Hugh Simpson
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.
Through The Mud
★★★★☆ Powerful
Review by Hugh Simpson
Through The Mud by Apphia Campbell at the Lyceum is a story of the struggle for civil rights in the USA in the face of racism. Its portrayal of the African American experience across the generations is both depressing and inspiring, told with craft and tunefulness.
Dead Dad Dog
★★★★☆ Welcome revival
John McKay’s 1988 hit comedy Dead Dad Dog returns to the Traverse threatening to be a period piece, but turns out to have a great deal still to say – and is still pretty funny.
Battery Park
★★★★☆ Musically convincing
Battery Park, the touring production from Sleeping Warrior and the Beacon Arts Centre at the Traverse for two nights only, is a gripping and tuneful piece of theatre.
PPP: Disfunction
★★☆☆☆ Confusing
Disfunction by Kate Bowen and directed by Lu Kemp, the last in the Traverse’s current season of Òran Mór’s A Play, A Pie and A Pint, is a lively but ultimately puzzling piece.
Woman Walking
★★★☆☆ Moving
Woman Walking from Sylvian Productions, which is ending a short Scottish tour at the Traverse, is a rich and ruminative exploration of loss and the power of nature.
I, Daniel Blake
★★★★☆ Furiously sad
The human tragedy and deep political conviction that distinguished the film of I, Daniel Blake are still very much there in the stage adaptation, touring to the Traverse this week only.
PPP: Meetings With The Monk
★★★★☆ Imaginative possibilities
Meetings With The Monk, the latest Play, Pie and a Pint from Òran Mór and the Traverse, is a beautifully considered and tremendously well-staged play.
Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning
★★★★☆ Angry
You can’t keep a good vampire down for long, and the story of Dracula keeps coming back to the stage, with its depictions of transgressive behaviour making it a constant candidate for reinvention.
PPP: Stay
★★★☆☆ Engaging
Stay, the latest Play, Pie and a Pint from Òran Mór at the Traverse, is a tuneful and emotional piece.
