Scotland Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations Page 69

BWW Reviews: WHITE CHRISTMAS, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, December 3 2013
by Natalie O'Donoghue - December 04, 2013

This spectacular stage musical of Bing Crosby's classic 1954 movie is brimming with Irving Berlin hits like Blue Skies, How Deep is the Ocean?, Happy Holidays, Sisters and, of course, the unforgettable title song White Christmas....

BWW Reviews: RENT IN CONCERT, King's Theatre, Edinburgh, November 16 2013
by Natalie O'Donoghue - November 17, 2013

The 20th anniversary show first opened in April and toured the UK and has returned for a second leg due to popular demand....

BWW Reviews: BARRY HUMPHRIES: EAT PRAY LAUGH, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, November 5 2013
by Natalie O'Donoghue - November 06, 2013

Global star and legendary entertainer Barry Humphries, whose creations include iconic Australian housewife Dame Edna Everage and the exuberant cultural attache, Sir Les Patterson, takes his final bow across the UK with his acclaimed farewell tour, Eat, Pray, Laugh!...

BWW Reviews: DANNY ELFMAN'S MUSIC FROM THE FILMS OF TIM BURTON, The Hydro, Glasgow, October 9
by Natalie O'Donoghue - October 10, 2013

This live concert features Danny Elfman's famous Tim Burton film scores brought to life on stage by the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Maida Vale Singers, enhanced by visuals on the big screen of Burton's original sketches, drawings and storyboards....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BENNY DAVIS: THE HUMAN JUKEBOX, Gilded Balloon Teviot, August 23 2013
by Amy Hanson - August 24, 2013

Best known as one third of Australian musical comedy group Axis of Awesome, performers of the famous "Four Chords Song", Benny Davis takes to the Fringe this year in a solo outing. Combining a sarcastic wit with excellent musicianship, "The Human Jukebox" centres around Davis' ability to pick up on...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: WHATEVER GETS YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT, Queen's Hall, August 21 2013
by Natalie O'Donoghue - August 22, 2013

Scotland's most distinctive writers and musicians and you: a nation, awake in the dark, waiting for the light to come....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: [title of show], Assembly Checkpoint, August 17 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 19, 2013

There is a kind of musical I've started to call plinky-plonk (the name is a work in progress). They're invariably set in New York, and they always involve a perky group of young twentysomethings and a piano. And I find them supremely irritating, and [title of show] is definitely one of them....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: HOWIE THE ROOKIE, Assembly Hall, August 18 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 19, 2013

I didn't know what to expect other than 'Howie the Rookie' is a one-man show set in Dublin. Or at least it's a one-man show now. It's comprised of two monologues from two young Dubliners, first The Howie and then The Rookie. Previously, these roles were portrayed by different actors, but in this pro...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: LE GATEAU CHOCOLAT: I HEART CHOCOLAT, Underbelly, August 17 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 19, 2013

You get the impression that resistance is futile: from the dimly-lit entrance of Le Gat (that's what I'm calling him), certain corners of the audience are filled with yelps of delight, gleeful whoops and just general joy at his arrival....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BALLAD OF THE BURNING STAR, Pleasance Dome, August 17 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 19, 2013

In the post-ANTM age (if that doesn't make immediate sense, I won't explain it for fear of embarrassment), the word fierce has become a bit overused but it's the only description for the five 'Starlets' in this new production by Theatre Ad Infinitum, darlings of the Fringe after their previous show,...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, Greenside, August 17 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 19, 2013

A cast of young people performing in a Fringe musical that isn't 'Spring Awakening' is a thing to treasure, and when it's in fact Stephen Sondheim's glorious 'Merrily We Roll Along', it's an even greater cause for celebration. The programme is scant on information on where this company, The Red Oak ...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BATH TIME, Gilded Balloon Teviot, August 18 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 19, 2013

At the end of this performance of 'Bath Time', the actor/writer Ruaraidh Murray (it's a one-man show) shook hands with everyone in the front row, and very sincerely thanked everyone for coming - the venue is called the Wee Room so there was plenty of scope to make eye contact with the whole audience...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: TITUS ANDRONICUS, Bedlam Theatre, August 16 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 17, 2013

