Listings: Mon 14 – Sun 20 March 2022
What’s on Edinburgh’s stages this week…
Edinburgh’s theatres are swinging right back into action this week, with a full complement of productions and, notably, a trio of big amateur productions at the Church Hill, the King’s and the Roxy.
Elsewhere, the Playhouse is rocking with Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray, Scent of Roses is dividing opinion at the Lyceum, the Six Queens are back at the Festival and something peculiar this way comes to the Traverse, with a lunchtime offering from DC Jackson.
Maureen Beattie and Saskia Ashdown in The Scent of Roses playing at the Lyceum to Saturday. Pic: Tim Morozzo.
First those amateurs. EPT was one of the very first productions to succumb to lockdown two years ago – Men Should Weep was all ready to go when an actor contracted Covid and the rest of the cast had to self isolate. The production was cancelled – and two days later the theatre itself was shut.
Now they are back and very much on form with Ena Lamont Stewart’s extraordinarily moving story of women surviving in the east end of Glasgow in the 1930s. The script mines a surprisingly rich vein of comedy, and the production should put current events in the context of our not-too distant past.
The Bohemians have had to wait even longer – it’s three and a half years since they announced that they were one of only 114 amateur companies throughout the UK to gain a licence to stage Shrek The Musical, following the end of the big professional tour. Then lockdown hit the week before opening.
big, fierce, ugly, green and Scottish
Andrew Gardiner, who plays the big, fierce, ugly, green and Scottish (but ultimately just misunderstood) ogre of the title, says “It’s been quite the journey since we started rehearsals in September 2019. I can’t wait to finally have a chance to share Shrek the Musical with King’s theatre goers – it will be a real feast for they eyes and ears!”
The third big amateur offering is at the Roxy, where Jen McGregor brings her directorial abilities in the service of Edinburgh Studio Opera for a production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. On previous form, this is a combination – director, company and opera – to create something altogether fascinating and not a little dark.
Zinnie Harris’s The Scent of Roses at the Lyceum has had mixed reviews. Personally speaking, the doubters are wrong and this is well worth your time. So too, we suspect, will be Ryan Calais Cameron’s new play Human Nurture, at the Traverse from Thursday to Saturday.
There is not a huge amount that needs saying about big hits Hairspray and Six, fabulous pieces of entertainment as both are and continuing as strong as ever with casts who are capable of doing the material justice.
Listings
Click on the name of the show to go to its ticketing site.
Assembly Roxy
2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU
Hansel and Gretel (Edinburgh Studio Opera)
Tue 15 – Sat 19 March 2022
Evenings (not Thurs) : 7.30pm.
Jen McGregor directs the Edinburgh Studio Opera performing Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel with the EUCO conducted by Will Conway. No performance on Thursday. Book here.
Boys (Theatre Paradok)
Tue 15 – Wed 16 March 2022
Evenings (not Thurs) : 7.30pm.
Four boys face the tricky transition to adulthood in Ella Hickson’s riot of a play. The Class of 2011 are about to graduate. Stepping into a world that doesn’t want them, these boys start to wonder whether there’s any point in getting any older. Book here.
The Brunton
Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AA. Phone booking: 0131 665 2240
The Gardener
Sat 19 March 2022
Two perfs: 2pm & 7pm (Ask Rooms 1 & 2).
Come and meet Frank – he’s just started The Amateur Gardeners Appreciation Society and you’re cordially invited. Frank’s always been a keen gardener but lately he hasn’t been getting out quite as much as he’d like, especially not since his wife passed away. So he’s started his very own gardening group to share some hints and tips from a life-time spent in the garden… And perhaps one or two more personal tales along the way. Book here.
Church Hill Theatre
33 Morningside Road, EH10 4DR.
Men Should Weep (EPT)
Wed 16 – Sat 19 March 2022.
Wed – Fri: 7.30pm; Sat: 2.30pm.
