Scotland Reviews

Writer: Ian Kershaw Director: Raz Shaw Reviewer: Stephen Bates The script generously points out that the play’s title invites a two-word review. Can the writer mean “it isn’t”? Well true, it isn’t, but this charming piece of romantic whimsy from the husband and wife team of writer Ian Kershaw and actor Julie Hesmondhalgh is still worth a look. The play ...

Writer and Presenter: Gyles Brandreth Reviewer: Stephen Bates Until recently, when he and two other members of his family shared all the roles in a production of no less than Hamlet in London, few would have associated the name of Gyles Brandreth with the art form of theatre. The former doyen of Countdown’s Dictionary Corner and, for five years, Conservative ...

Writer: Henry Filloux-Bennett Director and choreographer: Jonnie Riordan Reviewer: Stephen Bates Back in the days when Michelin stars were a thing of the future for the UK and Fanny Craddock was teaching the nation to cook, a 12-year-old Nigel Slater was learning his craft by helping his Mum to make jam tarts and mince pies in her Wolverhampton kitchen. Now ...

Writer: David Ireland Director: Gareth Nicholls Reviewer: Stephen Bates Have you heard the one about the Englishman, the Irish woman and the American? Yes, any jokes beginning similarly have long been branded politically incorrect, but all the rules of PC are put through the shredder in David Ireland’s brutal, excoriating and blisteringly funny black comedy. The Englishman is theatre director ...

Writer: Lucy Porter Reviewer: Tom Ralphs If you like your comedy safe, you’ll like Lucy Porter. If you like Lucy Porter, you’ll like Pass It On. It really is as simple as that. Porter has been a regular at the Fringe for longer than almost any other comedian appearing this year and her audience has grown up with her. This ...

Creators: Daphna Attias and Terry O’Donovan Writer: Chris Goode Director: Daphna Attias Reviewer: Stephen Bates Firstly, this show is not found at the Traverse Theatre itself, rather it is at the Jeelie Piece Café, a modern corner coffee bar about ten minutes walk away. The show is site-specific and immersive; lattes and muffins are optional and come at extra cost. ...

Creators: Nick Cassenbaum and Danny Braverman Reviewer: Stephen Bates Nick Cassenbaum charmed the 2016 Edinburgh Festival with Bubble Schmeisis his love letter to a traditional Jewish bath house in the East End of London, not too far from the Bermondsey birthplace of Michael Barrymore, the subject of this new hour-long show. Cassenbaum’s blend of affection, sentimentality and humorous storytelling are ...

Writer: Frank Skinner Director: Polina Kalinina Reviewer: Stephen Bates Established for many years as a top comedian and television game show host and with a recent UK (perhaps excluding Scotland) number one hit in the pop charts, it seems that Frank Skinner is close to having it all. That said, there have to be some worries for him if the ...