Amateurs
EdFringe 2023 Amateur Theatre
Edinburgh-made amateur at #EdFringe 2023
There is a strong showing of straight theatre from Edinburgh’s gifted amateur companies. The 16 productions listed here span historical drama to spanking new writing, a fascinating evening of Shakespeare and some died-in-the-wool comedy.
Doreen wanted
Open audition for Musselburgh Steamie
The Brunton is looking for an amateur actress to play Doreen in its EdFringe 2023 production of The Steamie, playing the Loretto Theatre, following its sell-out production in January.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
★★★★☆ Accomplished
In a wood, a league without the Old Town, the players of the Forth Act have set out their stall in an accomplished and highly entertaining al-fresco production of Shakespeare’s great comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The Lobby
★★★☆☆ Comic energy
The Lobby, from Active Inquiry’s Flashback Theatre Company at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall, is a politically informed comedy where the laughs are definitely the priority.
Gondoliers wanted!
EdGAS issue open call for 2024 production
The Edinburgh Gilberts and Sullivan Society are back at the Festival Theatre next year, celebrating the society’s centenary with one of G&S’s best loved operas, The Gondoliers.
Made in Dagenham
★★★★★ Undisputed excellence
An industrial dispute doesn’t sound the most promising material for a musical, but Made in Dagenham at The Brunton Theatre made my week.
How the Other Half Loves
★★★★☆ Sharp
Edinburgh People’s Theatre give How The Other Half Loves at the Church Hill a malicious comic edge, in a production whose tempo and performances are praiseworthy.
Perfect Days
★★☆☆☆ Antenatal
A quarter of a century on from the premiere of Liz Lochhead’s witty, fast-paced comedy Perfect Days, Leitheatre find that the truths which underpin the laughs still hold, but struggle somewhat to explore them.
Copenhagen
★★★★☆ Stimulating and engaging
In Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen at the Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group tackle a difficult, sometimes impenetrable, play with intelligence and skill.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
★★★★☆ Star car
The car is, of course, the star in Southern Light Opera’s production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Festival Theatre all week, but it would be nothing without a tight and committed cast around it.
