Scotland Theater Reviews Page 12

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: MAGGIE CRANE: SIDE BY SIDE, Underbelly
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 29, 2023

Maggie Crane's older brother had it all: a purple sparkly wheelchair and everyone's attention. This darkly funny stand-up show is an autobiographical coming-of-age story about disability, death, and Dunkin' Donuts. Aiden was Maggie's best friend and biggest rival. In their family, hospital visits fe...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: BLOWHOLE, Pleasance
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 29, 2023

Meet Him. He's gay, twenty-something, and aspiring to be Billie Piper circa 1999. For now though, he's still single, still horny, and still perfecting the bum-hole selfie in the work toilets. Rock bottom's never been so fabulous. Blowhole is a screengrab of the pitfalls of swipe-right culture....

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: YOGA WITH JILLIAN, Pleasance
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 29, 2023

A new screwball comedy about how Gwyneth Paltrow, guru culture, green juice and your best downward-facing dog can save us all!...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: SCAREDY FAT, Pleasance
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 29, 2023

Scaredy's working the late shift at the cinema. Tonight's schedule? The horror-movie sexual awakenings of yesteryear. Stuffed with steamy recollections of Carrie and Candyman, Scaredy should be in ecstasy but evil horror host Count Calories keeps cutting in on the fun. It's time for Scaredy to face ...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: THE LIFE SPORADIC OF JESS WILDGOOSE, Above At Pleasance Courtyard
by Mary Baillie - August 28, 2023

 The set is scarce, but that doesn't matter. From birds to cars to bartender counters and water coolers, every set piece, animal and prop are created solely through this talented 4-person ensemble, accompanied by sound designer and musician Frederick Waxman. ...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: ICE HOLE: A CARDBOARD COMEDY, The Grand at Pleasance Courtyard
by Mary Baillie - August 28, 2023

A goofy fantastical mermaid tale told through cardboard signs with descriptive labels accompanied by a spoken language that sounds like a fusion between Icelandic and Simlish? It sounds ludicrous, but strangely.... it works....

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: JAZZ EMU'S PLEASURE GARDEN, Assembly George Square Studios, Underground
by Kat Mokrynski - August 30, 2023

The concept of Jazz Emu’s Pleasure Garden is quite simple. You are invited by Jazz Emu (played by Archie Henderson) and the band The Cosmique Perfectión to their Pleasure Garden, quoted to be “a luscious, verdant Arcadia that veritably throbs with life” (it’s actually in a car park but hey, you take...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: DANIEL FOXX: VILLAIN, Pleasance Courtyard
by L Gourley - August 26, 2023

Villain is a brilliantly creative and fun mix of musical theatre and comedy that puts a fresh spin on the villains of our favourite works of fiction. If being the baddie of the story is a sense of style and self-assurance, a refusal to conform to society’s expectations, and a sometimes outright aggr...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: I'VE GOT SOME THINGS TO GET OFF MY CHEST, Gilded Balloon
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 26, 2023

According to Google, Eva's boobs weigh the same as: two and a half bottles of tequila; two bricks; or the average newborn baby. Quite a weight on your back and finding bras off the rack for a rack that size is near impossible. Despite being an ideal candidate, misogynistic medical standards leave Ev...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: STRING V SPITTA, Pleasance
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 27, 2023

A kids party... but for adults. Soho Theatre's smash-hit musical comedy about two rival children's entertainers, starring Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Ghosts, Taskmaster, Stath Lets Flats) and Ed MacArthur (Bad Education, Dreamland, The Now Show)....

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: NOBODY'S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE, Underbelly
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 27, 2023

'Who are you Jamie!?' 'I'm that bitch!' Jamie is not in fact, that bitch. Jamie has just been dumped for a man who goes to the gym. Jamie is a hot mess. Jamie needs to reinvent himself. Celebrating the dizzying romance and heart-breaking tragedy of friendship, Jamie Finn blends storytelling, comedy ...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: PUBLIC- THE MUSICAL, Pleasance
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 26, 2023

Usually avoid public bathrooms? Here's one you won't want to miss! This award-winning new musical follows four unlikely strangers who find themselves trapped together in a gender-neutral public toilet. With an hour to kill until maintenance arrives, the group navigates unexpected challenges, pungent...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: IMA, Assembly
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 27, 2023

IMA (Pray) is an immersive circus experience. In the installation space reminiscent of sacred places, we participate in a unique ritual guided by the performer, who becomes a 21st-century shaman taking the audience into the unknown territories of the human mind. Bence Vági, director-choreographer of...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: ZACH ZUCKER: SPECTACULAR INDUSTRY SHOWCASE, Pleasance Courtyard, Upstairs
by Kat Mokrynski - August 30, 2023

The second that Zach Zucker steps on stage for his show, Zach Zucker: Spectacular Industry Showcase, he commands the room. He emerges wearing a sparkly and very unbuttoned shirt and you cannot help but fall a little bit in love with his confidence and talent within minutes....

