Listings Mon 18 – Sun 24 April 2022
What’s on Edinburgh’s stages this week…
Amateur musicals return with a swagger this week, as FCT’s Oliver! and EMT’s Drowsy Chaperone take the stage. Meanwhile The Meaning of Zong enters its second and final week and there’s a Waitress in town…
If you can only see one play this week, then that play should be The Meaning of Zong. Hugh’s review (★★★★★ Stunning) says all that needs saying of a brilliant piece of theatre which carries an urgent and timely reminder for everyone.
Wendy Mae Brown, Chelsea Halfpenny and Evelyn Hoskin in Waitress. Pic Matt Crockett
The big touring musical is Waitress at the Playhouse (Tue – Sat), starring Chelsea Halfpenny as Jenna, Wendy Mae Brown as Becky and Evelyn Hoskins as Dawn, with Busted’s Matt Willis as Dr Pomatter.
It tells the story of Jenna, an expert pie maker in a small town, who dreams of a way out of her loveless marriage. A baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s new doctor may offer her a chance at a new life, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes to happiness.
The show is based on the 2007 movie written by Adrienne Shelly. Music and lyrics are written by Grammy award-winning, singer-songwriter sensation Sara Bareilles, who appeared on the Graham Norton TV show, performing the hit song from the show She Used To Be Mine.
Edinburgh Music Theatre have their own irons in the fire however, up at the Church Hill Theatre, with what should be a top production of The Drowsy Chaperone (Wed – Sat) a musical to celebrate the joy of musicals themselves, in a gentle, loving and very funny pastiche of the golden age of shows.
solid gold shows
Forth Childrens Theatre is also going back to the solid gold shows of the musical theatre repertoire with a production of Oliver! at the Edinburgh Tabernacle on Inverleith Gardens (Wed – Sat). FCT has a hugely strong history and with all of lockdown to get ready for this, expect something quite special.
The Storytelling Centre is host to an altogether different kind of a treat, as Jo Clifford and Maria MacDonell stage the first preview performances of Clifford’s new play for grownups: The Not So Ugly Duckling. It retells the familiar story in a theatrical poem about life in all its chaotic glory and how transformation emerges from a time of change.
Further Edinburgh interest, both in the performers and the material, is to be had at the Lyceum’s rehearsal rooms, where the youth company is staging Becky Hope-Palmer’s new play with songs Seven Against Edinburgh, about the Edinburgh Seven who challenged the patriarchy of Edinburgh University to study for degrees.
Final mention for Assembly Roxy, where there are two events of note. On Friday, Stolen Elephant Theatre is staging Tam O’ Shanter and Other Tales an evening of Burns and the supernatural – telling comic versions of the Scottish folk tales The Witch of Fife and The Haunted Ships while Douglas McQueen Hunter and Douglas Caird from Court of Equity will be performing Burns’ songs.
Then on Sunday evening, Scotland’s circus cabaret night returns with Cirqulation: Future and a whole fistful of acts, including Edinburgh-based dancer, aerialist and acrobat Amy Longmuir, Melanie Jordan and Alice Langley with a circus theatre piece in development, Edinburgh-based aerialists Blaise Donald and Kate George – all hosted by “part magician, part poet and complete clown”: Matt Von Trapp.
Listings
Click on the name of the show to go to its ticketing site.
Tam O’ Shanter and Other Tales
Fridays 15, 22 & 29 April 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm (Roxy Upstairs).
A comic celebration of the ‘Gothic’ poems of Robert Burns from Stolen Elephant Theatre who perform Tam O’ Shanter, Death and Dr Hornbook and Address to the Deil. Expect to encounter Witches and Death. Oh and the De’il himself of course. Book here.
Cirqulation: Future
Sunday 24 April 2022
Evening: 6pm (Roxy Central).
Scotland’s Circus Cabaret Night Cirqulation is back, freshening the blood flow of Circus Arts in Scotland. The theme this time is FUTURE. Celebrating our time ahead of us, life, growth, survival, perseverence in the time of wars, pandemic and climate change. Book here.
The Brunton
Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AA. Phone booking: 0131 665 2240
Magic Of The Beatles
Sat 23 April 2022
Evening: 7.30pm (Venue 1).
If you’re looking for an authentic, lively dose of ‘Beatlemania’ then you need to look no further! The stars of this lavish production not only look and sound like John, Paul, George and Ringo, they also generate the same incredible excitement and unique sense of humour too. Book here.
Church Hill Theatre
33 Morningside Road, EH10 4DR.
The Drowsy Chaperone (EMT)
Wed 20 – Sat 23 April 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2.30pm.
