sods among us to navigate the challenges of everyday life, his…
Colin Mars: A Life Full of Lemons
20 Aug 2012
Over-egged and unoriginal fare
Life may have given Mars his fair share of lemons, but instead of making lemonade, a yawnworthy theme he continually comes back to, he's squeezed the metaphorical citrus dry leaving nothing but a sour pulp. Nervous and sweaty, the three-strong audience…
Newland
17 Aug 2012
Funny and intelligent jazz-inflected Western
Love and betrayal jostle for the starring role in this non-traditional Western from the talented cast of M&T Productions. Within the first two minutes of the fast-paced musical, murder, betrayal and cover-ups tumble forth, causing the sheriff of…
Call Me!
15 Aug 2012
Accurate and amusing portrait of dating in the modern world
The interweaving lives and loves of three single girls and one new couple come together to create a scarily accurate portrait of dating in the modern world. Essentially split into two sections, there’s a interesting distinction between the early section…
Unhappy Birthday
15 Aug 2012
Less a show than a mad Dadaist happening
‘It’s a party-slash-show-slash party!’ Such is Amy Lamé’s breathless refrain, which she repeats manically, with the excitement of an eight-year-old hopped up on Party Ring e-numbers. In fact, Unhappy Birthday is less a show than a mad Dadaist happening…
Des Bishop Likes To Bang
13 Aug 2012
Tragic-comedy with hip hop tones
I’m American so I love myself, but I’m Irish so I hate myself,’ declares Bishop from his stance in front of the central point of his show, an electronic drum kit. It is an instrument, he opines, upon which it is impossible to create music about any sad…
Helen Arney – Voice of an Angle
13 Aug 2012
Twee show could profit from more singing and less chat
Science pixie Helen Arney mashes together physics, maths and music in a show that teeters the verge between lecture and gig. She is armed with her trusty ukulele, but it’s not all tacky and twee, as her cutesy ditties are littered with more than a…
Morrissey - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Mon 30 Jul 2012
8 Aug 2012
Full set of considered material from alchemist of anthemic and poignant
Waking up on bone-chilling stone, face pressed hard against the Usher Hall’s unforgiving front steps is relevant only in that it immediately evokes sensual memories of Manchester Arena, an enormous, imposing concrete affair. Incidentally this is where…
