Writer: D.C. Jackson Director: Johnny McKnight Can a strong cast save a story that keeps going round in circles? Johnny McKnight’s direction gives D.C. Jackson’s My Romantic History a lively start at the Tron Theatre, and with Julie Wilson Nimmo among the cast, there’s every reason to expect a smart, funny Scottish rom-com. For a while, it delivers exactly that. But the play eventually loses its momentum. The story follows Tom and Amy as an office romance develops almost by accident, with the action shown from both of their perspectives. That structure works well at first, because it lets the…
Author: Reviewer Upload
Music: Queen Lyrics: Queen Writer: Ben Elton Director: Rhonda Scott Based on the music of Queen and written by Ben Elton, who obviously has quite a quirky imagination, We Will Rock You follows the story of Galileo (Alex Donelly) as he realises he is a rebel, the futurist Global Soft Corporation, in the world of iPlanet where he lives has tried to do away with old-fashioned rock and roll only left their people with manufactured music. The rather stunning Killer Queen (Deborah Townsend) has her heavy man Khashoggi (Stephen Summers) chase away Galileo and fellow misfit Scaramouche (Emmah Chibesakunda) and…
A new and ambitious theatre company is about to stage its debut production, a revival of Peter Arnott’s Shall Roger Casement Hang? Originally presented in 2016 at the Tron Theatre in Glasgow, the play has not been seen in Scotland since – until now. Union Theatre Company will perform the work at Hill Street Theatre in Edinburgh this June. Two of the company’s founders, Hannah Bradley-Croall and Gregor McElvogue, took time out from rehearsals to explain their mission and why they’ve chosen the Arnott piece as their first offering to the public. “Union has been founded in the wake of…
Terry Wogan – Benjamin Alborough Patrick Stewart – Joz Norris Nikola McMurtrie – Raygun Luke Rollason – Quentin Tarantino Hudson Hughes – Wes Streeting Teddy Sheringham – Ben Goldsmith Nancy Reagan – Rosalie Minnitt Jamie Oliver – Aidan Pittman Oliver Reed – William Stone BrightOn the Conchords – house band Roll up, roll up, Terry’s Old Geezers and Gals. A new hero is in our midst, and by golly – he looks a lot like our original, much-loved Pudsey-wielder… In Late Night with Terry Wogan, Benjamin Alborough has brought the Beeb’s much-loved TV and radio presenter back to life through…
Writer: Harry Butler Director: Anthony Biggs Emma and Adam have only known each other for six months, but their whirlwind romance has already led to them moving in together, much to the concern of Adam’s ex-girlfriend, Eloise. Despite her recent grief from losing her father, Emma (Hannah Brady) is happy, excited to embark on this new chapter with Adam (Harry Butler), his older, more settled lifestyle a calming and welcome presence at this time in her life. She expected her first night alone in the flat to be relaxing – bubble bath filled, glass of wine poured, and impending college…
Seb – Lawrence Tucker Nelly – Freya Benteaux You’re in a Brighton pub. It’s a Friday night. You go up some stairs. On your chair lies a packet labelled ‘infiniberries’, a pile of suspicious looking blue beans. Do you take them? SHOULD you take them? Welcome to Infinilife, your definitive opportunity to be rich, attractive and successful. Delivered by Seb, a sweaty man in a polyester suit, a point which suits the character but feels spectacularly mean to highlight in a heatwave, get set for a presentation that’s somehow both familiar and entirely peculiar. It’s definitely not a multi-level-marketing scheme,…
Writer: Rory Mullarkey Director: James Macdonald So far the Royal Exchange’s 50th anniversary season has involved revivals of established plays. Rory Mullarkey’s new play Even These Things is a distinct change in tone in more ways than one. In 1996, an IRA bomb exploded just fifty metres away from the Royal Exchange building. Opinions differ on whether this was a benefit in disguise. Some argue the event resulted in funds becoming available for renovation and new build while others feel credit for the city’s rejuvenation should be accorded to rising self-confidence due to success in organising large-scale events like the …
Depression and mania combine in Chemistry, a revival of Jacob Marx Rice’s problematic play about love, drugs, and mental health. Kathryn Bates and Rowland Stirling – East Coast accents impeccable throughout – play Steph and Jamie, two young Americans who meet at a psychiatrist’s office. Steph’s a sassy depressive, who’s seen it all before; Jamie is the hyper-intelligent “unicorn” (he has a rare form of bipolar disorder) naif, welcomed into the world of professional mental health care with cynicism, jargon, and Steph asking him out on a date. This two-hander is beautifully staged, and the love story that unfolds is…