Oor Wullie, the touring musical from Selladoor, Dundee Rep and DC Thomson has moments of comic brilliance.
‘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.
‘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.
‘There is no denying the skill of the performers’: THE COMEDY ABOUT A BANK ROBBERY – Touring
There are plenty of laughs to be had in the touring Comedy About A Bank Robbery at the King’s. There are also a couple of gasp-inducing coups de theatre.
‘There’s plenty of life & bundles of irony’: STONES IN HIS POCKETS – Touring ★★★
Clever: There’s plenty of life and bundles of irony in the latest production of Marie Jones’ magnificent two-hander, Stones In His Pockets, now on a major UK tour.
‘Fast-paced, colourful fun’: PEPPA PIG’S ADVENTURE! – Touring ★★★★
The average age of the audience for Peppa Pig’s Adventure has to be about three, but given the noise level throughout this short and fun new show, each and every toddler is captivated by the experience.
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Curtain – Touring ★★
Undemanding: A lavish staging and some spirited performances cannot redeem a thin script in the Theatre Royal Bath and Kenny Wax’s touring production of Sherlock Holmes: The Final Curtain.
‘Neither a classic nor particularly thrilling’: THE CASE OF THE FRIGHTENED LADY – Touring ★★
Reliable performances by a host of crowd-pleasing big TV names cannot quite redeem the disappointing script of The Case of the Frightened Lady.
‘Packed full of entertainment, music and mayhem’: ALLAN STEWART’S BIG BIG VARIETY SHOW – Edinburgh ★★★★
Allan Stewart has one against proved himself to be everyone’s favourite entertainer. His Big Big Variety Show is a joyous night of entertainment that should leave you smiling for days.
CINDERELLA – Edinburgh ★★★★
This year’s King’s pantomime – Cinderella – is a more plot-driven and less reliant on effects than many of recent years. It also lacks some of the more interactive elements of panto, but for sheer fun and laughter it scores very highly indeed.
GANG SHOW 2017 – Edinburgh
Big ensemble numbers, some high-kicking choreography and a clutch of stellar solo vocal moments ensure that Gang Show 2017 hits all the expectations for a grand night out.
THE STEAMIE – Edinburgh ★★★★
Tony Roper’s play about women in a 1950s public washhouse on Hogmanay has proved a bona fide modern classic, and is now on a 30th anniversary tour produced by Neil Laidlaw and Jason Haigh-Ellery.
DUET FOR ONE – Touring ★★★
Belinda Lang’s performance is beautifully human, encapsulating rage, despair, delusion and self-possession in equal amounts.
THE REAL THING – Touring ★★★
The programme bears an image of a shirtless Fox with a sexy woman draped across him. He’s looking past her, the physical definition of agonised. This picture promises passion, Greek drama perhaps.
SON OF A PREACHER MAN – Touring ★★★
Dusty Springfield fans will love Son of a Preacher Man as the 60s return with Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood on both direction and choreographic duties. Just don’t hold your breath for a thrilling script because a good storyline is something that’s, unfortunately, lacking in this new jukebox musical.
THE KITE RUNNER – Touring ★★★★
Raw and powerful, the stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel The Kite Runner has lost none of its edge as it returns to the King’s for a week-long run, three years after it was last here.
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE – Touring ★★
Worthy but earthbound, Rapture Theatre’s touring production of Tennessee Williams’ classic A Streetcar Named Desire never really convinces.
SPAMALOT – Touring ★★★★
The Mercury Theatre, Colchester’s touring version of Monty Python’s Spamalot for Selladoor Productions is consistently funny and may just be the best version of the show to have come to Edinburgh.
THE DIVIDE PARTS 1 & 2 – Edinburgh & Old Vic Theatre
★★★☆☆ Long time coming:
The official Festival’s flagship production of Alan Ayckbourn’s The Divide at the King’s contains multitudes.
FAME – Edinburgh
The show opens with the students auditioning to get into PA, the city’s High School of Performing Arts, but this production has a Scottish twist as one of the students is playing the bagpipes as his selected audition piece as he hopes to make it into the famous school.