Author: Rebecca Mahar
Living With the Dead
★★★☆☆ Thoughtful
Not So Nice! Theatre Company’s latest offering, Living With the Dead by Cosette Bolt at the Augustine United Church, confronts the reality of death in its many forms, reflecting on its sameness.
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)
★★★★☆ Delightful
Isobel McArthur’s Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) bursts out of the servants’ stairs and into the parlour with straight-talk and song, bringing irreverent Austenian charm to the Festival Theatre on the Edinburgh stop of its current UK & Ireland tour.
Death of a Salesman
★★★☆☆ Modern Tragedy
Arthur Miller’s enduring tragedy Death of a Salesman leaves no question of the play’s outcome in its title, or in this new production from Trafalgar Theatre Productions and Raw Material touring to the Festival Theatre.
Chef
★★★☆☆ Turbulent
Sabrina Mahfouz’s Chef, starring Rebecca Benson, plays the Traverse for one night only in a production that crackles with energy and is a showcase for Benson’s solo performance.
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
★★★★★ Long live the Queen
The Bohemians open their limited run of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – The Musical at the Festival Theatre to a standing ovation, with a production full of glitz, glam, disco, and heart.
Piece of Work
★★★★★ Searching
Piece of Work, the second act of James Rowland’s Songs of the Heart trilogy, visiting the Traverse as part of a UK tour of all three shows, is, fittingly, about the “middle of life”.
The Makropulos Affair
★★★★☆ Provocative
In a new co-production with Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera revives The Makropulos Affair at the Festival Theatre for two performances only, in a production rich with detail and sumptuous design.
When Prophecy Fails
★★★★★ Purposeful
Adapted from a 1954 American study into the social psychology and cognitive dissonance of a UFO religion called the Seekers, When Prophecy Fails is an exploration of the community and humanity behind what could easily be perceived as cult.
Manipulate Festival: The Law of Gravity
★★★★★ Ethereal
A collaboration between pioneering music group Scottish Ensemble and innovative puppet company Blind Summit, The Law of Gravity is an exploration and collision of the boundaries between two diverse disciplines; where they exist, where they can be bent, where they can be broken and remade.
Manipulate: These Things Aren’t Mine
★★★★☆ Intense
Publicly screened only once before, at Bristol Circus City, Manipulate Festival marks the Scottish debut of These Things Aren’t Mine.
