This review contains spoilers for the show’s ending. I would usually work around this when reviewing, but it is unfortunately key to the discussion of the show and its flaws. Going to script-in-hand presentations of plays in early stages of development can be a really rewarding experience. Sometimes you get to see a show that, … More RAGE ROOM – REVIEW – TRAVERSE THEATRE
Imagine staying at your grandma’s for the weekend. Her friends come for tea, and you hide somewhere comfortable to listen in, curious of the grown-up talk. Welcome to Escaped Alone, a deceitfully light chat between 70-something friends. Having originally premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2016, Escaped Alone is brought to Tron Theatre by … More ESCAPED ALONE – REVIEW – TRON THEATRE
We love movies. We love musicals. Certain songs make us cry, some get us off our seats into a joyful uncontrollable dance (Mamma Mia, anyone?) and some make us feel warm inside. But, can musical performances sustain an audience for over two hours? Ross Gunning, the founder of Glasgow Philharmonia and the brains behind the … More MOVIES TO MUSICALS – REVIEW – SEC ARMADILLO GLASGOW
It’s a good time for witches and wizards. With paganism on the rise, we all seem to be longing for a more magical experience, anything to take us away from the mundane world. The Wizard of Oz at Edinburgh Playhouse is the perfect escape on a foggy evening. The unfaithful flock in huge numbers begging … More THE WIZARD OF OZ – REVIEW – EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
Jesus Christ Superstar, a show depicting the last few days of Jesus’ life as he reckons with his coming death, was first performed in 1971. Since then, it has been revived many times. One of the most acclaimed, and considered by some to be the best revival of the show, is the 2016 Regent’s Park … More JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR – REVIEW – EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
A play that leaves you questioning humanity’s rapidly unwavering trust in technology; Highrise is edgy, thought-provoking, and at times incredibly unsettling. This production stars writer and director Jacob Kay as Pepperjack, alongside producer and designer Helen Baird as Cassandra. The play follows Pepperjack, the charming, hardworking, however very much isolated maintenance worker, who works in a specific … More HIGHRISE – REVIEW – THE SPACE LONDON
All Aboard! At Termination Station, a show designed to de-stigmatizing the conversation around abortion and dedicated to women, is one of the most memorable things I saw at fringe, and definitely the most important. As I sat in anticipation in Bunker One, I listened to the news being played over about the Roe v. Wade … More ALL ABOARD! AT TERMINATION STATION – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
I literally have it in my Twitter bio that I like spreadsheets, so a comedy show about spreadsheets felt like compulsory viewing for me. Unfortunately/fortunately, this show isn’t entirely about spreadsheets, but Steph Aritone’s attempts to showcase aspects of her life through the medium of Excel-generated graph is nevertheless entertaining. The show has a great concept that … More STEPH ARITONE: EXCELF-ESTEEM – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
Friends At The Poolyard bring two new shows to The Pleasance this year, performing Teacher’s Pet and Hot As Hell on alternating nights. Teacher’s Pet is a satirical musical that tells the story of Jane, a high school senior, and her unrequited crush on her teacher. The audience enters as the cast is warming up vocally and stretching on stage, which … More TEACHER’S PET – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
I wasn’t a massive fan of poetry in school. However, I always enjoy seeing interesting adaptations of classic literature or poetry, mostly to see how modern artists are choosing to interpret them for the stage. It’s safe to say that the creatives behind Bolts of Melody have interpreted the poems of Emily Dickinson in a … More BOLTS OF MELODY – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
I may have come dangerously close to passing out, but this story of Eden Sher’s pregnancy and her reckoning with her time on ‘The Middle’, is incredibly compelling and excellently performed. You can see why it has all but sold out for the rest of its run. Evident from the beginning of the show is … More EDEN SHER: I WAS ON A SITCOM – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
When going through the Fringe programme looking for shows I was interested in, Grief Lightning was one that sold me purely on its description as it is possibly one of the weirdest ideas for a show I’ve ever heard – an academic is trying to convince an audience that the movie Grease is actually the … More GRIEF LIGHTNING: A SATIRE IN 78 SLIDES – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
As a musical nerd who recently realised that she’s almost definitely asexual, Asexuality! The Solo Musical was one of my most eagerly anticipated shows of the Fringe, and it did not disappoint. The show charts the writer/performer, Rebecca McGlynn’s relationship with her aceness and her gender identity. As the only performer on stage, McGlynn delivers … More ASEXUALITY! – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
A show I was excited about purely because of its title, A Shark Ate My Penis is a one-man show by Laser Webber, that charts the mostly unpublicised history of trans men, as well as its relevance to Webber’s own gender experience. The show slots neatly between the genres of comedy, spoken word, and musical … More A SHARK ATE MY PENIS – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
Les Millénniables is a pop parody musical based (very loosely) on Les Misérables. Jean Valjean (Natalie Sullivan) is fresh out of college and has racked up a lot of debt, we see her run-ins with the tax man, boomer Javert (Tony Gonzalez) over the next 10+ years. The show also features other characters loosely based … More LES MILLÉNNIABLES – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
What If They Ate The Baby? is an absurdist two-hander created and performed by duo Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland. A ‘queer take on the American 1950s cannibal housewife’, that explores the dark undertones of American Suburban life. Shirley (Roland) and neighbour Dotty (Rice) are dressed as stereotypical 1950s housewives, but there are fluorescent green … More WHAT IF THEY ATE THE BABY? – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
Tabloid journalist Beth (Molly Lydon) is conflicted about the morality of her job. When she is chasing the next big story she finds herself in a gallery where a portrait of ‘scarlet woman’ Emma Hamilton (Caitlyn Calfas) springs to life, and takes her back through time to the 18th century to convince Beth to tell … More IRREPRESSIBLE – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
One dark, late night in the 1800’s Marie Hassenpflug (Sophie Harris) is assisting Wilhelm (Gerry Kielty) and Jacob (Justin Skelton) with their famous anthology, Brothers Grimm. Editing out cannibalism and Pig Princes from old folk tales, they act out their ideas for the stories along with their maid Marie (Emily Ingram). Some Kind of Theatre’s … More THE GRANDMOTHERS GRIMM – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
Trigger Warning: This show contains an account of rape, this review will also touch upon this. Her job is to prepare and present dead bodies, but when her rapist shows up at her table she is forced to confront her trauma. When We Died is a one-woman show written and performed by Alexandra Donnachie and … More WHEN WE DIED – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
“How lucky am I to have all these men in my life telling me how to be a woman”. Waiting for a Train at the Bus Stop follows aspiring poet Chilufya (Yaisa); meaning ‘the lost one’, as she struggles with her sense of self, falling into an abusive relationship. The dark comedy explores themes of … More WAITING FOR A TRAIN AT THE BUS STOP – REVIEW – EDINBURGH FRINGE
