UK Theatre Network

                

It’s the day of an Old Firm match and a Rangers fan and a Celtic fan have been locked up in the cells before the match... together.

Des Dillon’s play explores the sectarianism and religious hatred inherent in the West of Scotland, in particular that often exhibited by Rangers and Celtic fans. The set-up allows for all the songs and stereotypes to flow freely from Billy (the Rangers supporter) and Tim (the Celtic supporter). This allows for some hilarious moments, but also what it brings to the fore is the similarities between the two people. They sing songs that mean the same things, with some of the same words and the same tunes. It helps to illustrate the ridiculousness of sectarianism and how outdated and backward it appears when placed in the spotlight.

The real craft in Dillon’s writing is that he doesn’t let the play simply become a ninety minute rant about how bad religious hatred is, but also gives human moments to the story by showing the pain and upset of Harry (the turnkey) whose grandson is fighting for his life in hospital. Harry would rather be anywhere else than having to babysit a couple of immature football fans, and yet he stays and does his job. Suggesting that the human spirit is stronger than any devotion to a football team or perhaps to a religion too.

The play is superbly acted by new theatre company NLP Theatre. None of the actors have had ‘formal’ acting training and yet they all give some brilliant, very naturalistic performances. In particular Scott Kyle and Colin Little work well together as Billy and Tim, creating some great tension and terrific comic moments. Stephen Cafferty’s direction is simple and effective in allowing the play to breathe and give the message its full resonance.

An important production, that says a lot about a very modern problem.

Listings:

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

14 to 16 May

Thurs – Sat eves 7:45pm

Tickets: £5 - £18

Box Office: 0131 248 4848

www.lyceum.org.uk

Then touring until 17 September

www.nlptheatre.co.uk

It’s the night before Andy and Vicky’s wedding, the only problem is Andy is dead. A drug fuelled fondle from an air stewardess caused him to have a heart attack mid-flight and now Vicky has been left to pick up the pieces. She sits in her “Footballers Wives”esque flat, pooping a few tranquillisers with her sister Nikky, awaiting the arrival of two of Andy’s mates. When they arrive the party really begins...

“Hoors” is the latest play from Gregory Burke, best known for the international hit “Black Watch”. Anyone expecting a similar play will be sorely disappointed as this play couldn’t be more different. It doesn’t stop it from being a great play. In fact the set-up gives Burke free reign to be as funny as possible with wickedly funny dialogue, including a brilliant scene about Titian.

Superb performances were given by all the cast, in particular Michael Moreland who played an innocent yet stupid Stevie. Add to this Conor Murphy’s sleek, but simple set and Burke has successfully created a slick, stylish, yet very Scottish comedy!

Listings:

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

1 to 23 May

Tues – Sun eves 8:00pm

Sun eves 5:00pm (10 and 17 May)

Sat mats 2:30pm (13 and 23 May)

Tickets: £5 - £16

Box Office: 0131 228 1404

www.traverse.co.uk

Then touring until 20 June.

It has been over 50 years since Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim came together to create “West Side Story”. It is loosely based on “Romeo and Juliet”; here Maria and Tony are the star crossed lovers who are from different families and different cultures who are caught up in the gang wars in New York in the 1950’s. This particular production has been staged by the Sadlers Wells Company to mark the 50^th anniversary of the show and is now on tour following a successful run in London.

Given that it is a Sadlers Wells production it is no surprise that the dance is given the main focus in this version. Paul Gallis’s set is simple, yet effective in seamlessly changing scenes whilst still giving plenty of room for the company. Due to the design of the set the stage is left bare for most of the show, allowing the maximum space for Joey McKneely’s dance numbers. McKneely has made the decision to move the setting to the modern day and has also changed some of the original sequences; in particular a superb dream sequence where all the cast are dressed in white.

The entire cast work well together, with Sofia Escobar and Daniel Koek giving superb performances as Maria and Tony. Also Harry Francis was hilarious as Baby John. Particular note should go to Jayde Westaby, who sang, danced and acted superbly as a very sexy and very feisty Anita.

An excellent production of a classic show!

Listings:

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

5 to 16 May

Mon – Sat eves 7:30pm

Thu & Sat mat 2:30pm

Tickets: £17 - £39.50

Box Office: 0131 529 6000

www.eft.co.uk

Then touring until 11 July

“Be Near Me” is based on the Booker Prize nominated novel by Andrew O'Hagan and is a co-production between the National Theatre of Scotland and the Donmar Warehouse.

