Chris Allan
Amadeus
★★★★☆ Intimate
Edinburgh-based Strawmoddie theatre company bring Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus to the Pianodrome in a powerful examination of the jealousy of mediocrity in the face of genius.
Going Postal
★★★★☆ First Class
Strawmoddie’s Going Postal, their fourth production of a Terry Pratchett novel adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs, is delivered with all due care and attention to detail at the Pleasance Theatre to Sunday.
Conspiracy
★★★★★ Bureaucratic nightmare
Conspiracy, a co-production between Edinburgh-based grassroots companies Strawmoddie and RFT, is a chilling and almost obscenely mundane account of the Wannsee Conference, held in a Berlin suburb in January 1942.
Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather
★★★☆☆ Well-turned
Amidst the noise, rituals and trappings of pantomime and Christmas, Strawmoddie’s take on Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather provides a welcome parody of our seasonal excess, at the Pleasance Theatre to Sunday.
Chalk
★★★★☆ Well observed
The UK premiere of Walt McGough’s Chalk from the Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group, upstairs at the Assembly Roxy, lacks a little in apocalyptic intensity – but convinces in its evocation of human relationships.
Apocalypse beyond the line
EGTG revive Walt McGough’s Chalk
Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group return this coming week with a revival of American playwright Walt McGough’s intense, 2015 sci-fi fable, Chalk, upstairs at the Assembly Roxy from Wed 8 to Sat 11 November 2023.
Hamlet / Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
★★★☆☆ Pacy and ★★★★☆ Slick
New Edinburgh amateur company Necessary Cat make their debut performances for the last week only of the fringe with the elegantly twinned pairing of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
And Then There Were None
★★☆☆☆ Patchy
Agatha Christie’s evergreen And Then There Were None is presented by Strawmoddie at the Central Hall, Tollcross, with delicacy and no little effort. Unfortunately, choices with staging – and problems seemingly inherent in the venue – make for an awkward experience.
The Venetian Twins
★★★★☆ Finest farce
Two years after they were meant to be bringing The Venetian Twins to Hill Street Theatre, Arkle Theatre Company’s production of Tony Cowie’s adaptation of the play finally made it to the theatre on Wednesday night. It was well worth the wait.
Catch 22
★★★★☆ Catchy:
As with so many great books, Catch-22 seems to have defied dramatic representation over the years. And while EGTG’s version at the Biscuit Factory does not necessarily kill off such an idea, is still an extremely impressive production.
