Chris Pearson

Twelfth Night
★★★☆☆ Rumbustious jollity:
Charging at Shakespeare at full speed and with all comic guns blazing, Some Kind of Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night at Paradise in the Vault will win no prizes for subtlety but should please a wide audience.

Ganymede
★★★☆☆ Timely reworking:
Ganymede, TypeCast Productions’ reworking of Shakespeare at Paradise in Augustines, is an intriguing production that uses the spirit of the Bard to cast light on contemporary concerns.

Volpone
★★★★☆ Ruthless:
The Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group bring Ben Johnson’s comedy, Volpone, to life and new audiences in a hilarious version of the tale about just how far people will go to be rich.

Black Comedy
✭✭✭✭✩ Fast-paced fun:
Excellent comic timing is a feature of Arkle’s extremely enjoyable Black Comedy at the Royal Scots Club.

Death and the Maiden
✭✭✭✭✩ Painfully poignant:
Emotionally charged, Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group’s production of Death and a Maiden is poignant, gripping and full of pain.

Festen
✭✭✭✭✩ Dark matters:
There is a fierce intensity to the Grads’ Festen at Adam House, in a consistently strong production that crackles with energy.

An Island Between Heaven And Earth
✭✭✭✩✩ Slow but sure
Thoughtful and intelligent, AJL Productions’ An Island Between Heaven And Earth takes its time to get going but is well worth seeing.

The Wonderful World of Dissocia
✭✭✭✭✭ Heartbreaking escapism
It’s not every day that a show comes along that can profoundly affect you. The Wonderful World of Dissocia from the Grads is one such rare gem; it is charming, enchanting and poignant.

Review – Richard III
★★☆☆☆ Macabre:
Vile and unrepentant, Richard Godden’s take on Richard III is an uncompromising one in this fascinating production of from the Grads – at St Brides until Saturday.