Review
Death of a Salesman
★★★★☆ Haunting
A quiet profundity burns at the heart of the Royal and Derngate, Northampton’s touring production of Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman at the King’s. Largely eschewing the showy and portentous, it is anchored by a couple of outstanding performances.
Stories of the Sea
★★★★☆ Factual:
There’s a braw bundle of insight to be had in Citadel Arts Group’s double bill of plays that explore some of the varying aspects of the women of Leith’s relationships with the sea.
Shackleton
★★★☆☆ Committed
There is an undeniable poetic charm to Blue Raincoat’s Shackleton, at the Traverse to Friday and touring to the Tron next week.
The Diary of Anne Frank
★★★★☆ Necessary:
Combining delicacy, steel and emotional truth, Edinburgh People’s Theatre’s production of The Diary of Anne Frank is both timely and accomplished.
Shirley Valentine
★★★☆☆ Vibrant:
Raw, potent and very real, Jodie Prenger’s performance in Shirley Valentine at the King’s and on tour, is a class act.
EICF Opening Weekend
★★★★☆ Imagination reigns:
The Edinburgh International Children’s Festival kicked off in splendid form this year, with an opening weekend of unusual and quirky offerings at the national Museum of Scotland.
War in America
★★★★☆ Timely:
The Attic Collective’s War in America is passionate, emotional and committed – but not over-earnest, and certainly not polite.
Daphne Oram’s Wonderful World of Sound
★★★★☆ Engaging:
There is a freshness and infectious enthusiasm to Daphne Oram’s Wonderful World of Sound. This, allied to a magnetic central performance, overcomes oddities in the script and staging to create a thoroughly pleasing whole.
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.
Out of This World
★★★☆☆ Thrilling spectacle:
Visually stunning yet lacking in substance, Out of This World at the Festival Theatre is an exhilarating fusion of theatre and film that doesn’t quite deliver.
