Reviews
Smile
★★★☆☆ Sympathetic
Smile, Dundee Rep’s football-themed online offering, transfers to the screen to provide a satisfactory record of 2020’s successful play about the legendary Jim McLean.
Distance Remaining
★★★☆☆ Assured
There are some wonderful, and wonderfully human, performances in Distance Remaining. The three separate sections of the production ultimately fail to gel, but there is more than enough to sustain the interest.
Doppler: The Story So Far
★★★★☆ Illuminating:
Doppler: The Story So Far, a portrait of Grid Iron’s 2020 production of Doppler that never was, is an edifying, surprising and deeply human film.
Meet Jan Black
★★★☆☆ multi-layered
The end of Lockdown is in sight and Jan Black is back on stage; Maureen Beattie stars in Johnny McKnight’s multi-layered new play for Wonder Fools live-streamed from the Ayr Gaiety.
Angela
★★★★☆ Poignantly perceptive
A touching and utterly personal piece of drama, Angela by Mark Ravenhill is a fitting first offering in the Lyceum and Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s Sound Stage project in association with Naked Productions Ltd.
roulette
★★★☆☆ Frothy
roulette, Production Lines’ latest foray into online theatre, makes excellent use of technology. If it is unaware of exactly where it is heading, there is considerable enjoyment to be had along the way.
Rapunzel – A Hairy Tale Adventure
★★★☆☆Festive fun:
The National Theatre of Scotland’s Rapunzel is full of enjoyment and impressive performances. Although it never quite stakes its claim as a compelling work in its own right, there is plenty to satisfy those missing their annual helping of seasonal entertainment.
Rapunzel: The Pantomime
★★★★★ Towering achievement
The Brunton’s panto is a little different this year – Oh yes it is! Covid means the Brunton’s 2020 offering was filmed, with smaller audiences able to watch Rapunzel in the venue’s cinema. As it turned out, tier changes meant that plan was abandoned, but a web link ensures kids of all ages don’t have to miss out.
The Secret Theatre
★★★★☆ Christmas treat
The Secret Theatre may not entirely make up for missing a Christmas trip to the ballet but succeeds impressively on its own terms.
Lyceum Christmas Tales IX – XII live
★★★★☆ Creative Joy
The final four stories in the Lyceum Christmas Tales, presented live from the theatre, put the seal on what has been an enterprise suffused with goodwill, invention, care and Christmas cheer.
