Easter Offerings

Apr 10 2020 | By More

Theatre online this Easter weekend

If the Easter Weekend feels like any other while in Covid-lockdown, at least there are a few theatrical offerings to ensure that you can make the next few days a bit special.

There is something for most members of the family and those of different theatre-loving persuasions, thanks to Edinburgh-based offerings from the likes of Catherine Wheels, Village Pub Theatre, Bare Productions, Magnetic North and This is my Story Productions.

Ian Cameron and Michael Dylan in White. Pic The ASK

First up, for children, those with children and everyone who has ever, in their whole life time, been a child, there this the absolutely superb WHITE, from Catherine Wheels theatre.

Seriously, this is recommended for everyone. It usually plays to an intimate audience of about 30 so, although the production has had over 1,000 performances, this film of a live show in China last year could double its existing audience. However, there are just 12 screenings over the weekend, so make sure you catch it at the right time.

There are two one-off events this Good Friday, 10 April. Both interactive, take-part events starting at 8pm. For lovers of musical theatre, Bare Productions has organised a pub quiz through their Facebook page, so get your team of up-to six together get connected to each other through Zoom and join up!

For theatre lovers, and particularly those who like raw, new writing, the Village Pub Theatre is going virtual, with a live Zoom performance of a half dozen pieces of new writing with the provocation “in praise of the public house”. Details on VPT’s facebook page.

immersive

There are online representations of two pieces of immersive theatre over the weekend, too.

First up, This Is My Story Productions is performing a live reading of its hit 2018 and 2019 EdFringe show, A War of Two Halves, originally performed at Tynecastle Park, which told the story of McCrea’s Batallion raised from Edinburgh’s youth in the First World War – and led by footballers and fans.

A snapshot of the online rehearsals for the reading of A War of two Halves. Pic: This Is My Story

Just as the call-up to the First World War effort united football supporters across the city, A War of Two Halves is suitably airing live at 3pm on Saturday 11 April – just as Hearts and Hibs should have been kicking off the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.

The second immersive piece is online on Sunday evening and comes from Dublin where Fishamble theatre company created a piece of theatre Inside the GPO in 2016, to help commemorate the centenary of the Easter Rising. This is streaming on Sunday evening from 7pm for a limited 27 hours only.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lot are releasing all of his musicals for free streaming over the next few weeks. The screenings are on Friday evenings and the shows are available for 48 hours only. Of course this weekend’s streaming is Jesus Christ, Superstar. This is the big arena tour with Tim Minchin in the pivotal role of Judas.

The final recommendation is a personal favourite. Pass the Spoon from Magnetic North is a truly magnificent piece of modern music theatre. A “sort of opera” with a libretto by David Shrigley, music by David Fennessy and direction from Nicholas Bone.

surreal brilliance

Their collaboration is brilliant, but it is the performances which set it apart. There is the wonderful and much missed Pauline Knowles as daytime TV host June Spoon, the irrepressible Stewart Cairns as her sidekick Philip Fork and the Red Note Ensemble – all dressed as chefs – providing the music.

But the truly memorable performance is from Gavin Mitchell as a giant Egg. Humpty Dumpty eat your pallid heart out – Mitchell’s alcoholic, manic-depressive singing egg is the biggest, brightest yolk in the egg box and absolutely no mistake. Only topped by his later performance as a singing, dancing jobby.

Truly a work of surreal brilliance and, if there is any justice, this is due a big revival.

Listings

White
A Catherine Wheels archive film on YouTube.
Fri 10 – Mon 13 April 2020.
Three times daily: 11am, 2pm, 4pm.
Viewers will be able to begin watching up to 40 minutes after the start time. Unavailable outside these times.

Any Manley’s smash hit piece of children’s theatre follows friends, Cotton and Wrinkle, who look after the birdhouses and make sure the eggs stay safe in a world that is bright, ordered and very, very white. But high in the trees, all is not white. Colours appear. First red, then yellow, then blue, then… Our review of the 2015 tour is here: ★★★★★ Perfect rainbow.
Live broadcast here.

Jesus Christ Superstar
By The Shows Must Go On
Live on Fri 9 at 7pm GMT: YouTube.
Remains online until 7pm, Sunday 12 April 2020.
Andrew Lloyd Webber is releasing a different musical from his stable every Friday at 7pm BST, available free for 48 hours only. Good Friday’s show is the Jesus Christ Superstar Live Stage Show starring Tim Minchin, Mel C and Chris Moyles.
Live broadcast here: YouTube.

Virtual Pub Theatre
By Village Pub Theatre
Live script-in-hand performance on Zoom.
Friday 10 April 2020: 8pm.
Live performance only.
This new way of experiencing the Village Pub Theatre will, like all VPT events, feature a selection of short plays, all written over a short time-frame in response to a given provocation and then performed script-in-hand after brief rehearsals on the day. The Zoom event will contain break-out rooms for half-time chat and opportunities for live response…
Æ News story here: Virtual Pub Theatre.
Details of how to join the Zoom chat on the event’s FB page: Here.

Big Bare Quiz
By Bare Productions
Mega Musical Theatre Quiz, hosted on Facebook Live.
Friday 10 April 2020: 8pm.
Live event only.
Bare Productions’ online Mega Musical Theatre Quiz. Get your team together (no more than 6 people!), decide on a platform to interact with each other (e.g. Zoom, Skype etc) and load up their Facebook page to join them for some Friday fun and musical theatre trivia.
Æ News story here: Big Bare Quiz.
Details of how to take part are on the event’s FB page: Here.

A War of Two Halves
By This Is My Story Productions
Live reading on YouTube.
Sat 11 April 2020: 3pm.
Remains online until Saturday 18 April 2020.
A live reading of the immersive EdFringe hit play about Hearts and other football teams who joined up en masse in 1914 for McCrae’s Battalion. The cast will be performing from the comfort and safety of their own homes. The original show was so good, we reviewed it twice: ★★★★★ Devastating emotion.

Pass the Spoon

By Magnetic North
Archive recording on Vimeo.
Online for a “limited period”.
Pauline Knowles and Stewart Cairns feature as the hosts of a daytime food and chat show. The libretto by David Shrigley goes off into the realms of the fantastical, with Martin McCormick as a supercilious talking Banana and Gavin Mitchell in superb form Æ review: ★★★★★ Dancin’.

Inside the GPO
By Fishamble
Archive film of the 2016 production on YouTube.
Sun 12 April 2020: 7pm.
Remains online until Monday 13 April 2020, 10pm.
Playwright Colin Murphy reconstructs – and creates a drama around – events in Dublin’s General Post Office which was occupied by the Irish rebels who led the rising against British rule and made it their headquarters.
Online here: YouTube

ENDS

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