Reviews

Once Upon a Snowstorm
★★★★☆ Gently Engaging
Once Upon a Snowstorm at the Traverse is a gentle, snowy tale based on Richard Johnson’s picture book, adapted and directed by Jo Timmins, that totally engages its target audience of children aged 5 – 8 and their parents.

Beauty & the Beast: The Panto
★★★☆☆ Charming
Beauty & the Beast: The Panto, the Christmas offering from Forth Children’s Theatre, has the appeal of a traditional pantomime. Like many pantos, it lacks a little in subtlety and smoothness, but makes up for it in determination and pizzazz.

Spiderman: Into the Pantoverse
★★★☆☆ Cheerful
Complicated plot twists and uncomplicated fun collide in Spiderman: Into the Pantoverse, EUTC’s unruly but heartfelt pantomime which plays at the Bedlam to Saturday.

4Play
★★★☆☆ Comedy capers
Comedy is definitely a priority as the four members of Edinburgh playwright collective 4Play bring four pieces of new work to the Traverse stage, much to the delight of a capacity first night audience.

Cinderella
★★★☆☆ High Spirited
St Serf’s Players continue their successful panto collaboration with the Trinity Theatre Company for a Cinderella at Inverleith St Serf’s Church Hall that is gutsy and brisk in all the right ways.

Cinderella The Panto
★★★★☆ Melodious
Balerno Theatre Company’s Christmas show at the Church Hill is a treat for all ages. Cinderella The Panto is stuffed full of tunes, features some pleasingly old-school pantomime business and is performed with a great deal of heart.

An Edinburgh Christmas Carol
★★★★☆ Timely
There is so much to commend in the return of An Edinburgh Christmas Carol to the Lyceum, where it runs through until December 31.

Cell Outs
★★★★☆ Searing
Cell Outs from Glasshouse Theatre follows two young, idealistic graduates who join a training scheme offering a postgraduate qualification and work experience in rehabilitation, hoping to have a positive impact and make a real change to the lives of prisoners.