Author: Hugh Simpson
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds
★★★☆☆ Inexact science:
Arkle’s production of Paul Zindel’s The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds at the Hill Street Theatre is an uneven but ultimately fulfilling exploration of angry insecurities and brittle dreams.
The Cemetery Club
★★★★☆ Gravely good:
The Cemetery Club is a low-key, deeply traditional play, but in the hands of Edinburgh People’s Theatre it has a gentle resonance that is rather affecting.
The Dark Carnival
★★★☆☆ Striking:
In The Dark Carnival, Vanishing Point has crafted a strangely fascinating but oddly frustrating entertainment – theatre-cum-gig-cum-cabaret that impresses in fits and starts.
My Fair Lady
★★★★☆ Loverly:
Southern Light Opera’s My Fair Lady at the King’s is a sumptuously staged production. It also boasts a truly outstanding central performance; if the rest is a little overshadowed as a result, it is nevertheless highly impressive.
Sherlock Holmes: The Final Reckoning
★★★★☆ Elegant:
Twisted Thistle’s production for Annexe Arts Hub’s Formation Festival at the Assembly Roxy, is an intriguing and beautifully presented exploration of the characters of Edinburgh-born Arthur Conan Doyle.
Ulster American
★★★★☆ Hard Hitting:
Trailing clouds of glory from 2018, David Ireland’s Ulster American has returned to the Traverse with a bang. If it is not quite as good as some have said, it is still impressive – and certainly is impressively nasty.
Art
★★★★☆ Sparkling:
Art, at the King’s until Saturday, is everything a high-profile touring show should be – a carefully thought out, well-directed production of a hit play featuring a big-name cast at the top of their game.
Dear Brutus
★★★★☆ Old world charm:
Threepenny Theatricals’ Dear Brutus at the Church Hill is a resolutely odd piece, hugely uneven in tone, but discharged with such grace and skill that is compulsively watchable.
Touching The Void
★★★★☆ Viscerally convincing:
There is a depth and grit to Touching The Void at the Lyceum that threatens to carry all before it.
The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven
★★★★★ Sublime:
Forget any controversy linked to The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven. It should be judged purely as a theatrical experience. On those terms, it is moving, profound and quite brilliantly executed.
