Author: Hugh Simpson
Ludus: Playful Love
★★★☆☆ Diverting:
Ludus: Playful Love, Theatre Broad’s production of two contrasting plays by early 20th century poet and playwright Clifford Bax provides an evening that is high on period charm but never really stakes its claim to contemporary relevance.
Shows preceding the end of the fest
Hugh’s final BookFest Round-up for 2018
Autumn always seems to time its arrival to coincide with that of the Book Festival, with the rain limiting opportunities for the simple pleasures of sitting in Charlotte Square Gardens with a book and some refreshment. However, there were plenty of opportunities for those interested in theatre to sit inside instead.
@JohnLewis: Never Knowingly Undertweeted
★★☆☆☆ Indistinct chatter:
@JohnLewis: Never Knowingly Undertweeted, from Simon Jay presented by James Seabright downstairs at the Newsroom, is a likeable but lightweight piece.
PQA productions
Persephone, The School Film, Blackout:
The establishment of a venue by the Pauline Quirke Academy means that – among the many other shows staged there – there is a showcase for the local youngsters attending the PQA.
Hamish Henderson: On The Radical Road
★★★★☆ Lively commitment:
Hamish Henderson: On the Radical Road, from Theatre Objektiv at the Storytelling Centre, is a compelling illustration of the work of the celebrated writer, folklorist and internationalist.
Twelfth Night
★★★☆☆ Rumbustious jollity:
Charging at Shakespeare at full speed and with all comic guns blazing, Some Kind of Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night at Paradise in the Vault will win no prizes for subtlety but should please a wide audience.
Those Worrisome Sleeps
★★☆☆☆ Fractured fantasy:
Those Worrisome Sleeps, RFT’s excursion into fantasy and dark magic at Sweet Grassmarket, has an unusual atmosphere and a vigorous earnestness that never translate into a convincing whole.
Quines
★★★☆☆ Poetic history:
Quines from Gerda Stevenson at Paradise in the Vault is one of those home-grown, quietly accomplished shows that will never hit the headlines but are the backbone of the Fringe.
The End of Eddy
★★★★☆ Inventive realism:
The End of Eddy at the Studio is both creatively playful and grippingly real, as a production of rare immediacy is built around a combination of technology and human interaction.
A Spark of Philosophy
Muriel Spark at the Book Festival:
This year’s Book Festival has featured several events designed to appeal to the theatre-goer which cross over with the strand celebrating the centenary of the birth of Edinburgh’s own Muriel Spark.
