Newbury-based circus company Cirque Berserk! appears at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre as part of its 2020 tour. The company brands itself as ‘Real Circus made for Theatre’ and it does exactly what it says on the tin.
‘Funny, heart-warming & joyous show’: EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE – Touring ★★★★
A real joy to watch from start to finish. the story behind Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is one of courage against adversity, but one that is full of humour and love too.
‘Enough energy to light Hampton Court for 500 years’: SIX THE MUSICAL – Touring ★★★★
You’ll lose your head over Six The Musical, which is bringing a new audience to the Festival Theatre just a week ahead of the show’s Broadway debut.
‘Its heart is undoubtedly in the right place’: OOR WULLIE – Touring ★★★
Oor Wullie, the touring musical from Selladoor, Dundee Rep and DC Thomson has moments of comic brilliance.
‘Deserves to be remembered for years to come’: THE KING & I – Touring ★★★★★
The collective charisma of the cast in a stunning production of The King and I earns a well-deserved standing ovation.
‘As finely-tuned a theatrical machine as you are likely to see’: BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES – Touring ★★★★
There is a winning combination of the playful and the profound in Barber Shop Chronicles which allies serious stagecraft and knowledge to sheer enjoyability.
‘Little in the way of pre-Halloween excitement’: FRANKENSTEIN – Touring
Confused in its execution, this touring version of Frankenstein has high production values but offers a rushed retelling of the story that fails to work in practice.
‘How can you resist it?’: MAMMA MIA! – Touring ★★★★
It’s not just one of us who was pleased to have Mamma Mia! back on the Edinburgh Playhouse stage – an air of expectation and excitement filled the entire auditorium for the show.
‘Provides some moments of genuine theatrical magnetism’: SOLARIS – Edinburgh ★★★★
Dealing with troubling questions about human interaction, the Lyceum’s adaptation of Solaris is – like all the best science fiction – not really about alien planets but about our own world.
‘Fierce, unapologetic, thought-provoking & radical’: EVERYTHING I SEE I SWALLOW – Edinburgh Fringe
Fierce, unapologetic, thought-provoking and radical, Everything I See I Swallow may not the circus show you wanted, but it’s the circus show you needed.
‘Simple yet well executed’: PINK HOUSE – Edinburgh Fringe ★★★
Exploring grief and the impact of trauma on memory and family relationships, Paradigm Lab’s Pink House by Madison Pollack at PQA Venues is somewhat heartbreaking and completely honest.
‘Likeable & informative’: THUNDERSTRUCK – Edinburgh Fringe ★★★
Thunderstruck by David Colvin at Assembly Checkpoint is a deeply felt and human tale, whose relationship with its source and inspiration nevertheless makes for some uncertain moments.
A Roundabout rundown: Six Paines Plough shows at Edfringe
The Paines Plough Roundabout is the most reliable, new writing venues at the fringe. With a collection of work that represents the width and breadth of the UK both geographically and thematically, this year’s offerings are universally strong.
‘People need to take notice’: ALONG – Edinburgh Fringe
The rhythms of TS Crew’s bounding, twisting, spinning bodies in Along are timed to perfection with the music, whether boy-band synchronised or splitting into physical polyphony.
‘Fascinating, funny & surprising’: XOXO MOONGIRL – Edinburgh Fringe
Overall xoxo moongirl is fascinating, funny, and surprising. It held my attention throughout.
Edinburgh’s professional theatre companies at the Fringe 2019
As the fringe continues to grow, so does the input from Edinburgh-based companies. This year there are an unprecedented 93 different productions in the theatre section of the Fringe programme alone.
‘Sort of treat which gives musical theatre a good name’: AMELIE THE MUSICAL – Touring ★★★★
Amelie is a slick, clever and hugely appealing production which reveals the heart of the original in a way which the initial Broadway production did not, if the clips of the latter are to be believed.
‘Feels remarkably relevant’: THE SIDESHOW – Edinburgh ★★★
In the week when moves to regulate Airbnb failed and it was decided to curtain Princess Street Gardens off during commercial gigs, Active Inquiry’s The Sideshow feels remarkably relevant.
‘It soars in its second half’: HAIR THE MUSICAL – Touring ★★★★
Over 50 years on and the Age of Aquarius is still providing a relevant, controversial (in parts) and – eventually – thunderously entertaining piece of musical theatre in Hair.
‘The heart & soul is caught with sometimes burning intensity’: CAPTAIN CORELLI’S MANDOLIN – Touring ★★★★
This touring production of Captain’s Corelli’s Mandolin allows aching heartbreak to overcome any nods to cloying sentimentality.