Author: Hugh Simpson
Black Men Walking
★★★★☆ Poetic Journey:
There is a scope to Eclipse Theatre Company’s Black Men Walking that is truly impressive. And if its reach sometimes exceeds its grasp, it is none the worse for it.
Showcase 2019
★★★★☆ Melodic juggernaut:
Showcase 2019 at the Church Hill Theatre is an object lesson in how to ring the changes on a familiar formula and keep the result delightfully fresh.
Solaris
★★★★☆ Questioning intelligence:
Dealing with troubling questions about human interaction, the Lyceum’s adaptation of Solaris is – like all the best science fiction – not really about alien planets but about our own world.
BookFest – The Final Whistle
Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 Final Round-up:
The Edinburgh International Book Festival 2019 closed with its customary eclectic selection of events a remarkably prescient glitch and a Playing with Books presentation that showed exactly what such an adaptation can do.
Goodbye Charles
★★☆☆☆ Extreme comic chaos:
Goodbye Charles, Eight Minute Dirge’s Fringe debut, is an episodic comedy performed with a surfeit of enthusiasm. Lacking in focus, it nevertheless has charm and potential.
Playing With Books
A Charlotte in Charlotte Square – and more
The Book Festival’s Playing with Books strand continues to delight and tantalise audiences in the Charlotte Square Spiegeltent.
Surveillance
★★★☆☆ Intriguingly lop-sided:
Surveillance, by Anomaly Theatre at theSpace on North Bridge, is a collection of items about ‘big data’ and the surveillance society that is somewhat hit-and-miss but has some fascinating elements.
Fish
★★★☆☆ Surprisingly dry:
Fish by Shinehouse Theatre as part of the Taiwan Season at Summerhall, is an attractive production which remains a curiosity rather than a vital piece of theatre.
Dr Korczak’s Example
★★★★☆ Exemplary:
There is both bleakness and hope in Dr Korczak’s Example, Strange Town’s production which has made a return to the Fringe at the Storytelling Centre.
Heir Heads
★★★☆☆ Considerable zip:
Heir Heads, Pretty Knickers Productions’ comedy at theSpace on North Bridge, has a cacklingly amoral glee that gives it some force.