I don't know much about Shakespeare, and I knew even less about Titus Andronicus before seeing this version by Smooth Faced Gentlemen, the UK's only all-female Shakespeare company. But one would hope the work of 'the Bard' should be accessible without much prior knowledge, and it's to the company's ...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BLOOD TIES, theSpace @ Venue 45, August 13 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 17, 2013

'Blood Ties', by cast members Anika Johnson and Barbara Johnston, seems to have had quite a journey pre-Fringe. Written when the two were at theatre school, the musical has since featured in various festivals and five years later, its fourth draft arrives in Edinburgh in what appears to be a final h...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BETWEEN, theSpace @ Surgeons Halll, August 16 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 17, 2013

'Between' is packing them in. Its poster design is a fine example of how to attract your intended audience, with two nubile young men in a topless clinch. And indeed, the audience is almost exclusively male, and it's a capacity crowd, so full marks to the marketing....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: MORGAN AND WEST: A GRAND ADVENTURE, Gilded Balloon Teviot, August 16 2013
by Amy Hanson - August 17, 2013

A magic show with a twist, "Morgan And West: A Grand Adventure" features a duo of Victorian magicians on an epic quest in an era of hot air balloons, gentleman thieves and fantastic facial hair. Morgan and West make an endearing double act, adding plenty of personality to even the most classic of t...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: HOW TO OCCUPY AN OIL RIG, Northern Stage at St Stephens, August 16 2013
by Amy Hanson - August 17, 2013

An exciting and engaging piece of political theatre, 'How To Occupy An Oil Rig' is a show that leads its audience from fun interaction with plasticine to serious advice on the most dangerous protest situations, through strong performances and a largely effective script....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: GARDENING: FOR THE UNFULFILLED AND ALIENATED, Pleasance Courtyard, August 16 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 16, 2013

"Life isn't your oyster - it's your lobster and it's being boiled alive." It's probably the most memorable quote from Undeb Theatre's shed-based hot ticket - so hot they're all gone - and it gives an indication of the kind of mood this gardener is in....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BETWEEN EMPIRES, theSpace @ Symposium Hall, August 15 2013
by Kevin Sherwin - August 16, 2013

Picking a musical to see at the Fringe is always tricky, especially with brand new shows, and lack of name recognition must be something of a liability here, but it also helps to make Between Empires the immensely enjoyable surprise it is....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BENT, C Too, August 14 2013
by Adrian Bradley - August 15, 2013

Written in 1979, Martin Sherman's spotlight on the persecution of gay people by the Nazis still packs a punch today. Table 9's latest take on BENT confirms that this tale of love and self-acceptance still has the power to move audiences....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: BRENDON BURNS AND COLT CABANA, The Stand 2, August 14 2013
by Amy Hanson - August 15, 2013

"Brendon Burns and Colt Cabana Sit in a Fifty-Seater Around Midnight and Provide the Commentary to Bad Wrestling Matches" may be the longest show title on the Fringe this year, but it certainly ensures that you know what you are getting with your ticket. Brendon Burns, Australian stand-up comic and...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: THE BRIDGE THAT TOM BUILT, C Nova, August 14 2013
by Amy Hanson - August 15, 2013

Tom Paine - a famous political author, a source of inspiration during the American War of Independence, the supporter and later prisoner of the French Revolution, and now the subject of a new one-man show. In "The Bridge That Tom Built", Dominic Allen portrays Paine from his youth in Thetford throu...

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: THE THREE LIONS, Pleasance Courtyard, August 14 2013
by Adrian Bradley - August 14, 2013

It's the selection for World Cup 2018, and David Cameron has pulled out the big guns to win the bid. Along with Beckham and Prince William they are THE THREE LIONS, set behind the scenes at the Zurich hotel as they take part in last minute lobbying to bring the world cup home....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: THE TRENCH, Pleasance Courtyard, August 14 2013
by Adrian Bradley - August 14, 2013

The horror of the first world war is the inspiration for Les Enfants Terribles' latest production THE TRENCH by Oliver Lansley. Puppets, projections and live music combine to produce a powerful poetic exploration of the futility of conflict....

EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: DAVID MORGAN, Underbelly, August 12 2013
by Kate Finburg - August 14, 2013

The loveable self confessed geek and Twitter aficionado returns to Edinburgh with his one man show 'Pretty'....