Kirsty Findlay
PPP: Oscar
★★★★☆ Perfectly formed
A funny, touching and tremendously acted musical, Oscar by Brian James O’Sullivan heralds the welcome return of Oran Mor’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint to the Traverse.
Jamie and the Unicorn online
★★★★☆ Streaming good fun
The brand new pantomime Jamie and the Unicorn at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr, hits all the big pantomime tropes – and hits them bang on – with a live performance that makes a smooth transfer to online viewing.
Playing With Books – the Yellow Door
The last of this year’s Playing With Books events at the Book Festival was a singular piece. The Yellow Door was even more of a ‘work in progress’ than is usual for the strand as it is not yet even a book. I
Islander on Radio 4
Award-winning musical hits the airwaves
Amy Draper’s two-hander musical Islander, a sell-out hit at the Fringe of 2019, has had a new interpretation for radio and is available on BBC Sounds.
Lyceum Christmas Tales IX – XII live
★★★★☆ Creative Joy
The final four stories in the Lyceum Christmas Tales, presented live from the theatre, put the seal on what has been an enterprise suffused with goodwill, invention, care and Christmas cheer.
Islander
★★★★☆ Etherial:
Mystical in content and audacious in its presentation, Islander is a musical for just two performers which is thought-provoking and intriguing in equal measure.
Our Ladies Olivier Noms
Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour cast nominated for Olivier:
The entire cast of the NTS co-production with Live Theatre, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, has been nominated for the “Best Supporting Actress” award in this year’s Oliviers.
One, Two, Three, Yippee
★★★☆☆ Brutal:
Brutal, witty and sharply observed, Jack Elliot’s new play about small town violence in Midlothian is bundled into the Wee Red Bar with no little elan by Blazing Hyena.
Dead Letter Office
✭✭✭✩✩ Philosophical potential:
Some Company Productions deliver a thoughtful performance with a lot of potential, but struggle to reconcile the show with its philosophical depth.
The Merchant of Venice
✭✭✭✩✩ Ambitiously intelligent:
Aiming high, Edinburgh University Shakespeare Company’s production of The Merchant of Venice is accomplished and intelligent. If it does not always live up to its potential, it is not for want of trying.
