Listings Mon 30 May – Sun 5 June

May 29 2022 | By More

What’s on Edinburgh’s stages this week…

A bit of a hiatus week, this week. There are a few choice productions in smaller venues, but the big venues are getting ready for the big June openers, a couple of which are in preview this week.

The Lion King roars back into the Playhouse on Thursday, ahead of its big opening on the 7th. Laurel & Hardy laugh their way onto the Lyceum stage for previews on Friday with their big opening also on the 7th.

Roland Wood (Don Giovanni) and the cast of Don Giovanni. Scottish Opera 2022. Pic: James Glossop.1

For opera fans, Scottish Opera’s big dark and brooding production of Mozart’s Don Giovani heralds the start of the company’s 60th anniversary season when it arrives at the Festival Theatre on Sunday 5. The matinee is the first of only four performances and, having seen it in Glasgow, this powerful and thoughtful production is certainly worth a view.

What of the rest? Well the top treat is at the Traverse on Tuesday. Even though Spike is theatre for the very young – three to five years young, to be exact – so it is not for everyone. That said, any piece of theatre involving Andy Cannon is bound to be worth watching. What ever your age.

Spike tells the story of a  girl, her grandmother and her favourite dinosaur. Produced by Cannon with David Trouton, with whom he has worked for many years, and involving specialist company Starcatchers, this is one not to miss – if such theatre is your bag.

Those interested in the process of creating theatre – of taking a script and bringing it to life on a stage – might be very interested in an event at the Assembly Roxy on Thursday. Adam Tomkins and his cast will be doing just that but in public and over the course of one day.

Going from first table read-through of Aaron Cass’s new play Four Deaths in Idaho, to blocking and so forth and finishing with a script-in-hand performance, all in the Roxy Upstairs. Oh, and followed by a discussion with the writer, director and actors.

Full blooded

This coming weekend is CYMERA: Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing. You can find full details of the various author talks and discussions here. The weekend also features five performances of a full-blooded adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Jonathan Whiteside and Matthew Jebb for the Strawmoddie Theatre Company…

The blurb is compelling and you can begin to wee the direction Whiteside and Jebb are going: “Don’t settle for a new life. Achieve a BETTER one. Stop getting fit, start getting strong. Forget routine, gain purpose. Jonathan Harker did. He was like you once, and now he’s more. All it took was hard work, a strong heart and a new benefactor. After all, what’s a little sacrifice compared to the life you want? To the life you deserve?”

Finally, for fans of the avant grade, After Metamorphosis at Summerhall on Saturday and Sunday is as influenced by Burroughs, Švankmajer and Junji Ito as it is by Kafka, but it certainly involves bugs. Not to forget a grand statement against Capitalism  and the exploitation of the working human as it dives headfirst into the dirt – using a combination of genres that is as artful as it is coruscating.

Listings

Assembly Roxy
2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU

Four Deaths in Idaho, By Aaron Cass 
Thursday 2 June 2022
All Day from 10am(Roxy Upstairs).
Open rehearsal and performed reading.

Betty Lunderman a retired school teacher has taken refuge in a cabin in the mountains having shot her husband for no apparent reason. A park ranger discovers her as a snow storm moves in, preventing any escape. Join director Adam Tomkins and cast as they explore and perform Aaron Cass’ dark and compelling new play. Book here.

The Brunton
Ladywell Way, Musselburgh EH21 6AA. Phone booking: 0131 665 2240
A Number
Sat 4 June 2022
1pm (Lunch 12 noon) (Theatre).
Rapture Theatre with a lunchtime production of Caryl Churchill’s powerfully and disturbing drama which considers the damages parents can do to children, explores the question of nature versus nurture and asks whether any of us can truly escape our past. Starring acclaimed actors Robin Kingsland and Paul Albertson, directed by Lyn McAndrew and designed by Frances Collier. Book here.

Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Simon & Garfunkel Through the Years 
Mon 30 May 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Critically-acclaimed tribute show fronted by Dan Haynes and Pete Richards collectively known as Bookends, exquisitely recreating the unmistakable sound of Simon & Garfunkel. Featuring all the iconic songs, including The Sound of Silence, Mrs Robinson, The Boxer and the smash hit Bridge Over Troubled Water. Book here.