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: THE MYSTERY OF THE DYATLOV PASS, TheSpace @ Symposium Hall, Annexe
by Kat Mokrynski - August 30, 2023

The Mystery of Dyatlov Pass is a reflective tale of the lives of those who were involved in the Dyatlov Pass incident. The ending leaves the mystery open to interpretation but harshly reminds audiences that there are real human lives behind many conspiracy theories like those surrounding the nine hi...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: ED BYRNE: TRAGEDY PLUS TIME, Assembly Rooms, Music Hall
by Kat Mokrynski - August 30, 2023

Mark Twain was once quoted as saying, “Comedy equals tragedy plus time.” Well, Ed Byrne is here to test his equation in Ed Byrne: Tragedy Plus Time. Having only seen clips of Byrne on shows like Mock the Week, I was looking forward to seeing a full hour of his standup. ...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: 1000 MINIATURE MEADOWS, Pleasance Courtyard, Info Shed
by Kat Mokrynski - August 28, 2023

When I picked up my listening pack for 1000 Miniature Meadows from Pleasance Courtyard, I was a bit confused. I was simply handed a card, which had a sticker on it that said to open it in the Courtyard. Opening the envelope and taking a look at its contents, I found a card with context and instructi...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: LORNA ROSE TREEN: SKIN PIGEON, Pleasance Courtyard, The Attic
by Kat Mokrynski - August 27, 2023

Lorna Rose Tree: Skin Pigeon is a great way for Treen to show off her talents as a character actor, seamlessly switching between her cast of ridiculous characters. It takes someone special to be able to imitate a dolphin, an aggressive PE teacher, a cowboy with guns for hands, a ghost, and others wi...

Podcast Review: HOW TO WRITE A PLAY WITH MIKE BARTLETT
by Cheryl Markosky - August 30, 2023

Are you a budding writer not sure where to begin? Perhaps you’ve managed to get something onto the page, but don’t have any theatre contacts to proceed further. Or maybe you’re a bit nervous about offending someone and ending your writing career before it even gets going....

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: LAWRENCE CHANEY – OVERWEIGHT AND OVER IT!, Saint Stephens Stockbridge
by Mary Baillie - August 25, 2023

Drag Queen of Scots and RuPaul's Drag Race UK winner Lawrence Chaney presents a mix of stand-up and lip syncs in her Fringe debut extravaganza exploring what it truly means to be 'plus-sized'. Her stand-up delivers, her lip syncs less so....

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: ALPHABET SOUP, Le Monde, Shanghai
by L Gourley - August 25, 2023

Overall Alphabet Soup is entertaining, if a little inconsistent, and it’s certainly a lively way to spend an afternoon. The hosts have done well to put together a show of exclusively LGBTQIA+ performers which is something the comedy scene globally needs more of....

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: CERTAIN DEATH AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS, ZOO Playground
by Katie Kirkpatrick - August 24, 2023

The world is going to end in 80 years and two couples are deciding whether it’s still a good idea to have children. And then one of the women falls for the other couple’s surrogate. Certain Death and Other Considerations has a stand-out premise, exploring the very real issue of eco-anxiety through a...

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: THE GRAND RETURN OF THE EDINBURGH REVUE, Paradise In Augustine's
by Mark Carnochan - August 25, 2023

The Edinburgh Revue mark a grand return to the Edinburgh Fringe....

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: SOOZ KEMPNER: Y2K WOMAN, Underbelly, Bristo Square
by Mark Carnochan - August 25, 2023

Sooz Kempner provides a solid hour of stand up....

EDINBURGH 2023: Review: DIZNEY IN DRAG: ONCE UPON A PARODY, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose - Big Yin
by Jo Caruana - August 25, 2023

Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody is a self-confessed ‘ridiculous show’. And if that’s what you are after, you will absolutely love it because this cabaret serves up the sort of toilet humour that sits somewhere between an amused eye-roll and an ‘oh-no-they-didn’t’ guffaw. ...