The play is about Father David Anderton, an English priest who is moved to the town of Dalgarnock on the Ayrshire coast. Dalgarnock is filled with sectarian hate and Father David soon finds refuge in the company of two local teenagers, Mark and Lisa. Father David’s relationship with Mark grows, until one fateful night he makes a decision that destroys his life and the lives of his closest friends forever.

John Tiffany makes good use of the ten actors to create a beautiful piece of theatre. Most of the actors play two or three different characters, which works well in conveying the many different types of people Father David comes across. Also his decision to use the cast as a choir, singing sectarian songs from both sides, helps to make you realize the pointlessness of religious hate when there is so little we don’t have in common with each other. This is ably helped by Davey Anderson’s music, which underscores a lot of the show.

The actors themselves are wonderful, working together as a true ensemble. It is hard to pick out any one performance, but due should go to Ian McDiarmid who plays the central role with such superb subtlety and makes us feel great sympathy for a character it could be easy to hate. McDiarmid also adapted the novel into the play and has successfully created a piece so powerful that you’d never know had been adapted from anything. Blythe Duff also gives a superb performance as Mrs Poole, Father David’s housekeeper, whose confession leads to his downfall.

An excellent piece of theatre. Well directed and filled with impeccably strong performances. Buy a ticket!

Listings:

Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

15 to 18 April

Wed – Sat eves 8:00pm

Tickets: £5 - £16

Box Office: 0131 228 1404

www.traverse.co.uk

Then touring until 16 May.

            

Samuel Beckett’s classic play is about two tramps, Estragon and Vladimir, who are left by the side of an empty road. They are waiting for a man called Godot, who never arrives. It is famous for being a play where nothing happens. Despite this it is probably the most easily accessible of all Beckett’s work. Because even though these men are left with nothing to do, they have plenty to say.

One of the many influences that inspired the play was turn of the century music hall theatre and it is this aspect of the play that Sean Mathias and the Theatre Royal Haymarket Company have decided to put the main focus on. The set for the play is the ruins of an old, abandoned Victorian theatre. They also bring out the theme by highlighting the references that the characters make to old songs and adding sound effects or moves, which help to highlight some of the more comic moments in the play. It is a clever way of trying to make sense of what can be quite a baffling play.

The only problem with this is that the language is so rich that you wish there were some pieces of dialogue that were left to speak for themselves. However the cast work well together to use every syllable of what Beckett has written to full effect.

The two tramps are played by Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, who both give outstanding performances. In particular McKellen, who brings a sense of desperation and loneliness to Estragon. The superb casting is completed by Simon Callow as an excellently dark Pozzo and Ronald Pickup as a confused and lonely Lucky. Local boy Callum Souter was brilliant as the Boy, working incredibly well with Stewart given his young age and experience.

The company’s decision to cast the likes of McKellen, Stewart, Callow and Pickup will obviously ensure bums on seats, but should also be applauded for exposing one of the great plays of the twentieth century to a new audience.

If you want to see a great play performed by masters of their craft, look no further than this show!

Listings:

The Kings Theatre, Edinburgh

13 to 18 April

Mon – Sat eves 7:30pm

Wed & Sat mats 2:30pm

Tickets: £19.50 - £37.50

Box Office: 0131 529 6000

www.eft.co.uk

Then touring until 25 April and then runs at Theatre Royal Haymarket from 30 April.

John Wilson’s 1964 play “For King and Country” deals with the story behind the 306 British men shot for cowardice or desertion during the First World War.

The story centres on Private Arthur Hamp, recently arrested for desertion. Before he is put up for trial he is met by Lieutenant William Hargreaves, who is gathering evidence for his defence. The play tells the story of a boy brought up in poverty, leaving school at the age of twelve to work in the local cotton mill. Pressurised by his family, Arthur volunteers for the Army to serve his King and Country.  Three years later he is the only survivor from his original battalion.  He speaks of the thousands of deaths he has seen, the friends he has lost and learning the news that his wife and child have left him. We witness the unfair trial which records his actions as ‘gutless’, and his eventual execution by his fellow soldiers.

