https://youtu.be/Lagauhb5GyY Directed by Pablo Larraín Written by Steven Knight Germany,Chile,UK/117mins/2021 ★★★★★ Dance instructor, cleaner, patron, heir apparent and mother; Diana, Princess of Wales, was a woman under the scrutiny of multiple angles and facades. And quite often, it is seemingly forgotten that she was human. A figure of public fascination and an international icon, Diana’s … Continue reading Spencer – Review
https://youtu.be/BcS1Z1Uh4-s Directed by Stuart Maunder Conducted by Derek Clark and Jonathon Cole-Swinard ★★★★ With tremendous beliefs comes temptation, and when one of two happy-go-lucky Gondoliers is revealed to be the rightful inheritor of a distant kingdom, their Republican ideals are put to the test. Not for greed or glory, but to revolutionise the archaic rule … Continue reading The Gondoliers – Festival Theatre
Written by Roy Williams Directed by Ben Occhipinti ★★★★★ It seems never-ending, the continuous cycle of abuse, outrage, action, pity and inevitable forgetting in this country towards the systemic abuse of Black lives. And for families, who told their kids that they were no less British than the rest and yet found that the institutional … Continue reading History – Sound Stage
Conducted by Marin Alsop ★★★★★ In a hypnotic masterclass of a performance, festival favourite Marin Alsop returns to Edinburgh to conduct the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Offering an amalgam of diverse and joyful renditions, culminating in Beethoven’s fifth symphony, Alsop and the orchestra meet long-held expectations with this triumphant performance. Emerging to a ravenous crowd – eagerly awaiting the … Continue reading BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra – Edinburgh International Festival
Conducted by Lothar Koenig Accompanied by The Royal Scottish National Orchestra Adapted from Richard Strauss's 1916 Version ★★★★★ The concept of a comedic opera is far from a unique creation, nor is the sort of ballet featuring humorous segments or narrative. However, infusing the two together is refreshingly dynamic in Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, which sees … Continue reading Ariadne auf Naxos – Edinburgh International Festival
Written & Directed by Cara Johnston Produced by The Miles Sisters: Courtney & Cara ★★★★★ As Rome burned, Nero played the fiddle. As the Capitol rioted, Trump engorged on hate. But when the Place de la Bastille was stormed, and Paris was on the brink of revolution, Marie Antoinette performed. One final performance, a fitting … Continue reading The Little Glass Slipper as Performed by the Queen of France and her Friends.
Written and Directed by Ben Harrison Adapted from Erlend Loe's novel ★★★★★ Some people buy a muscle car to conceal their insecurities – others have an affair, though the less said there, the better. A mid-life crisis can result in a peculiar array of life choices, both self-destructive and improving. And then there’s the complete … Continue reading Doppler – Newhailes House and Gardens
Directed by Nathan Scott-Dunn and Sands Stirling ★★★★ There pertains this elitist myth that art and sport (specifically theatre and football) don’t share a common ground, let alone a common audience. Nonsense. Sport is theatre. Theatre is sport. And let’s be frank, a fair heft of football involves grander performances than those of the National … Continue reading 1902 – Leith Arches
https://youtu.be/t4OrNJ-aUW4 Written by Andy Cannon Based on the works of William Shakespeare ★★★★★ Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and then King hereafter – let’s face it, you know the story of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. But what about Hector’s Macbeth? Ralph’s? Thought not. Deliciously morbid, revived as whimsically creative and comedic, Is This A Dagger? infuses a sense of … Continue reading Is This A Dagger? – Scottish Storytelling Centre
Written by Sophie Ellerby Directed by Stef O’Driscoll ★★★★★ It’s pretty easy to write someone off these days; admit it – we’ve all done it. Perhaps it’s their accent or the manner of their attire. Classist elitism at its finest. A chav, a nerd, a junkie, or a hippy – words have authority and influence, … Continue reading LIT – Nottingham Playhouse & Hightide
