Listings: Mon 28 Mar – Sun 3 April 2022
What’s on Edinburgh’s stages this week…
Everyone’s talking about… Venice, the L21, Allan and – of course – Jamie, this week, with a strong variety of interesting shows on Edinburgh’s stages.
The big show of the week is at the Festival Theatre where Everyone’s Talking About Jamie returns for a welcome further run. Layton Williams returns in the title role (although not on Saturday) about the boy who wanted to do drag at school.
Everyone’s Talking About Jamie, at the Festival Theatre, Tue 29 March – Sat 2 April.
On Wednesday, Arkle theatre company is opening its production of the Goldoni comedy The Venetian Twins (in Tony Cowny’s hilarious adaptation which he did for the Lyceum) at the Hill Street Theatre. Tickets are selling very fast for this one, so get in quick.
Allan Stewart is back at the King’s for the last time before its big refurbishment in the Autumn, with the latest of his Big Big Variety shows. Fellow local panto legend Grant Stott joins him and there will no doubt be a heartfelt tribute to big Andy Gray amidst the general mirth.
The Lyceum is at the start of its Wonder Festival of works in progress and pieces by the various members of the L21. There are plenty of fascinating things to see – and there is something really intriguing in catching a piece in mid development, when it is still in its raw state and the person behind it hasn’t had to drop their best ideas because they don’t fit in…
New Writing
Mind you, works in progress and semi-staged walk-through readings of plays are the Traverse’s stock-in-trade at the moment, as they seem to be really taking their role as Scotland’s New Writing Theatre to a different level. This week there are two more readings and a visit from the Tandem Collective.
Down in Musselburgh, the DramaMill’s young theatre makers will no doubt be having a spurgetastic time of it with their production of Bugsy Malone. But our money is on Christine Bovill’s Piaf, which is at the venue for Thursday night only. Hot and sultry, it is one for fans of truly moving tributes to singers of yesterday.
Listings
Click on the name of the show to go to its ticketing site.
Assembly Roxy
2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU
Medics Musical: Edinburgh’s Doc Talent
Wed 30 Mar – Sat 2 April 2022
Evening : 7pm (Roxy Central).
When the medical school cuts funding, the final years must compete to be the only FY in Edinburgh… Will they have what it takes to survive the first ever televised medic competition? Who will take the prize? With an original script, live band, and more hours spent on rehearsals than in placement, this is sure to be the best Medics’ Musical yet! Book here.
The Improverts
Fri 1 April 2022
Evening: 9pm (Roxy Upstairs)
Edinburgh’s longest-running improvised comedy troupe return with their off-the-cuff evenings of comedy fun. Based entirely on audience suggestions, each show is unique, depending on lightning-fast wit, expert tech and a healthy dose of audience inspiration in a mix of short-form improv games. Book here.
The Brunton
Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AA. Phone booking: 0131 665 2240
Busgy Malone
Tue 29/Wed 30 March 2022
Evenings: 7pm (Theatre).
Come and enjoy the DramaMill’s spurgetastic production of Bugsy Malone and let their talented young cast transport you to the 1920’s New York – a world full of gangsters, speakeasies, hopes dreams and custard pies!!. Book here.
Christine Bovill’s Piaf 2022
Thurs 31 March 2022
Evening: 7.30pm (Theatre).
As much as play as it is a musical homage, Christine Bovill’s Piaf is a moving theatrical homage to one of France’s most endearing icons; celebrating some of her best known songs, threaded with Piaf’s story, and Christine’s own remarkable journey in the world of chanson. Book here.
Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Tue 29 Mar – Sat 2 Apr 2022
Evenings 7.30pm Matinees Thu & Sat 2.30pm
Jamie New is sixteen and lives on a council estate in Sheffield. Jamie doesn’t quite fit in. Jamie is terrified about the future. Jamie is going to be a sensation. Supported by his brilliant loving mum and surrounded by his friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness, into the spotlight. Book here.
Balletboyz Deluxe
Sun 3 April 2022
Evening 7.30pm.
Bold, boisterous and beautiful: BalletBoyz are back. Meet the six extraordinary young dancers who feature in this explosion of mesmeric dance, fused with the witty and distinctive BalletBoyz trademark use of film and behind the scenes content. Book here.