As a musical theatre fan sits and listens to his favourite record, the soundtrack to ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’, the action of this fictional 1928 musical comes to life on stage beside him. Featuring witty lyrics, a very funny script and a host of musical theatre character types, it’s a shoe-in for Edinburgh Music Theatre. Book here.
Edinburgh Tabernacle
41-42 Inverleith Gardens, EH3 5PR.
Oliver! (Forth Children’s Theatre)
Wed 20 – Sat 23 April 2022.
Evenings: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2.30pm.
Forth Children’s Theatre return with the British coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. Nine-year-old orphan Oliver Twist falls in with a group of street-urchin pickpockets led by the Artful Dodger and masterminded by the criminal Fagin. Book here.
Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Northern Ballet’s The Great Gatsby
Thurs 21 – Sat 23 April 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm; Mats Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby has a penchant for lavish parties and beautiful women. As the sparkling façade of his world begins to slip, the loneliness, obsession and tragedy that lies beneath is revealed in one of Northern Ballet’s most treasured productions.Book here.
Jimmy Carr: Terribly Funny
Sunday 24 April 2022
Evening: 8pm.
Mr Carr has some jokes about all kinds of terrible things. Terrible things that might have affected you or people you know and love. But they’re just jokes – they are not the terrible things. Having political correctness at a comedy show is like having health and safety at a rodeo. Book here.
King’s Theatre
2 Leven Street EH3 9LQ. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Peppa Pig’s Best Day Ever
Sat 23/Sun 24 Apr 2022
Three shows daily: 10am, 1pm, 4pm.
Get ready for a road-trip full of fun adventures. From castles to caves, dragons to dinosaurs and ice-creams to muddy puddles – there is something for all of the family and their friends to enjoy, including Miss Rabbit, Mr Bull, Suzy Sheep, Gerald Giraffe and more! Book here.
Lyceum Theatre
Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.
The Meaning of Zong
by Giles Terera
A Bristol Old Vic production in association with The Royal Lyceum
13 – 24 April 2022
Æ review: ★★★★★ Stunning
Following the aftermath of the massacre of slaves aboard ship Zong, The Meaning of Zong boldy interrogates the impact of the subsequent court case which, for the first time, considered the fiscal cost of a human life, and resulted in the galvanisation of the abolition movement in the UK. Tickets and Details.
Seven Against Edinburgh
by Becky Hope-Palmer
Tue 19 – Sat 23 April 2022
Evenings: 7pm; Sat mat 2pm.
Victorian Edinburgh. Present day Edinburgh. What do the two have in common? Seven women who will stop at nothing to make change. But will Edinburgh stop them? A brand new play with songs performed by a new young company of actors and musicians. Up-and-coming band The Patriarchy Slayers discover the story of the inspirational women known as The Edinburgh Seven and overcome challenges of their own. Tickets and Details.
Online
On a screen in your own home
Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
Waitress
Tue 19 – Sat 23 April 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm; Mats Weds, Sat: 2.30pm.
Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker, dreams of happiness in her life, but when a hot new doctor arrives in town, life gets complicated. Supported by workmates Becky and Dawn, she overcomes the challenges and finds that laughter, love and friendship can provide the perfect recipe for happiness. Book here.
Scottish Storytelling Centre
43-45 High St, EH1 1SR. Phone booking: 0131 556 9579
The Not So Ugly Duckling: A Play For Grown-Ups
Wed 20 – Fri 22 April 2022
Evening: 7.30pm
Jo Clifford and Maria MacDonell retell a familiar story. In a theatrical poem about life, in all its chaotic glory, a dramatic tale of transformation emerges for a time of change. This contemporary interpretation dares to enter dark places and pose unanswered questions while celebrating the joy of life. (Preview performances). Book here.
Traverse
10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED. Phone booking: 0131 228 1404
Fault Lines
Tue 19 April 2022
Evening: 7.30pm (Trav 1)
A fashion show on the fracture between feminism and fabric. A catwalk which takes you from Haute Couture to bargain bin, from big beats to near silence. Five women come together in a celebration of difference. They dance, they walk… Susan Sontag meets America’s Next Top Model. Book here.
Jack Docherty – Nothing But
Sat 23 April 2022
Evening: 7.30pm (Traverse 1).
Following rave reviews and a sell-out run at Edinburgh Festival 2021 (we said: ★★★★☆ Oddly serious), Jack Docherty, the BAFTA award-winning star of Scot Squad and Absolutely, and one of Scotland’s favourite comic performers, is taking his critically-acclaimed play out on tour. Book here.
ENDS
