Review
Many Good Men
★★★★☆ Troubling
Many Good Men, from Civic Digits, Stellar Quines and Stories Untold at Heart of Midlothian’s Tynecastle Stadium, is an urgent and timely production, hard-hitting yet sympathetic.
Jesus Christ Superstar
★★★★☆ Rock-tastic
It’s back to basics for the Regents Park Open Air Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar, at the Playhouse to Saturday, in a production that soars and roars in all the right places.
The Taming of the Shrew
★★★★☆ Lively
Edinburgh University Shakespeare Company’s production of The Taming of the Shrew at the Pleasance is a witty and intelligent take on an endlessly troubling play.
Envahisseurs (Invaders)
★★★★★ Jelly crime
It’s the little things which count in Compagnie Bakélite’s intense table-top object theatre, Envahisseurs (Invaders), at the Traverse as part of the Manipulate Festival 2024 for two performances only.
Plinth
★★★☆☆ Horrors of war
Writer and performer, Al Seed’s latest creation, Plinth, produced by his own company and Vanishing Point and touring to Manipulate, opens with Seed standing on a plinth giving a live rendition of a series of poses found in military statues.
Last Rites
★★★★☆ Stunning performance
Following the award-winning success of Love Beyond (Act of Remembrance) in last year’s Manipulate Festival, Ramesh Meyyappan has produced another stunning performance in Last Rites, which he co-created with George Mann, who also directs this Ad Infinitum production.
The House
★★★★☆ Darkly comical
Danish director and puppeteer Sofie Krog introduces The House by reminding the audience that “walls have ears” and that the darkly comical tale will be told by the walls of the Warehouse Family Funeral Home.
Little Shop of Horrors
★★★★☆ Inventive
Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group has brought plenty of invention to the store in its pleasing production of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s B-Movie musical, Little Shop of Horrors, at the Church Hill Theatre.
Shrek the Musical
★★★★☆ Fully rounded
Shrek the Musical’s return in a new production, with a new director and choreographer, is a case of more of the same in terms of plot and songs, but with vibrant new details and framing to their presentation.
Macbeth
★★★★☆ High impact
There’s plenty to mull over in the high concept, high impact, high-everything modern dress production of Macbeth touring to a quartet of created theatre spaces – and this month spending a fortnight at the Royal Highland Centre.
