Bard in the Botanics celebrates its 25th anniversary with the upcoming season, Lovers and Madmen, emphasizing bold risk-taking, fresh interpretations, and a commitment to engaging, actor-driven storytelling in classical theatre.
Tag: Bard in the Botanics
Review: Saint Joan – The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
by George Bernard Shaw, Reimagined by Stewart Laing Review by Eloise Robertson Traverse Theatre ★★★★★ Stewart Laing’s reimagining of Saint Joan is potent. It brims with innovation through its narrative framing, experimental soundscapes, and the bold multimedia twist of its Epilogue. What’s more, it is carried out with absolute precision in the performances of the … Continue reading Review: Saint Joan – The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Review: SCOTS – The Dundee Rep
Written by Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie Directed by Jemima Levick Review by Dominic Corr Tour Dates ★★★★ History rarely arrives with such swagger, but SCOTS marches back around Scotland, briefly to The Dundee Rep, with a tartan‑tinted skid-mark in its breeks, and a renewed sense of theatrical purpose, delivering a renewed show which balances … Continue reading Review: SCOTS – The Dundee Rep
Review: Medea – The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
By Kathy McKean, after Euripides Directed by Gordon Barr Review by Eloise Robertson Bard in the Botanics ★★★★ It is a rare treat to know instantaneously that you can trust a performance to carry you through its script and deliver you neatly to its conclusion. The moment Isabelle Joss opens as the Nurse, the audience … Continue reading Review: Medea – The Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh
Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Refuse
Written by Lucy McIlgorm Directed by Anastazie Toros Review by Dominic Corr Studio Five at Assembly George Square Studios ★★★★ The more one thinks about the title, the stronger the production's merits become. There’s a quiet power in REFUSE—a production that doesn’t shout but resonates. In a festival often saturated with spectacle, this piece from … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Refuse
Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – The Bacchae
Written and Performed by Ewan Downie Directed by Ian Spink Review by Dominic Corr Assembly Roxy ★★★★ There’s a feral pulse running through The Bacchae at Assembly Roxy, a solo retelling that trades grandeur for grit, myth for muscle. Ewan Downie channels Dionysos with a raw, ritualistic intensity, conjuring gods and mortals alike in a … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – The Bacchae
Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – BAIRNS
Written and Performed by Annie Davison Directed by Daniel Bainbridge Review by Dominic Corr Pleasance Courtyard ★★★★ There’s a particular thrill in watching a performer sprint headlong into their own chaos—and Annie Davison does so with wit, warmth, and an explosively impressive performance. BAIRNS, her one-woman show about surrogacy, sisterhood, and self-sabotage, is a tightly … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – BAIRNS
Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Hot Mess
Written and Directed by Ellie Coote Music and Lyrics by Jack Godfrey Review by Dominic Corr Pleasance Courtyard ★★★★★ There’s a moment in Hot Mess—a pop musical about the climate crisis masquerading as a romcom—where Earth, played with volcanic intensity by Danielle Steers (The Cher Show), belts a note so pure and furious it feels … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Hot Mess
Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Scatter: A Horror Play
Written and Performed by Patrick McPherson Directed by Jonny Harvey Review by Dominic Corr Underbelly Cowgate - Iron Belly ★★★★ There’s a particular kind of silence that falls over an audience when fear is genuine. Not the polite hush of anticipation or the scatter-gun anxiety of jumpscares, but the breath-held, spine-tightened stillness of people bracing … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Scatter: A Horror Play
Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Mythos: Ragnarök
Written by Ed Gamester Review by Dominic Corr Underbelly Circus Hub - The Lafayette ★★★★ There’s a moment early in Mythos: Ragnarök when Loki, played with gleeful irreverence by Ed Gamester, locks eyes with the audience and dares them not to laugh. It’s emblematic of the show’s ethos: myth meets muscle, comedy meets chaos, and … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Mythos: Ragnarök