Gareth Nicholls
The Grand Old Opera House Hotel
★★★★☆ Marvellous mayhem
Isobel McArthur strikes again with The Grand Old Opera House Hotel, a wonderfully written fusion of farce and opera running the full length of the fringe.
Kidnapped
★★★★★ Rattling adventure
Isobel McArthur has excelled herself in her latest adaptation of a classic story to the stage, this time giving Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped a music-filled, comic and heartfelt makeover.
Wilf
★★★★☆ Rip-roaring
Eighties power ballads fill Traverse One for the return of James Ley’s Wilf, an energising and sparkling show which will have you snorting with laughter from the very start.
WILF
★★★☆☆ Encouragingly filthy
There is a pleasingly unruly feel to James Ley’s new play WILF, this year’s seasonably unseasonal offering from the Traverse. Full of heart, not to mention dialogue that would have given the Lord Chamberlain palpitations, it overcomes structural difficulties to produce a successful whole.
Ley’s Wilf for Trav Xmas
New play by James Ley makes Traverse Xmas debut
Wilf, a new script from Edinburgh playwright James Ley will be the Christmas offering in Traverse One this year, running for 19 performances in December 2021.
Still
★★★☆☆ Tender
Still at the Traverse is in many ways a tough watch, with themes of death and loss offset by excellent performances and perceptive writing.
Traverse Breakfast Plays: New Tracks (1)
Traverse 3:
The Traverse are replicating their Fringe Breakfast Plays with streams from their new online-only Traverse 3, and the first two offerings – Contemporary Political Ethics (Or, How to Cheat) by Jamie Cowan and Rabbit Catcher by Rebecca Martin – both have much to recommend them.
Trav Young Writers go online
Online Scratch showcase for new plays
The Traverse Young Writers Group has been meeting online since March and is now set to release scratch performances of plays written during lockdown, starting from tonight, Saturday May 16 2020 at 8pm.
New Top Team at Trav
Director appointments and new structure announced:
Gareth Nicholls and Debbie Hannan have been appointed as co-artistic directors of the Traverse Theatre Company as the theatre announces a new structure and new faces in its artistic leadership team.
Ulster American
★★★★☆ Hard Hitting:
Trailing clouds of glory from 2018, David Ireland’s Ulster American has returned to the Traverse with a bang. If it is not quite as good as some have said, it is still impressive – and certainly is impressively nasty.
