Derek Blackwood
It’s A Wonderful Life
★★☆☆☆ Heartwarming
Mary Elliott Nelson’s adaptation of the critically-acclaimed classic 1946 film, It’s A Wonderful Life is a heartwarming, festive watch in Leitheatre’s production running at the Church Hill Theatre until 29 November.
Calendar Girls
★★★★☆ Heart-warming
Calendar Girls at Inverleith St Serf’s Church Centre for two weeks is a heart-warming, feel-good comedy, competently staged by Leiththeatre who have been putting on productions for almost eighty years now.
Quiz
★★★★☆ Strong
Quiz, from Leitheatre at the Church Hill Theatre to Saturday, is a cleverly staged revival of James Graham’s play about the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? “Coughing Major” scandal.
Dancing at Lughnasa
★★★☆☆ Affecting
Even as other companies gear up for Christmas, Leitheatre look back to September with Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa at the Church Hill. This entirely unseasonal downbeat piece is discharged with great care and some impressive acting.
Stepping Out
★★★☆☆ Feel good
Leitheatre has been performing on the Fringe for 40 years and this year’s show, Stepping Out at Inverleith St Serf’s Church Centre, is of an appropriate vintage, although its plot is in no way dated.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
★★★★☆ Powerful
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, from Leitheatre at the Church Hill, is a complex piece of pitch-black satire discharged with skill.
A Midsummer Dream in Auld Reekie
★★★☆☆ Moonshine
Leitheatre give a bold and entertaining performance of John Archer’s new Scots language play, A Midsummer Dream in Auld Reekie, at St Serf’s for the first two weeks of the Fringe.
On Golden Pond
★★★☆☆ Crystal clear:
Leitheatre’s production of On Golden Pond at the Church Hill is a warm and emotional evocation of family struggles and satisfactions that rarely ignites but is performed with diligence and grace.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
★★★☆☆ Solid:
Leitheatre give a meaty and satisfyingly verbal account of Tennessee Williams’ great drama, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, at the Studio of the Festival Theatre, running through to Saturday.
Review – Ira Levin’s Deathtrap
★★★☆☆ A twist of meta-dunnit:
Cutting like a honed knife, Ira Levin’s murder thriller is as intense and satisfyingly tricky as it ever was when it was written in the late seventies.
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