Finn Den Hertog
The Fifth Step (EIF)
★★★☆☆ Diffuse
The National Theatre of Scotland’s The Fifth Step at the Lyceum as part of the International Festival is a keenly observed and notably well acted piece that nevertheless lacks sustained impact.
Sunset Song
★★★☆☆ Well performed
Stage versions of Sunset Song seem to come around every couple of years, perhaps because no-one has managed to come up with the definitive adaptation yet. Dundee Rep’s new version (a co-production with the Lyceum) has great strengths as well as weaknesses.
Lyceum 23/24 season ticket launched
Lyceum announces biggest season in years
The Lyceum has announced its 2023/24 subscription season, with the biggest programme since 2018. A strongly Scottish and literary theme is balanced by a series of collaborations with companies from Scotland, the UK and further afield.
PPP: Milkshake
★★★☆☆ Claustrophobic
The subject matter of Milkshake by Rob Drummond, the latest offering at the Traverse from Oran Mor’s Play, Pie and a Pint, is intriguingly topical. Despite being acted with real conviction, however, it never quite reaches the heights it promises.
The Enemy
★★★☆☆ Fussy
The Enemy, Kieran Hurley’s updating of Ibsen for The National Theatre of Scotland at the King’s this week, is an uneven proposition. Much of the production is timely and compelling, and the acting is excellent, but other elements cohere less convincingly.
NTS takes on Orphans
Peter Mullan musical adaptation heads NTS’s live return
The National Theatre of Scotland is to stage a new musical adaptation of Peter Mullan’s 1997 movie Orphans as part of its return to live performance.
Shows preceding the end of the fest
Hugh’s final BookFest Round-up for 2018
Autumn always seems to time its arrival to coincide with that of the Book Festival, with the rain limiting opportunities for the simple pleasures of sitting in Charlotte Square Gardens with a book and some refreshment. However, there were plenty of opportunities for those interested in theatre to sit inside instead.
Extra Light Boxes Shows
Matinees added to sell-out run:
As news broke of four extra weekend matinees being added to the sell-out run of Grid Iron’s show Light Boxes, we took the chance to speak to the show’s director, Finn den Hertog.
Light Boxes
✭✭✭✭✩ Love and regret:
Light Boxes is fascinating. Grid Iron Theatre Company has woven a complex web, leaving the audience struggling to interpret what they are seeing.
PPP: Squash
★★★★☆ Troubling
Macabre and brutalised, Martin McCormick’s nerve-wracking offering for lunchtime theatre, A Play, A Pie and a Pint, has distinctly Lynchian overtones which director Finn Den Hertog relishes in bringing out.