The play helps to highlight the human tragedy of war. How circumstances can make a person treat their fellow man in such a cruel way.  Also, how anyone who tries to make a stand against this is crushed by an unjust and uncaring system.

For all the good points the play makes there were certain aspects of the production which diluted its message. Director, Tristram Powell’s decision to raise and lower a screen between set changes resulted in the audience not being sure if it was time for the interval , and also creating a few minutes of awkward clunking noises (as the set was moved) behind the screen. In addition, I struggled to feel sympathy for Adam Gillen’s portrayal of Hamp.

Despite this there are some excellent performances from other members of the cast. In particular Daniel Weyman as Hargreves and Kevin Doyle as the Padre, both give fantastic performances, allowing the audience to share in their frustration and anger at the rotten system of war and what it does to good, honest men.

Listings:

The Kings Theatre, Edinburgh

31 March to 4 April

Tues – Sat eves 7:30pm

Wed & Sat mats 2:30pm

Tickets: £12.50 - £25

Box Office: 0131 529 6000

www.eft.co.uk

Then touring until 18 April

                   

“Swan Lake” is arguably the most popular and most performed ballet in the world. This therefore presents a challenge to any choreographer who wishes to breathe new life into the one hundred and thirty-two year old classic, yet David Nixon’s Northern Ballet Theatre manages this with his new and exciting production of the ballet.

The action is moved from Imperial Eastern Europe to New England in 1912, and tells the story of Anthony who as a child when out swimming with his brother Steven, accidently lets him drown in a nearby lake. Forever haunted by what happened to his brother on that fateful day Anthony returns to the lake time and time again, until one day he glimpses in the water a world of swans, led by the beautiful Odette.

Months pass, and Anthony finds himself growing closer to his friend Simon, who has now come to replace Steven. The time of Anthony’s coming of age birthday party arrives and it is at this party he sees the beautiful Odilia, whose beauty immediately transports him back to Odette and her swans. The lake continues to haunt him, the guilt destroying Anthony and his relationship with Simon and Odilia.

Nixon gives his own stamp to the ballet by changing the setting and story. He also uses his own unique brand of choreography which works particularly well in this production. More traditional ballet companies would simply focus on the dancing, letting the story get lost in a sea of badly painted backcloths, mime acting and too many tutus. Yet Nixon places just as much emphasis on the narrative as on the dancing, in fact some of the company’s other productions have included having dancers sing and say lines on stage as well as dance.

A particularly clever piece of choreography is the use of bicycles and a football in an early scene where the young boys have just finished college. The use of these simple props give a better sense of realism to the piece and actually make you forget you’re watching a ballet at times. This said, Nixon is also respectful to Petipa’s and Ivanov’s original choreography of the piece and keeps most of the swan scenes identical to how they are more traditionally staged.

The entire company produce a wonderful performance, but particular note should go Kenneth Tindall and Keiko Amemori as Anthony and Odette who keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. It is also worth mentioning Dave Gillan’s set which evokes early twentieth century America perfectly, whilst still giving the flexibility and space for the dancers. And not forgetting Tchaikovshy’s beautiful music, which is sensitively arranged by John Longstaff.

All in all, a brilliant production that will make you see this classic ballet with new eyes!

Listings:

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

17 to 19 Mar

Tues – Thur eves 7:30pm

Thu mat 2:30pm (19 Mar)

Tickets: £10 - £30

Box Office: 0131 529 6000

www.eft.co.uk

Then touring until 26 March

It is a dark, stormy night in an old house in the English countryside. It’s between the wars and the master of the house has returned from abroad with his new wife, after his first wife died in suspicious circumstances some years ago. Despite this the old housekeeper still keeps alive the memory of the first wife, as her spirit haunts the house...

You’d be forgiven for thinking this was the beginning of “Rebecca”, but only if The Two Ronnies had made their own version. For not only do ghosts haunt the house, but also werewolves, vampires and a mummy.

Charles Ludlum’s play seeks to subvert not only Daphne du Maurier and Alfred Hitchcock, but also Victorian melodrama, farce and the ‘Hammer Horror’ films of the 60’s and 70’s. The play features a cast of six characters, played by Andy Gray and Steven McNicoll.

Gray and McNicoll both have several years of experience working in pantomime and this is evident in their performances. They exploit every single joke in the play, in order to get as many laughs as possible. When this works it’s great, but there were many times when you felt they’d carried on with a joke for far too long or were simply repeating themselves.

