Michael John McCarthy
Shows preceding the end of the fest
Hugh’s final BookFest Round-up for 2018
Autumn always seems to time its arrival to coincide with that of the Book Festival, with the rain limiting opportunities for the simple pleasures of sitting in Charlotte Square Gardens with a book and some refreshment. However, there were plenty of opportunities for those interested in theatre to sit inside instead.
The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other
★★★★☆ Contains multitudes:
Dizzying in its invention and almost ludicrously ambitious in scope, The Hour we Knew Nothing Of Each Other at the Lyceum is undoubtedly uneven but always intriguing.
The hour of inspiration
First look at The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other
Closing out the Lyceum’s current season, Austrian playwright Peter Handke’s The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other has over 450 characters but no words.
How to Disappear
★★★☆☆ Troubling comedy:
Morna Pearson’s new play How to Disappear, which is this year’s ‘alternative’ Traverse Christmas entertainment, definitely has its heart in the right place.
NTS Rocket Machine
NTS on Screen launched with Rocket Post
A new initiative, the National Theatre of Scotland on Screen, is to be launched with the filming of a cinema version of its new musical production Rocket Post.
Glory on Earth
★★★☆☆ Accomplished:
Extreme care has been lavished on the Lyceum’s Glory on Earth. It has a clarity to its storytelling and performances, backed up by some excellent staging, but never engages the heart or mind as fully as it promises.
A Number
★★★★☆ Human intelligence:
Philosophical questions that have puzzled us for centuries are given a contemporary yet timeless spin in A Number, presented by the Lyceum in partnership with the Edinburgh International Science Festival.
Grain In The Blood
★★★☆☆ Well performed:
Strong performances and notably high production values distinguish Grain In The Blood at the Traverse, but an initially chilling ambience is not sustained.
The Weir
★★★★☆ Quietly affecting:
Superbly judged performances and a clever, organic approach to staging make for an effectively spooky time in the Lyceum’s production of Conor McPherson’s The Weir.
Light Boxes
✭✭✭✭✩ Love and regret:
Light Boxes is fascinating. Grid Iron Theatre Company has woven a complex web, leaving the audience struggling to interpret what they are seeing.
