Author: Hugh Simpson
The Hollow
★★★☆☆ Stately:
Huge care and attention has gone into the staging of Threepenny Theatricals’ version of Agatha Christie’s The Hollow. That care, however, does mean that there is a definite absence of energy in a production that never outstays its welcome but frequently threatens to.
Ten Times Table
★★★☆☆ Solid:
There is a pleasing solidity to the touring production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Ten Times Table at the King’s all week, but it suffers from a shortage of inspiration.
Oor Wullie
★★★☆☆ Sparky:
Oor Wullie, the touring musical from Selladoor, Dundee Rep and DC Thomson has moments of comic brilliance. However, it never quite coheres into a wholly convincing story.
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)
★★★★☆ Effervescent:
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), presented by the Lyceum with the Tron, Glasgow and Blood of the Young, is a constantly surprising and endlessly entertaining affair.
The Lion King
★★★★☆ Visual Feast:
Visually arresting, the touring production of The Lion King which is booked into the Playhouse until March 2020, wants for nothing in terms of spectacle or budget.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
★★★★☆ Spectacular:
Goldilocks And The Three Bears, this year’s King’s pantomime, is an odd creation in many ways, but it retains enough of the tried and tested formulas to convince – to say nothing of good old-fashioned variety stardust.
Strange Tales
★★★☆☆ Cultural collision:
There are certainly moments of magic in Strange Tales, the Christmas co-production between Grid Iron and the Traverse, but they are too few and far between.
An Edinburgh Christmas Carol
★★★☆☆ Comedy overshadows pathos:
An Edinburgh Christmas Carol, the Lyceum’s Christmas re-invention of Dickens, is a full-on comic display that is undoubtedly pleasing despite apparently missing some important points.
Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
★★★☆☆ Festive:
The touring version of Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical is a suitably frothy confection for the upcoming festivities; not particularly full of nutrition but oddly irresistible all the same.
On Golden Pond
★★★☆☆ Crystal clear:
Leitheatre’s production of On Golden Pond at the Church Hill is a warm and emotional evocation of family struggles and satisfactions that rarely ignites but is performed with diligence and grace.