Ian Grieve’s direction is solid and makes good use of the two actors, whilst allowing time for their lightning quick costume changes between characters. The thing it lacked was any inventiveness, it would have been interesting to see how different the play would have looked with a lot less set and less costume.

Alan Penman also adds some atmospheric sound to the play, perfectly capturing the feel of an old, crackly horror film.

All in all, it was a funny show. My only wish is that they could have taken more risks as it could have been even funnier!

Listings:

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

20 Feb to 14 Mar

Tues – Sat eves 7:45pm

Wed & Sat mats 2:30pm (25, 28 Feb and 4, 7, 14 Mar)

Tickets: £1 - £26

Box Office: 0131 248 4848

www.lyceum.org.uk

Then touring to Perth Theatre from 19 March to 4 April.

Alan Ayckbourn’s adaptation of the 1920’s Aldwych Farce by Evans and Valentine made an unusual departure, yet a very funny one, from some of the other theatre in Edinburgh at the moment.

The play concerns the trials of Aubrey Allington and his wife Louise. Aubrey, a penniless inventor, is left a fortune by his deceased brother which, on Aubrey’s death, will revert to his (thought to be dead) cousin George Maitland. Aubrey plans to stage his own death and disguise himself as Maitland, in order to avoid his creditors. Unfortunately things don’t run so smoothly.

It’s obvious from the onset of the play that it is of a certain period in time. It is difficult for farce to seem anything but antiquated compared to the style of today’s plays. This isn’t helped by Ayckbourn’s ‘adaptation’, for as he admits in the programme he did little in adapting the writing and only updated or omitted anything a more modern audience would no longer find funny or understand. As a result whilst some sections of the play are incredibly funny, others are less so and tend to use techniques such as the mimicking of other characters or pronouncing words in an unusual way, which becomes tiresome after a while.

It isn’t aided by Joe Harmston’s direction. This at times makes the play feel stilted and makes no imaginative use of the actors, the set or the script.

Despite all this the actors themselves put in a sterling job. In particular Mark Curry as Aubrey Allington, whose ability to play such a range of characters is very impressive. Also Caroline Langrishe as his wife, who puts in a very powerful performance as the woman who instigates most of the goings on throughout the play. Christopher Timothy also puts in a superb performance as the scheming butler, Sprules.

Don’t expect any high drama from this show. Just a good laugh!

Listings:

The Kings Theatre, Edinburgh

2 to 7 Nov

Tues – Sat eves 7:30pm

Wed & Sat mats 2:30pm

Tickets: £12.50 - £25

Box Office: 0131 529 6000

www.eft.co.uk

Then touring until 14 Feb

Willy Russell’s famous musical returns to Edinburgh this winter.

It tells the story of the Johnstone twins, Mickey and Eddie, who are separated at birth and grow up under very different circumstances. Despite this the two meet and become best friends, never knowing that they are actually twins, until one fateful day when everything goes wrong and two lives are destroyed forever.

Despite the fact that this musical has been running for nearly twenty-five years, I had never seen it. But was amazed at how different it is to any other musical I had seen. I was already familiar with Willy Russell’s plays and was amazed to see how well his style had come across in this piece. In fact it never felt like I was watching a musical, more a play with songs, such was the strength of Russell’s writing. It was totally honest and never tried to gloss over some of the darker sides of growing up in working-class Liverpool, dealing with drug addiction, pornography, underage sex and violence. Yet still managing to make the audience laugh and cry in equal measures.

The show was also played by a wonderful ensemble cast. Special note should go to the two boys, played by Sean Jones and Simon Willmont, who showed great versatility and range in playing characters from aged seven right through to their mid-twenties. Note should also go to Maureen Nolan, who played their mother Mrs Johnstone, who showed a great depth of emotion and whose tears at the end of the show spoke for the audience.

Apparently no production of “Blood Brothers” is complete without a standing ovation, which this performance duly received.

If you haven’t seen it before, go see it. If you have, go see it again. I know I will be!

Listings:

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

2 Feb to 14 Feb

Tues – Sat eves 7:45pm

Thu & Sat mats 2:30pm (5, 7, 12 and 14 Feb)

Tickets: £8.50 - £28

Box Office: 0131 529 6000

www.eft.co.uk

Then touring until 25 July