The Edinburgh International Festival, running from 7-29 August, has announced its 2021 programme which features over 170 classical and contemporary music, theatre, opera, dance and spoken word performances, including 15 new commissions and premieres.
Mark Shenton offers a bittersweet celebration of his Top Ten Favourite West End Theatres
My latest ShenTens is particularly bittersweet, as we can’t actually go to any at the moment: my favourite West End theatres.
‘I’m planning another “trip” soon’: Exploring the Edinburgh Fringe online-style
While an online Edinburgh Festival Fringe can hardly claim to have anything like the same degree of atmosphere, various organisers are to be congratulated with getting a variety of material online.
‘A poignant reminder of what we are all missing’: GHOST LIGHT ★★★★ (Online review)
With one of the My Light Shines On series of films, Ghost Light provides a poignant reminder of what we are all missing in this fallow year of live performance in Edinburgh during August.
Text of the Day: Total Immediate Collective Imminent Terrestrial Salvation
Random and topical thoughts and quotes gathered by My Theatre Mates contributor Aleks Sierz, first published on www.sierz.co.uk. Favourite stage direction: “There are two printed versions of this play. One is exclusively used by the actors and audience in the performance. The actors read most of their lines from that book. They invite the audience to turn the pages with …
‘A brilliant meta-theatrical experiment’: Total Immediate Collective Imminent Terrestrial Salvation – Royal Court Theatre
Tim Crouch returns! And Total Immediate Collective Imminent Terrestrial Salvation at the Royal Court, his experimental exploration of belief and determinism, is touched by genius.
NEWS: Nominees for The Stage Awards 2019 include Almeida Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse & Sonia Friedman
Top theatres across the UK, including nominees from London, Manchester, Nottingham, Wales and Scotland, have made the shortlist for The Stage Awards 2019.
‘Riotous, joyous expression of the human spirit’: CYRANO DE BERGERAC – Edinburgh ★★★★★
Visually and verbally intoxicating, Cyrano de Bergerac at the Lyceum, Edinburgh is a riotous, joyous expression of the human spirit.
‘A remarkable, true story well-told’: ADAM – Battersea Arts Centre
Adam Kashmiry is a man that was born in Egypt in a woman’s body. From a young age, he knew his soul didn’t align with the gender he was assigned at birth, but it wasn’t until he discovered the internet as a teenager that he found a word for this.
‘Full of charm and sexual & emotional liveliness’: MIDSUMMER – Edinburgh International Festival ★★★
Midsummer is indeed a sweet, imaginative rom-com celebrating the madness and delirium of midsummer and the value of taking risks in life and love.
‘Effortlessly accessible’: MY LEFT / RIGHT FOOT – THE MUSICAL – Edinburgh Fringe ★★★★★
An hysterically funny new musical that also makes a rather pertinent point about disability and inclusivity – the performances are top notch, and it’s effortlessly accessible.
‘It’s the ideas fizzing out that truly impress’: HOW TO ACT – Touring ★★★★
How to Act, the National Theatre of Scotland’s acclaimed production, is intriguingly named. There are shades of meaning behind that phrase, dealing with the expectations of society as well as the actor’s craft – coupled with a hint of know-it-all prescription.
NEWS: Bryony Kimmings, Gecko & Daniel Kiston feature in Battersea Arts Phoenix Season
Award-winning artist Bryony Kimmings’ first solo show in nearly a decade and the return of internationally-acclaimed physical theatre company Gecko will feature in Battersea Arts Centre’s Phoenix Season, celebrating the reopening of the Grand Hall, three years after the venue was devastated by fire.
Oresteia: This Restless House – Edinburgh International Festival
Drips grandeur: Huge and elemental forces drive This Restless House, the version of the Oresteia by Zinnie Harris originally produced by the Citizens’ Glasgow and the National Theatre of Scotland last year.
HOW TO ACT – #EdFringe ★★★★★
Manipulative: Perfect pacing and authentic actors give Graham Eatough’s How To Act for the National Theatre of Scotland at Summerhall a unique shine.
ADAM – #EdFringe ★★★★
Powerful: There is no shortage of unfettered emotion in the National Theatre of Scotland’s Adam at the Traverse.
THE LAST QUEEN OF SCOTLAND – #EdFringe ★★★
Urgent: There is undeniable promise in The Last Queen of Scotland. It is told in a voice largely absent from the stage, and presents a story which seems to have been largely forgotten, but remains desperately contemporary in so many ways.
OUR LADIES OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR – West End
The girls are funny – and what a joy it is to see a cast made up entirely of young, funny women. The banter and teasing are quick-witted and constant, in a way that feels almost improvised; their language is filthy.
NEWS: Full cast announced for Olivier-nominated Our Ladies transfer
Full cast is announced today for the West End run of Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, which transfers to the Duke of York’s Theatre this May.
PHOTOS: Emma Rice, Donmar Shakespeare & Our Ladies win inaugural Tonic Awards
The winners were announced at the ceremony last night (29 March 2017) for the inaugural Tonic Awards, at the May Fair Theatre hosted by Jenni Murray DBE. The Awards were initiated to celebrate the achievements of game-changing women who are redefining theatre and the performing arts. The winners honoured at this evening’s event are: Rosemary Squire, Donmar Warehouse’s all-female Shakespeare Trilogy, …