Brian Neill

baba
★★☆☆☆ Unfulfilled
The Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group brings a new festive folktale to the Pleasance stage this weekend in the form of baba, a new take on the old tales of Baba Yaga and her house on chicken legs. This piece has many ambitions, but falls short of achieving them in its writing and execution.

The Kelpie, the Loch and the Water of Life
★★★☆☆ Radio fun
Arkle’s The Kelpie, the Loch and the Water of Life is an ideal mid-afternoon diversion for the last week of the Fringe.

The Curious Case of Osgood Mackenzie
★★★☆☆ Unusual staging
The Curious Case of Osgood Mackenzie, from Arkle at the Royal Scots Club, is a well researched slice of Scottish history, presented in a way that has genuine novelty.

crackers
★★★☆☆ Strong performances
Edinburgh based writer cmf wood’s crackers, at the Royal Scots Club, performed by EGTG explores the stigma attached to mental ill-health, particularly amongst teenagers.

shrapnel
★★★☆☆ Timely
There is a timeliness and emotional truth to Shrapnel, Production Lines’s online play by CMFWood, that is enhanced by being presented live.

Skirt
★★★★☆ Challenging stereotypes:
Can women really have it all? is the question on everyone’s minds in Skirt, Claire Wood’s thought-provoking play for the Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Company at the Royal Scots Club.

Outside Mullingar
★★★☆☆ Recognisably truthful:
Gentle comedy and believable emotion predominate in Arkle Theatre’s accomplished Outside Mullingar at the Royal Scots Club.

Festen
✭✭✭✭✩ Dark matters:
There is a fierce intensity to the Grads’ Festen at Adam House, in a consistently strong production that crackles with energy.