REVIEW: Big Girls Don’t Cry (Lyric Theatre) ★★★★
Since The East Coast Boys erupted onto the scene back in 2008, they have been coined one of the most authentic Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons tribute bands this side of the Atlantic. In shrewd suits and slicked hair, the plucky young men perform an assortment of different hits including Walk Like a Man, […]
REVIEW: ELEPHANT STEPS (Arcola Theatre) ★
Stan Silverman, the composer of Elephant Steps describes the theme of his and Richard Foreman’s 1968 avant-garde opera as ‘the search for spirituality and enlightenment’. It’s true that the show does offer a 75 minute stretch where you can completely zone out and consider your fragile place on this earth, or just relax if you […]
REVIEW: SITTING (Gilded Balloon) ★★★★
Sitting is the debut play by Katherine Parkinson, better known for her TV roles in The IT Crowd and Humans. This is one of four plays by first time playwrights brought to Edinburgh Fringe by BBC Arts and Avalon Productions. Sitting is set in an attic artist’s studio. Three models enter loudly and singly, take […]
REVIEW: Kate Smurthwaite: Clit Stirrer (Banshee Labryrnth) ★★★★★
I follow Kate around social media (don’t worry, she doesn’t mind) and I really enjoy her specific brand of comedy and we agree on many subjects – particularly feminism and not accepting on line abuse. I’ve been trying to get to a show of hers for quite some time. I was very excited about Clit […]
REVIEW: Super Sonic 90’s Kid (The Globe) ★★★★★
I managed to catch Sooz Kempner’s show last year and she has a very specific brand of comedy, which uses projection (it’s very fashionable now, isn’t it?) and stories from her past, covering her personal development in a very relatable and funny way. I loved last year, but this year’s show is without doubt – […]
REVIEW: Fiddler on the Roof (Curve) ★★★★
This month Curve audiences have been treated as the Curve Young Company and Community team bring Joseph Stein’s musical Fidder on the Roof to the stage. Early on, we meet Tevye the milkman – a family man with a wife, Golde, and five daughters. Tevye is negotiating rapidly changing times as his community in the […]
Mark Thomas: Check Up: Our NHS at 70 (Traverse Theatre) ★★★★
Mark Thomas turns his attention to the NHS in its 70th year. His mother was a midwife and he was born at St Thomas’s Hospital in London, across the river from the Houses of Parliament; he wonders what state the NHS will be in when he draws his last breath. Through morbid conversations with a […]
REVIEW: Social Media Suicide (Laughing Horse) ★★★★
Social Media Suicide is Clare McCall’s debut show, directed by Callie Nestleroth, in Edinburgh for a short run. McCall is Izzy, or @izzybaby1991 to her online fans. It’s her 27th birthday and the audience is invited to celebrate with her; she’s even baked a cake. In the Wee Room at The Three Sisters there’s nowhere […]
REVIEW: Lost in Thought (Underbelly) ★★★
I really like the premise of being stuck in a toilet freaking out when you’re on a date (we’ve all been there) and the lovely thing about this script is it doesn’t go in the direction you think assume it will. In fact it takes a very dark turn. Lovely! We meet Felicity in the […]
REVIEW: Brexit (Pleasance) ★★★★
There’s a lot of Brexit at this year’s Fringe but this show is probably the starriest. Written by Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky, the team behind other Edinburgh hit shows, and starring Timothy Bentinck, Jo Caulfield, Hal Cruttenden, Pippa Evans and Mike McShane. It’s 2020 and the Brexit negotiations are on-going. Bentinck plays Adam Masters, […]