Written by Alan McHugh Directed by Tony Cownie Review by Dominic Corr Beacon Arts ★★★★ Sharp as a spindle, warm as a mince pie, and just the right amount of daft. There’s a particular kind of Inverclyde alchemy that happens when the Beacon Arts Centre rolls out its annual panto: the familiar faces return, the audience settles … Continue reading Review: Sleeping Beauty – The Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock
Music by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus Book by Catherine Johnson Directed by Phyllida Lloyd Review by Dominic Corr Edinburgh Playhouse ★★★★ ABBA, abs, and absolute chaos — but sung with the precision of a Swiss watch: there’s a particular kind of madness that descends upon the Edinburgh Playhouse whenever Mamma Mia! rolls into town. … Continue reading Review: Mamma Mia – Edinburgh Playhouse
Written by Jonathan O'Neill and Issac Savage Directed by Stephen Whitson Review by Dominic Corr Dundee Rep ★★★★ One of the classics, Jack and the Beanstalk, is the kind of tale that people seem born to understand. The cautionary tale of trusting strangers, of having hope, and the quintessential story of adventure: Dundee Rep’s Jack … Continue reading Review: Jack and the Beanstalk – Dundee Rep
Written by Penelope Skinner Directed by Tate Jackson and Rex Elliot Review by Gabriel Rogers ★★★★ Penelope Skinner’s Eigengrau focuses on the lives and relationships of four young Londoners living in separate flats. Mark (Nial O’Mara) is a male manipulator in marketing, of course, who shares his flat with Tim (Finn Elliot), a grief-induced slob … Continue reading Review: Eigengrau – Putney Arts Centre, London
Written by Robbie Gordon and Jack Nurse Directed by Jack Nurse Review by Dominic Corr Tickets from £18.00 ★★★★★ Sometimes, what you really need to capture the sense of the season better than most is a solid story adapted by talented folks, a brilliant collection of some of the best in the biz, a strong … Continue reading Review: A Christmas Carol – Loretto Theatre, Musselburgh
https://youtu.be/iyWDB962pOw From the Work of Charles Dickens Adapted by Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie Directed by Andrew Panton Musical Direction by Isaac Savage Tickets from £15.00 ★★★★★ There was a time when we boxed it all away. Unsure if we would even ever open it again. We stored away plans and adventures as we waited for … Continue reading A Christmas Carol – Dundee Rep
Written by Eve Ensler Directed by Irene Macdougall ★★★★ You likely came out of one. You might have zero experience with one, never seen one – even your own. Hell, you might even be quite partial to them. So, before going any further, let’s all take a moment and say the word together: “vagina”. That … Continue reading The Vagina Monologues – Dundee Rep
https://youtu.be/dNdrPA6gqGU Written by Rona Munro Directed by Laurie Sansom ★★★★ Ambition. It can be a King’s folly, a Queen’s sentence, and the Rabble’s making. But it extends, not only in character, but with the playwright, and the decision to move beyond the initial triptych James plays is a bold one. Celebrated Scottish writer Rona Munro … Continue reading James IV – Festival Theatre
Written by Pedro Calderón Translated by Jo Clifford Directed by Wils Wilson ★★★★ No, you’re not dreaming. The Royal Lyceum is once more adorned with flickering lamp lights and opened stage doors. Once again, she welcomes residents of Scotland into her embrace, though with a minor stage-lift for this particular production. And you’d be forgiven … Continue reading Life is a Dream – The Lyceum
Written by Amy Rhianne Milton ★★★ With the promise of a sensational work of otherworldly fantasy, Amy Rhianne Milton’s piece for the Traverse Festival’s Breakfast Plays may set itself on the outer reaches of reality, but at its centre is a deeply pertinent story. On the outskirts of time, as reality crumbles, a cathedral sits as humanity’s final bastion. A … Continue reading Breakfast Plays: Matterhorn – Traverse Festival
