King’s Theatre
Shrek the Musical
★★★☆☆ Swamptastic
Just 904 days after its first rehearsal, the Bohemians Lyric Opera Company’s production of Shrek the Musical arrives on the King’s stage, battered by Covid in more ways than one, but brave and unbowed none-the-less.
Rocky Horror Show
★★★★★ Damn it!
Loud, brash and very, very slick, Richard O’Brien’s Rocky Horror Show rock’n’rolls into the Kings with pinch of glitter, a fist-full of glitz and a whole bucket of on-the-nose comedy.
Post-Christmas shows cancelled
Panto and ballet to close on Christmas Eve
The King’s panto Sleeping Beauty and Scottish Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the Festival Theatre will close on Christmas Eve, cancelling all remaining performances, as Nicola Sturgeon limits theatre audiences to 200 and re-imposes one metre social distancing.
Listings: Mon 13 to Sun 19 December 2021
What’s on Edinburgh’s Stages this week…
With most Christmas productions up and running, the Playhouse and the Studio Theatre complete this years offer with new openings from the extreme ends of the Festive selection, at least in terms of size.
Sunshine on the King’s
June dates for Proclaimers Musical
Sunshine on Leith, Stephen Greenhorn’s musical based around the songs of the Proclaimers will be the final show in the Edinburgh King’s season before the venue goes dark for refurbishment.
Listings: Mon 6 to Sun 12 December 2021
What’s on Edinburgh’s Stages this week…
The build up to Christmas sees nearly all the seasonal shows and pantomimes up and running, but there is still room for a bit of an alternative thanks to Saltire Sky who are staging bringing back their hit 1902 down in Leith.
Sleeping Beauty
★★★★☆ Comforting
Familiar routines, eye-catching gimmicks and cheeky swagger are naturally present in Sleeping Beauty, this year’s pantomime at the King’s. And if something is unsurprisingly missing, it does pretty well in making up for it.
Death Drop
★★★☆☆ Premature pantomime
Death Drop, from Tuck Shop and Trafalgar Theatre Productions at the King’s until Saturday, is an uneven affair – camp, garish and ultimately entertaining.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
★☆☆☆☆ Unfathomable
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow from Tilted Wig productions, touring to the King’s until Saturday, may just about pass muster for a post-Hallowe’en frightfest due to its occasional horrific moments.
The Woman in Black
★★★★☆ Still so spooky
The Woman in Black – touring to the King’s yet again this week – retains all of its mysterious power to entrance and terrify.
