Chris Pearson

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.

Ondine
★★★★☆ Well judged emotion
In a glorious mix of the heartfelt and the ridiculous, Underground Theatre bring a translation of Jean Giraudoux’s Ondine to La Belle Angele for the final week of the Fringe.

Twelfth Night
★★★☆☆ Rumbustious jollity:
Charging at Shakespeare at full speed and with all comic guns blazing, Some Kind of Theatre’s production of Twelfth Night at Paradise in the Vault will win no prizes for subtlety but should please a wide audience.

Ganymede
★★★☆☆ Timely reworking:
Ganymede, TypeCast Productions’ reworking of Shakespeare at Paradise in Augustines, is an intriguing production that uses the spirit of the Bard to cast light on contemporary concerns.

Volpone
★★★★☆ Ruthless:
The Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group bring Ben Johnson’s comedy, Volpone, to life and new audiences in a hilarious version of the tale about just how far people will go to be rich.

Black Comedy
✭✭✭✭✩ Fast-paced fun:
Excellent comic timing is a feature of Arkle’s extremely enjoyable Black Comedy at the Royal Scots Club.

Death and the Maiden
✭✭✭✭✩ Painfully poignant:
Emotionally charged, Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group’s production of Death and a Maiden is poignant, gripping and full of pain.

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

An Island Between Heaven And Earth
✭✭✭✩✩ Slow but sure
Thoughtful and intelligent, AJL Productions’ An Island Between Heaven And Earth takes its time to get going but is well worth seeing.