Student Production
Smile (Like You’re Happy)
★★★☆☆ Diffuse
Smile (Like You’re Happy), New Celts and Sparkle Sarcasm’s production at theSpace Triplex, deals with modern and timeless concerns in a way that is often too scattergun to succeed but has considerable emotional resonance.
Corpsing
★★★☆☆ Energetic
It is always pleasing to see play titles that are clear hostages to fortune, like New Celts and Red Rabbit’s Corpsing at theSpace Triplex. However, this is nothing to do with forgetting your lines, and everything to do with actual corpses.
Charlie Brown Casting
Casting Call for October production
Edinburgh student company Happy Sad Productions has put out a casting call for its October production of You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown.
Into the Woods
★★★★☆ Shady:
There’s laughter, edged with more than little darkness, to the Eusog’s splendid and convincing production of Into The Woods playing the Pleasance theatre to Saturday.
Mary Queen of Scots got her Head Chopped Off
★★★★☆ Clear bright corbie:
The EUTC bring a strong understanding and sense of purpose to this production of Liz Lochhead’s great 1987 play Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off, at the Bedlam to Saturday.
She Can’t Half Talk
★★☆☆☆ Unconvincing lives:
She Can’t Half Talk, EUTC’s Fringe production at the Bedlam, is a varied set of stories that contains much of promise but fails to convince as a coherent whole.
Iolanthe
★★★☆☆ Concise:
There is a pleasing and playful lightness of tone to the Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group’s production of Iolanthe, which is at the Teviot Debating Hall until Saturday.
White
★★★★☆ Layered:
Comic, brutal and certainly confrontational, the UK premiere of James Ijames’ White at St Cecelia’s Hall delivers a well-judged prod at the often unguarded underbelly of white liberal self-satisfaction.
EUSC take on the Shrew
New look at Shakespeare’s troubling work:
Edinburgh University Shakespeare Company is this week taking on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew – a tricky choice given the misogyny which underpins its comedy, but one which the company is tackling head on.
The Producers
★★★☆☆ Dedicated:
Taking on the maestro of satire, Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group drags the Pleasance theatre onto Broadway for their performance of Mel Brooks’ The Producers, swastikas and all.
