Archive for August, 2017
The Sorcerer
★★★★☆ What larks:
For careful execution and straightforward fun, it is difficult to imagine many recent productions of Gilbert and Sullivan have beaten Cat-Like Tread’s The Sorcerer at Paradise in Augustines.
Stand By
★★★★★ Gripping:
Adam McNamara’s outstanding Stand By profoundly examines the relationship between four officers amidst the unpredictable rhythms of life on the job.
Any Suggestions, Doctor?
★★★☆☆ Sweetly funny:
Any Suggestions, Doctor? An Improvised Adventure In Space And Time, the Doctor Who-based improvised comedy from the Any Suggestions Improv, has a wide appeal for Whovians and others.
Death In Venice
★★★★☆ Charming:
Death in Venice, Thomas Mann’s 1912 novella, is a graceful spin in a dance theatre adaptation full of character from Edinburgh Ballet Circle.
Out Of The Bad
★★★★☆ Comes good:
Out of the Bad, by Fair Pley at the New Town Theatre, is a warm and politically informed production distinguished by outstanding performances.
Sunshine At The Rose
★★★☆☆ Showstopper overload:
Sunshine At The Rose, a collection of songs from musical theatre featuring some of Captivate’s most accomplished performers, is a spirited and melodic entertainment that shows you can have too much of a good thing.
Neighbourhood Watch
★★★☆☆ Stately:
There is a comic and political bite to the Edinburgh Makars’ Neighbourhood Watch that gives it as much impact as other Alan Ayckbourn productions of twice the length and many times the budget.
Enterprise
★★★★☆ Entertaining:
Enterprise, Americana Absurdum Productions’ inventive comedy at Assembly George Square, is an original and funny experience.
Nothing
★★★☆☆ Teenage nihilism:
One of the glories of the Fringe is how natural it seems to come across a two-handed adaptation of a Young Adult novel about nihilism by a Danish company. While Nothing at Summerhall is largely as intriguing as that sounds, the production does not quite impress as much as it could.
Bonnie Fechters
★★★☆☆ Gallus
Bonnie Fechters – Songs of Hope and Resistance – a one-woman show devised, directed and performed by Morna Burdon at the Scottish Storytelling Centre – has a friendly and inclusive feel that at times belies the bite of its content.
