Written and Directed by Kirin Saeed and Charlie Houston ★★★★ It is no secret that Westernised cultures (primarily the UK and US) struggle with the concept of the inevitable: death. They may meet the reaper without fear, but for those left behind, the process of grief can be one of isolation and pain when it … Continue reading Review: Sense of Loss – Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh
https://youtu.be/622u4-gUs4c Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt after Susan Hill's Book Directed By Robin Herford Tickets from £13.00 ★★★★ What’s a theatre without a ghost, eh? Over thirty years of chilling delights, The Woman in Black roams a suitably fitting Theatre Royal, Glasgow, to continue its descent into realms of fear and dread. A right of passage for theatregoers, often those … Continue reading Review: The Woman in Black – Theatre Royal, Glasgow
Book by Lawrence D. Cohen Lyrics by Dean Pitchford Music by Michael Gore Directed By Elise Siddiqui ★★★★ High school is hard enough. But for Carrie White, the titular character and horror icon of Stephen King’s 1974 novel, brought to life with Sissy Spacek’s exemplary performance in the 1976 film, things are a lot tougher. Her home life is a den of crucifixes … Continue reading Review: Carrie The Musical – Buchanan Lecture Theatre, St.Andrews
Written by Gary McNair after Charles Dickens Directed by Andy Arnold Tickets from £15.50 ★★★ With a gloriously apt title to capture the Scots' more cynical outlook (or perhaps something more earnest), Gary McNair’s new incarnation of Charles Dick’s literary epic Great Expectations condenses the beats of the story into a slow-burning and infectiously Glaswegian Nae Expectations, which … Continue reading Nae Expectations – Tron Theatre, Glasgow
Written and Directed by Christiane Jatahy ★★★ The betwixt and the between - Dusk. A time unlike the rest of the day, where we relive and remember the day which has gone by before the stillness of the night, leading into a brand-new day. A moment of reflection, dusk is when we account for our sins, … Continue reading Dusk – Royal Lyceum Theatre
Written by Noël Coward Adapted for the Stage by Emma Rice Original Music Composed by Stu Barker Directed by Elizabeth Newman ★★★★ We’ve all done it, fallen in love with a perfect stranger across a Train carriage or on the last bus home. But for many, it’s a sliver of time blown into life together, compacting into … Continue reading Brief Encounter – Pitlochry Festival Theatre
https://youtu.be/pmtv9tRCDMg Written by Deborah Moggach, from her novel These Foolish Things Directed by Lucy Bailey ★★★ Leaking, crumbling, past its prime, and with a view that it may not last the season. The titular hotel is in rough shape too. In the forthright, though grieving hands of Mrs Kapoor, the Bangalore-based hotel flounders after the … Continue reading The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – Festival Theatre
Written by Lesley Hart after Leo Tolstoy Directed by Polina Kalinina ★★★★ Romance, parental love, jealousy, self-destruction, freedom, horse-riding, guilty consciences, and a decadent mountain of desire: pick your poison. Condensing a thousand pages of Russian agricultural debates, gender politics, social class dynamics, and the grand ol’ judgements of love, relationship, and family is no … Continue reading Anna Karenina – The Royal Lyceum Theatre
Written by Agatha Christie Directed by Ian Talbot and Denise Silvey ★★★★ Seventy years on the stage is no small feat for any production. Especially one with a secret… An old case for a new audience – the dependability of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap continues with this touring version of the long-running Westend production. A decade ago, The … Continue reading Mousetrap – Edinburgh Playhouse
https://youtu.be/EXW0U-qHEJM Based on the Short Novel by Stephen King Adapted by Owen O'Neill and Dave Johns Directed by David Esbjornson ★★★★ A double life sentence for the brutal murders he never committed, Andy Dufresne’s proclamation of his innocence reverberates the walls of The Shawshank prison facility. While not ‘fitting in’ strictly with the way things … Continue reading The Shawshank Redemption – Festival Theatre
