Author: Hugh Simpson
Traverse Festival (2)
Shielding , Doomsdays, Matterhorn & The Watercooler:
The Traverse’s online Festival continues with three more audio-only Breakfast Plays, as well as some treats that are more visual.
Traverse Breakfast Plays: New Tracks (1)
Traverse 3:
The Traverse are replicating their Fringe Breakfast Plays with streams from their new online-only Traverse 3, and the first two offerings – Contemporary Political Ethics (Or, How to Cheat) by Jamie Cowan and Rabbit Catcher by Rebecca Martin – both have much to recommend them.
Fragments Of Home
★★★★☆ Resonant:
Mixing history and the present to great effect, Fragments of Home revisits earlier work by Annie George extremely successfully.
My Light Shines On: Ghost Light
★★★★☆ Magical:
Ghost Light provides a poignant reminder of what we are all missing in this fallow year of live performance in Edinburgh during August.
Anno Domino
★★★★☆ Perfectly Pitched:
Alan Ayckbourn has taken a play ‘off the back burner’ for audio streaming by the Stephen Joseph Theatre, where he was artistic director for many years. It has all of the hallmarks of classic Ayckbourn – razor-sharp observation, subtle skewering of preconceptions, and exploration of murky hidden depths.
Allan Stewart’s Big Big Variety Show
★★★★☆ Comfortable
There is a reassuring feel to Allan Stewart’s Big Big Variety Show at the King’s until Saturday.
Mrs Puntila and Her Man Matti
★★☆☆☆ Flat:
Mrs Puntila and Her Man Matti at the Lyceum is full of energy and has no shortage of comic potential. However, the end result is puzzlingly uninvolving.
The Hollow
★★★☆☆ Stately:
Huge care and attention has gone into the staging of Threepenny Theatricals’ version of Agatha Christie’s The Hollow. That care, however, does mean that there is a definite absence of energy in a production that never outstays its welcome but frequently threatens to.
Ten Times Table
★★★☆☆ Solid:
There is a pleasing solidity to the touring production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Ten Times Table at the King’s all week, but it suffers from a shortage of inspiration.
Oor Wullie
★★★☆☆ Sparky:
Oor Wullie, the touring musical from Selladoor, Dundee Rep and DC Thomson has moments of comic brilliance. However, it never quite coheres into a wholly convincing story.