Scottish Opera: Don Giovani
Sun 5 – Sat 11 June 2022
Sun Mat: 3pm; Tue, Thurs, Sat: 7.15pm.
Mozart’s masterpiece is one of the world’s most performed operas for good reason. Sir Thomas Allen – whose 2019 revival of The Magic Flutewas a sell-out success – returns to direct his stunning production. Book here.

King’s Theatre
2 Leven Street EH3 9LQ. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Funbox present Jungle Party

Sun 5 June 2022 
Matinee: 2pm
Join Anya, Kevin, Gary and Bonzo (formerly of The Singing Kettle) as they swing into their latest musical adventure and follow the sound of the drums in search of the ultimate jungle boogie. There are songs to sing, keys to find and new friends to discover along the way. Book here.

Lyceum Theatre
Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.

Laurel and Hardy
Fri 3 – Sat 25 June 2022
Previews: Fri 3/Sat 4, Mon 6: 7.30pm.
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Mats, Sats & Thurs 9, Wed 15, Wed 22: 2.30pm.
Tony Cownie directs Steven McNicoll and Barnaby Power, who wowed audiences with the skill and humanity of their performances playing the two older men on this stage in 2005. Now, in 2022, they are closer to the real ages of Laurel and Hardy at the end of their careers and will bring new layers of depth, and truth to Tom McGrath’s moving and funny play. Tickets and Details.

Online
On a screen in your own home

Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
Disney’s The Lion King
Thurs 2 June – Sat 2 July 2022
Evenings Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Mats Weds, Sat, Sun & Fri 1: 2.30pm..
Set against the majesty of the Serengeti Plains and to the evocative rhythms of Africa, Disney’s multi award-winning musical is a unique theatrical experience. At its heart is the powerful story of Simba and his epic adventure to his destined role as King of the Pridelands. Book here.

Pleasance
60 Pleasance, EH8 9TQ
Dracula
Fri 3 – Sun 5 June 2022 (Pleasance Lomond Room)
Fri: 7.30pm; Sat: 2pm & 7.30pm; Sun: 2pm & 6pm.
Jonathan Whiteside and Matthew Jebb reimagine Bram Stoker’s classic play, performed by Strawmoddie Theatre for the Cymera Festival. What would you give for a better life? A new job, new routine, new house, new health kick, new you? What if all it takes is a few drops of blood? Not very much is it. Not very much at all.  Book here.

Studio Theatre
The Studio, 22 Potterrow, EH8 9BL. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000
Innovations Dance Platform 2022
Fri 3 – Sat 4 June 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm; Sat: 2.30pm.
Four companies come together to showcase brand new dance work in the heart of Edinburgh. Our first 2022 edition features works from Penny Chivas (Glasgow), Ascension Dance (Coventry), Peter Twyman (Edinburgh) and international guests, Lost Movement Company (Italy). Book here.

Summerhall
1 Summerhall, EH9 1PL
Festival Futures

Mon 30 May 2022
Evening: 7.30pm
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As plans for a return to live and in-person events in August gather speed, this event organised by Live Art in Scotland brings together artists and researchers to think and talk about the future of Edinburgh’s festivals. “Do we really want to be repeating what we already know has been burning us out?” Register here.

After Metamorphosis
Sat 4/Sun 5 June 2022
Evening: 7.30pm (Old Lab)
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Is Gregor Samsa a bug wishing he was a man or a man wishing he was a bug? In a world of political and ecological turmoil, where unfathomably large corporations control everything and our food supply chain is in jeopardy, are we just workers for the hive? Are we all Gregor Samsa? Combining physical/visual theatre and high-octane spoken word, this reworking of Kafka’s classic tale peers through insect eyes to both lampoon and celebrate humanity. Book here.

Traverse
10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED. Phone booking: 0131 228 1404
SPIKE! – a dinosaur caper
Tue 31 May – Wed 1 June 2022
Tue: 11am & 2pm; Wed: 11am (Traverse 1)
A wonderful tale of a little girl, her grandmother and her favourite dinosaur, powerfully told through theatrical storytelling and dance. A Starcatchers production by Andy Cannon and David Trouton. Book here.

ENDS

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