Reviews
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.
Five from Inside
★★★☆☆ Zippy:
A series of enigmatic, eclectic discoveries, Five From Inside’s guerrilla-portraits of isolation expose some of the tensions facing theatre-makers staring down a digital ‘new normal.’
The Tempest
★★★★☆ Virtual storm:
While many theatre companies have resorted to screening films of existing shows during lockdown, Banbury-based Creation Theatre has not only created a new piece of theatre but is performing it live.
In celebration of the Public House
★★★★☆ Virtually strong:
The Leith-based Village Pub Theatre made a welcome return on Friday evening by virtue of virtual meeting platform, Zoom, for a live performance of seven sparkling new plays, performed script-in-hand.
7,000 tune in to Stand
First Saturday Night Live from The Stand a hit:
Almost 7,000 people tuned in live to watch the Edinburgh Stand comedy club’s first ever Saturday Night Live streaming event on Youtube.
Cirque Berserk
★★★☆☆ Zip(po)’s into town:
Newbury based circus company Cirque Berserk! appears at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre as part of its 2020 tour. The company brands itself as ‘Real Circus made for Theatre’ and it does exactly what it says on the tin.
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.
The Secret Garden
★★★★☆ Blooms with delights:
The Secret Garden, Fife-based Red Bridge Arts has once again given a children’s classic a radical makeover without losing the heart of the original story.
Cavalleria Rusticana
★★★★☆ effective:
Edinburgh Studio Opera has followed a path of noire inevitability into the dark heart of Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, the tale of a returning soldier, a spurned lover and a vengeful secret told.
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.
