The Rest Of Our Lives at Summerhall, Edinburgh ends in a remarkable moment of mass dancing as the audience descends on the stage, suddenly finding themselves at full emotional stretch thanks to an unashamed expression of personality from these two delightful performers.
‘Let’s hope industry leaders listen’: CASTE-ING – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Nouveau Riche, creators of the hit show Queens of Sheba that confronts systemically ingrained misogynoir, now focuses on the experience of being a Black woman actor in Caste-ing. Using music, beatboxing and spoken word to expose the micro-aggressions and racism that shape their working lives, the show is a rallying cry for change within theatre and film.
‘Remarkably revealing & painfully honest’: THE SILENT TREATMENT – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Sarah-Louise Young is brisk, charming and authoritative, engaging the audience in vocal warm-ups as they take their seats. Her confident stage demeanour sets the scene for one-woman show The Silent Treatment at Summerhall that becomes remarkably revealing and painfully honest.
‘Fantastically good fun’: Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Musical comedy Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder by Jon Brittain and Matthew Floyd Jones at Roundabout @ Summerhall is a hilarious caper that embraces the genre’s fans, life’s unexpected heroes and the quest to find yourself.
‘The only sure thing is that the play has us captive’: The Girl Who Was Very Good at Lying – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Eoin McAndrew’s script for The Girl Who Was Very Good at Lying at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is borderline cruel in that Rooney is required to deliver the frenzied prose in only an hour. But it is watertight. Hysterical in tone, speed, and funniness, and Fay Lomas’ direction ensures the writing is done justice. The Girl Who Was Very Good at Lying is slick, moving, and an absolute gem of the Fringe.
‘Reclamation of trans people’s othering is joyful & fun’: SOMETHING IN THE WATER – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
In transphobic discourse, trans people are feared and consequently monstered. In these bigots’ brains, they are positioned outside the gender binary and labelled ‘not normal’. Canadian trans nonbinary theatremaker SE Grummett (they/them) first satirises what is considered normal within traditional gender roles, then creates a simple folktale where trans people as superheroes. They uses puppetry, audience interaction and live feed video projection along with monologues to both hilarious and profound effect.
‘Certainly worth a watch’: TWO FINGERS UP – Edinburgh Fringe (Online review) ★★★★
Funny, sensitive and honest play Two Fingers Up effectively explores the gaps in sex education in schools.
‘A deeply alarming message’: SEA SICK – Edinburgh Fringe
In Sea Sick Alana Mitchell tells, in an engaging lecture, the story of how she, as a journalist, came to be investigating this little known, devastating climate change phenomenon.
‘Performed musically & dramatically with great conviction’: PREHISTORIC – Edinburgh Fringe
Prehistoric is an impressive drama, which delivers a forgotten history as part of a compelling account of growing up, physically, culturally and politically.
‘Both experimental & emotionally powerful’: HOW TO KEEP TIME: A DRUM SOLO FOR DEMENTIA – Edinburgh Fringe
Antosh Wojcik is a poet and a drummer, an unusual but logical combination. In his one-man Summerhall show, he brings his skills to a performance that is highly distinctive – both experimental and emotionally powerful.
‘Funny, candid & totally relatable’: LOVECRAFT (NOT THE SEX SHOP IN CARDIFF) – Edinburgh Fringe ★★★★
By acknowledging the life-threatening trend of social isolation and the restorative qualities of touch and human interaction, Lovecraft is a heart-warming reminder of why people need people.
‘The wedding day you deserve’: HANDFAST – Edinburgh Fringe ★★★★
Sweet and true, Handfast by Edinburgh-based company Nutshell at Summerhall, is the wedding day you deserve.
‘Heartwarming & funny’: LOVE SONG TO LAVENDER MENACE – Edinburgh Fringe ★★★★
An important piece of LGBT history is explored in Eighties gay romantic comedy, Love Song to Lavender Menace, which returns to Edinburgh this Fringe.
POMONA – Edinburgh ★★★
Flirting with darkness, Theatre Paradok’s production of Alistair McDowall’s Pomona is well performed, but ultimately more staid than it first appears.
MANWATCHING – #EdFringe
Mark Watson wanders onto the stage and picks up a totally unseen script by a totally unknown female writer. It’s coincidence that tonight’s comedian is Mark Watson – there’s a different comedy performer for each show of Manwatching.
STAND BY – #EdFringe ★★★★★
Gripping: Adam McNamara’s outstanding Stand By profoundly examines the relationship between four officers amidst the unpredictable rhythms of life on the job.
DOGLIFE – #EdFringe ★★★★
Raw: Stark truths not often portrayed on stage give Doglife at Summerhall a compelling quality, even if the result could never be called attractive.
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.
INTERVIEW: Edinburgh Festival Spotlight On… Sugar Baby
Next up in our Spotlight feature is Sugar Baby, which plays Edinburgh Festival from 4 – 27 August 2017. I caught up with writer Alan Harris.
SHAKESPEARE, HIS WIFE & THE DOG – Touring
Human: Not only is Shakespeare, His Wife, and the Dog a treat for all theatre aficionados, it is also clever, emotional and wonderfully acted.
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