EPT take on Ena Lamont Stewart’s extraordinarily moving play of women surviving in the East end of Glasgow in the 1930s. In the lives of Maggie, her friends, and neighbours, it finds not only all the tragedy that appalling housing, massive unemployment, and grinding poverty can produce, but also a rich vein of comedy – the sense of the ridiculous, and the need for a good laugh. Book here.
Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Six
Tue 15 – Sun 26 March 2022
Tue- Thu: 8pm, Fri 6pm & 8.30pm; Sat 2.30pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
From Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII finally take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. These Queens may have green sleeves but their lipstick is rebellious red. Book here.
Oi Frog & Friends
Thurs 17 – Sun 20 March 2022
Thu 1pm & 4pm, Fri 10.30am, Sat 10am & 12noon, Sun 10am
It’s a new day at Sittingbottom school and FROG is looking for a place to sit, but CAT has other ideas and DOG is doing as he’s told. Little do any of them know that chaos is coming… Based on the bestselling books by Kes Gray and Jim Field. Book here.
King’s Theatre
2 Leven Street EH3 9LQ. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Shrek the Musical
Wed 16 – Sat 19 March 2022
Evenings 7.30pm, Matinee Sat 2.30pm
The Bohemians present the musical adaptation of the animated movie about a big big, green, terrifying ogre who is turfed out of his lonely swamp and sets off with a wisecracking Donkey to save the feisty princess Fiona from a fire-breathing dragon. Book here.
Lyceum Theatre
Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.
The Scent of Roses
Tue 8 – Sat 19 March 2022
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm. Weds, Sat Mats: 2.30pm.
A darkly funny new play about truths, lies, and how we tell them begins with a wife who decides to take her husband hostage to finally have an honest conversation. This simple, transgressive act of demanding a straight answer sparks a chain of conversations, interrogations, obfuscations and revelations as a circle of connected lives try to work out what is real and find someone they can trust in a post-truth world. Tickets and Details.
Magnuson Centre
The Edinburgh Academy, 42 Henderson Row, EH3 5BL.
Welcome To The Cabaret!
Thurs 17 – Sat 19 March 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2.30pm
EU Footlights Showchoir with an ambitious production full of tunes from iconic works like Chicago, Cabaret, Hamilton, Company, Jekyll & Hyde and Something Rotten. Book here.
Online
On a screen in your own home
Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
Hairspray The Musical
Mon 14 – Sat 19 March 2022 
Evenings: 7.30: Mats Weds, Sat: 2.30pm.
It’s Baltimore, 1962 where Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams and dance her way onto national TV. With Brenda Edwards and Norman Pace. Book here.
St Vincent’s Chapel
St. Vincent St, Edinburgh EH3 6SW
The Music of Sir Walter Scott
Sat 19 March 2022
Evenings: 7.30.
Opera Caledonia presents a classical recital exploring the life and works of Sir Walter Scott through the operas he inspired. Award-winning baritone Arshak Kuzikyan and pianist Derek Clark perform the music of Donizetti, Marschner and Schubert amongst others. The evening will also include spoken word and readings. Further details.
Traverse
10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED. Phone booking: 0131 228 1404
A Play, A Pie And A Pint: I’m Disolving My Love In A Bath Of Acid
Tue 15 – Sat 19 March 2022
Daily, 1pm (Trav 2)
By DC Jackson. April married David John in prison where he was serving 15 life sentences for a string of grizzly murders. Now he’s been released on a technicality and he’s coming to live with her as man and wife. Her sister May isn’t pleased – she has to sleep in the next room! Book here.
Script Reading – Double Bill
Tue 15 March 2022
Evening: 6.30pm.
A special double bill presentation of readings of full-length scripts from the 2022 First Stages Writers. TOBOJO (Boris Johnson is Toast) by Jack Gemmell and Yes Chef by Laurie Ogden. Book here.
Human Nurture
Thurs 17 – Sat 19 March 2022
Evenings 7.30pm (Trav 1)
Roger and Harry’s bond is so strong they could be brothers. They share the same food, music, laughs, even dreams – but not race. Roger is black and Harry is white…but what does that matter, right? A new play from Ryan Calais Cameron featuring live music, moves and plenty of dynamite! Book here.
ENDS
