Traverse
Family Tree
★★★★☆ Illuminating
Family Tree, by Mojisola Adebayo, at the Traverse for three nights only, is a word-spitting, poetic and coruscating piece of theatre that brings light to a shameful corner of the scientific world.
How Not To Drown
★★★★☆ Relentless
How Not To Drown is a moving true story of a young boy’s perilous journey from Kosovo to England, co-written and performed by the man himself. Which, in this ThickSkin and Traverse Theatre Company production, makes for a vital piece of theatre.
PPP: Variant
★★★★☆ Unsettling
There is a pleasing intransigence to Variant by Peter Arnott, the latest Play, Pie and a Pint from Oran Mor at the Traverse and Arnott’s fiftieth professionally produced play.
PPP: Write Off
★★★★☆ Magnetic
There is an undeniable force to Aodhan Gallagher’s Write-Off, the latest Play, Pie and a Pint at the Traverse, presented by Oran Mor in association with Dundee Rep.
PPP: BABS
★★★☆☆ Magic energy
BABS, the latest Play, Pie and a Pint at the Traverse, is an endearing work; funny, frothy and deceptively serious, but occasionally pulling in too many directions at once.
PPP: Burning Bright
★★☆☆☆ Committed
Burning Bright, Oran Mor’s latest A Play, A Pie and A Pint at the Traverse, features impressive performances and confident staging in the service of vital themes. However, it never quite fuses together into a persuasive whole.
PPP: Until It’s Gone
★★★☆☆ Thoughtful
Until It’s Gone, the first in the new Traverse season of Oran Mor’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint at the Traverse, is a downbeat, thoughtful work.
Revelations of Rab McVie
★★★★☆ Fascinating
It is difficult to describe Revelations of Rab McVie – at the Traverse for two nights only – in a way that does this fascinating production justice. ‘Gig theatre’ too often suggests something either ramshackle or frighteningly ‘progressive’, while the piece’s own publicity, ‘an immersive journey through a psychedelic dreamscape’, also has unfortunate connotations.
Moonset
★★★☆☆ Brave
Moonset, Maryam Hamidi’s coming-of-age story from the Citizens Theatre at the Traverse, is full of fire and anger. Its wilful refusal to settle down proves both a strength and a weakness.