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‘Comic invented history which entertains & informs’: Three Women & Shakespeare’s Will / Mrs Pack (Online Show)

In Edinburgh Festival, Online shows, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews by John ChapmanLeave a Comment

Three Women & Shakespeare’s Will comes from the pen of Joan Greening who has made something of a speciality of writing about historical figures connected to the arts, albeit in imaginary settings/situations. Thus in recent years she has given us the relationship dynamics of three literary sisters in At Home With The Brontës and a trio of Rosetti’s Women and their influence on the titular painter.

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‘Remarkable work’: JUST AN ORDINARY LAWYER – Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Online Show) ★★★★

In Edinburgh Festival, Festivals, Online shows, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Scotland by Louise PennLeave a Comment

Just An Ordinary Lawyer is one of two shows which Tayo Aluko and Friends have available both live and online on-demand at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, and this one focuses on Nigerian Tunji Sowande (1912-1996), concert singer, cricket fan and Britain’s first Black judge.

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Taking the family to the Edinburgh Fringe? The Family Stage is here to help

In Children's theatre, Edinburgh Festival, Features, Festivals, Musicals, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Scotland, Touring by The Family StageLeave a Comment

We are wading through the ‘What’s On’ directory on the Edinburgh Fringe website to help you get to grips with it all. In the first of our Edinburgh Fringe previews, we’re focusing on the shows we’ve seen before. Whether you’re taking a toddler or teenager, you will find a show with the Family Stage seal of approval in our tried and tested list below.

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‘Thoroughly entertaining with a fine sense of comedy’: CARELESS – Touring

In Edinburgh Festival, London theatre, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Touring by John ChapmanLeave a Comment

The Edinburgh Festival is not far away now and, as often happens at this time of year, there are a number of shows playing themselves in before transferring in a northerly direction for their Fringe run. One which caught my eye is Careless which warmed up at The Hen And Chickens in Islington. Conceived and written in lockdown by young actors Emma François and Eva Tritschler, collectively known as Written Off Theatre, it has already enjoyed success at both The Lion and Unicorn and Hope Theatres.

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‘Thoroughly gruesome but mesmerising’: UNDER THE FLOORBOARDS – Edinburgh Fringe (Online review)

In Edinburgh Festival, Online shows, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Scotland by John ChapmanLeave a Comment

The real life figure of Ed Gein looms large in horror films and literature. Most famously he was the direct inspiration for Norman Bates in Psycho and his terrible influence can also be found haunting The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Silence Of the Lambs. But I’m not sure his real story has been told quite so directly as it is in Under The Floorboards which played live at the Edinburgh Fringe and has now emerged as an online performance film at this year’s Festival.

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‘A strong performance in a play which will entertain film buffs’: Bette Davis Ain’t For Sissies – Edinburgh Fringe (Online review)

In Edinburgh Festival, Festivals, Online shows, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Scotland by Louise PennLeave a Comment

Bette Davis Ain’t For Sissies (the title refers to a Davis quote of some years later about old age) references the women’s lot in the Golden Age of Hollywood – exploitative auditions, unequal pay (a topic still current in movies in the 21st century), a string of love affairs, the expectation to look ‘just so’.

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‘Inventive & funny’: PLANET OF THE GRAPES – Edinburgh Fringe (Online review)

In Edinburgh Festival, Festivals, Online shows, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Scotland by Louise PennLeave a Comment

Over on the ZOOTV platform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, you’ll find Planet of the Grapes, a delicious livestream performed live in New York City. I’m told that on Sunday the city was being battered by a hurricane, but it didn’t seem to cast a shadow on the show.

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‘Taking off in an unexpected direction’: The Little Glass Slipper As Performed By The Queen of France & Her Friends / Metamorphosis – Edinburgh Fringe (Online review)

In Edinburgh Festival, Features, Online shows, Opinion, Other Recent Articles, Plays, Regional theatre, Reviews, Scotland by John ChapmanLeave a Comment

Two well known tales with a twist: The Little Glass Slipper As Performed By The Queen of France And Her Friends and Metamorphosis. The second piece now tops my personal Edinburgh Fringe online chart.