Dug Campbell
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.
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.
Pressure
★★★★☆ Energetic and intense
David Haig’s Pressure, focusing on two British obsessions: the weather and World War Two, had its world première at the Lyceum in 2014 and is now revived by Arkle at the Hill Street Theatre until Saturday.
Bytesize Theatre
★★★☆☆ Welcome
The lack of time to plan for live theatre at this year’s Fringe has not deterred the Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group. Bytesize Theatre is a collection of three new plays presented on the online Fringe Player. The three pieces are not all equally impressive, but each has intriguing elements.
EGTG EdFringe Auditions
Casting for three digital productions
Leading Edinburgh amateur company Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group has put out a casting call for three digital productions as part of the 2021 Edinburgh Fringe 2021.
The Taming of the Shrew
★★★☆☆ Uneven updating:
Arkle’s take on The Taming of the Shrew is a largely successful attempt to make relevant one of Shakespeare’s plays that is most troubling to modern audiences.
The Witch of Edmonton
★★☆☆☆ Tragically complex:
Based on a Jacobean play written by William Rowley, Thomas Dekker and John Ford in 1621, the Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group’s production of The Witch of Edmonton is a curious and intense tragi-comedy that confuses as much as it entertains.