Hill Street Theatre
19 Hill Street EH2 3JP.
The Venetian Twins (Arkle)
Wed 30 March – Sat 2 April 2022
Evenings 7.30pm.
Tony Cownie’s adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s Servant of Two Masters (One Man, Two Guvnors) in the Commedia dell’arte style. A farcical tale of identical twins, mistaken identities, affairs of the heart and, er, toilet brushes… Book here.
King’s Theatre
2 Leven Street EH3 9LQ. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Allan Stewart’s Big Big Variety Show 2022
Tue 29 March – Sat 2 April 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm, Mats Wed, Sat: 2.30pm
“Ok, what do we need? We need to laugh. And I do as well. So I’ve decided to bring the Big Big Variety Show back to the Kings one more time before it closes for the refurb it so badly needs. It will be full of sketches, music and surprises. Personally, I can’t wait to see you all again…” Book here.
Lyceum Theatre
Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.
Wonder Festival of Works in Progress
Mon 28 March – Sat 9 April 2022
Various times.
A series of workshops and works in progress alongside work from the Lyceum’s L20 artists, a diverse group of 21 Edinburgh-based theatre makers that are the first cohort of the Lyceum’s artistic attachment programme created in 2021. They will showcase their creative blueprints, and works in progress each designed to spark conversations and explore the world anew through their artistic inquiries after a time of great change and uncertainty. Further details here.
KELI – A Live Preview
Sun 3 April 2022
One performance: 5pm.
Live preview of Martin Green and Wils Wilson’s new audio drama of a troubled young horn player, inspired by the brass band community. Stars Anna Russell-Martin in the title role with Tam Dean Burn. Show includes a premiere of Green’s new work, Split the Air, performed by Whitburn Brass Band – hot foot from their 21st win in the Scottish Brass Band Championships. Book here.
Online
On a screen in your own home
The Scent of Roses
Fri 1 – Sun 3 April 2022
Available 7pm, Fri 1, for 48 hours.
Æ Review: ★★★☆☆ Lacks urgency.
A fiction that speaks the truth about the lies we tell, and what we choose to believe. The Scent of Roses begins with a wife who decides to take her husband hostage to finally have an honest conversation… The digital stream is available for 48 hours only for £10 (£15 multiple viewers), on the Lyceum’s Cog Player. Tickets and Details.
Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
Islands in the Stream
Sun 3 April 2022
Evening: 7.30.
Leave your ‘9 to 5’ worries at the door and get ready for a night in the company of Country Music Royalty! This thigh-slapping stage show brings together the beloved glamour and personality of Dolly, along with Kenny’s charisma and energy with hit after hit.. Book here.
Teviot Underground
Teviot House, 13 Bristo Place, EH8 9AJ
Ondine
Sun 27 – Weds 30 March 2022
Evenings: 7pm.
By French playwright Jean Giraudoux, translated by Philomène Cheynet. Theatre Paradok with the story of the young water nymph drawn to the human world. One stormy night by the lake, she meets a knight-errant and falls in love. To free herself of the water world, she makes a secret pact with the spirit of the lake... Book here.
Traverse
10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED. Phone booking: 0131 228 1404
A Play, A Pie And A Pint: Man’s Best Friend
Tue 29 Mar – Sat 2 Apr 2022
Daily, 1pm (Trav 2)
By Douglas Maxwell. Walking his neighbours’ dogs has kept Ronnie together during a very difficult lockdown. But when a series of mishaps result in the dogs slipping their leads and disappearing off into the woods, Ronnie’s forced to take chase and face up to some hard truths. Book here.
Reading Double Bill
Tue 29 March 2022
Evening: 6.30pm.
A special double bill presentation of readings of full-length scripts from the 2022 First Stages Writers. Soldiers by Fraser Scott and The Cleaner by Kate Reid. Book here.
Tandem Writing Collective
Sat 2 April 2022
Evening: 8pm
Established and run by playwrights, Amy Hawes, Jennifer Adam and Mhairi Quinn, Tandem features tasters of topical new scripts by the three writers, performed script in hand by the best local actors. Book here.
ENDS
