Preview & Listings to Sun 19 Jan 2025
What’s on Edinburgh’s Stages this week?
It’s a week which is big on ballet, with the final chance to see Scottish Ballet’s five star Nutcracker at the Festival Theatre (ends Sat: tickets) and Varna International Ballet arriving at the Playhouse for three nights.
The big opener is The Merchant of Venice at the Lyceum with previews from Sat (run ends 15 Feb: tickets). This Theatre for a New Audience production is part of the Lyceum’s exciting US exchange and features John Douglas Thompson as Shylock, directed by Arin Arbus.
Scottish Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Pic Scottish Ballet.
Varna International have a bit of Shakespeare too, with Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (Thurs: tickets). Then its two Tchaikovskys, with Swan Lake, which is very nearly sold out (Fri: tickets) and a chance to see a very different The Nutcracker (Sat: tickets).
The only other theatrical events are at the Netherbow Theatre of the Scottish Storytelling Centre. First the Loud Poets do their stuff with guests Aditya, Chris Redmond, Gill Shaw & Ray Shipley (Fri: tickets) and then Jordy Joans delivers their The Astrolo-J Monologues (Sat: tickets).
Listings
Click on the name of the show or the Book here link to go to its ticketing site.
Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
The Nutcracker (Scottish Ballet)
Wed 8 – Sat 18 Jan 2025
Wed 8 & Thurs – Sat: 7.30pm; Fri – Sun: 2.30pm.
Follow Clara on a journey through the worlds of her imagination, as she drifts off to sleep on Christmas Eve. She meets the dashing Nutcracker Prince, takes on the larger-than-life Rat King, sees snowflakes dance in the Land of Ice and Snow, and is whisked into the luscious Land of Sweets by the Sugar Plum Fairy! Book here.
Lyceum Theatre
Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.
The Merchant of Venice
The Theatre for a New Audience production.
Sat 18 Jan – Sat 15 Feb 2025
Preview: Sat 18, Mon 20/Tue 21.
Daily (not Sun/Mon): 7.30pm. Wed, Sat mat: 2.30pm.
Shakespeare’s perennially contested play about corrosive bigotry and blinding vengeance is poised at the radioactive intersection of race, class and religion in Arin Arbus’s production. Book here.
Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
Romeo and Juliet (Varna International Ballet)
Thurs 16 Jan 2025
Evening: 7.30pm.
Shakespeare’s tale of primal passion and timeless tragedy is brought to life by Prokofiev’s soaring score, set in bustling Renaissance Verona and with an emotionally charged choreography that befits the world’s greatest love story. Book here.
Swan Lake (Varna International Ballet)
Fri 18 Jan 2025
Evening: 7.30pm.
From the impressive splendour of the Palace ballroom to the moon-lit lake where swans glide in perfect formation, this compelling tale of tragic romance has it all. From Odile, the temptress in black tulle as she seduces the Prince by spinning with captivating precision; to the spellbound purity of the swan queen, Odette as she flutters with emotional intensity, the dual role of Odette/Odile is one of ballet’s most unmissable technical challenges. Book here.
The Nutcracker (Varna International Ballet)
Sat 18 Jan 2025
Two shows: 2.30pm & 7.30pm.
As snowflakes fall outside, the warm glow of the open fire sends flickering shadows across the boughs of the Christmas tree and all the presents beneath. When midnight strikes, we are swept away to a fairy-tale world where nothing is quite as it seems, toy dolls spring to life, the Mouse-king and his mouse-army battle with the Nutcracker Prince and we travel through the Land of Snow to an enchanted place where the magic really begins… Book here.
Scottish Storytelling Centre
43-45 High St, EH1 1SR. Phone booking: 0131 556 9579
Loud Poets
Fri 17 Jan 2025.
Evening: 7.30pm.
Another evening with Scotland’s premiere spoken word night. Expect fist-thumping, heart-wrenching, side-tickling poetry performances with live musical accompaniment. Featuring Aditya, Chris Redmond, Gill Shaw & Ray Shipley. Book here.
The Astrolo-J Monologues (Jordy Joans)
Sat 18 Jan 2025.
Evening: 7.30pm.
It’s late. Jordy has just finished DJing at Sneaky Pete’s when she’s approached by a young girl – in tears – begging for dating advice after being messed around by a guy. Follow both to Jordy’s afters, where Jordy dishes her own awful dating history in a bid to help this girl make better decisions – through the only way she knows how… ASTROLOGY and wine. Book here.
