Articles by Jake A Ellamen

Perceptual Landscape

A technical marvel, Perceptual Landscape is an alarming watch.

Pippin

Pippin is a difficult musical, and in the past has been staged as a fully-fledged acrobatic circus (Les 7 Doigts de la Main did a great job).

Hey Hey 16K

Two stand-up (not in the comedic sense) guys riffing on Doctor Who and the origins of programming doesn’t sound scintillating.

Aidan Goatley: Year of the Goat

Aidan Goatley strikes me as an organised, practical and variably fearless fellow.

Budge3

At once frenetic and contemplative, Budge3 is an intricate knot of elastic energy, dance that is fit to burst at any moment.

Macaroni on a Hotdog

A masterwork of parallax, Macaroni on a Hotdog gently uncovers its affecting core through a focused 50 mins of understated wit.

Gary Little: Just Trying to Be Friendly

“The Facebook,” Little moans, is a hub of narcissism and platform for vapid boasts.

Leapin' Louie's Wild West Spectacular

‘Awesome’ is a terrible word, but there’s no shame using it – in the truest sense – to describe Leapin’ Louie and his lethal range of doohickeys.

Ahir Shah: Distant

If pirates wore signet rings and possessed anything in the way of eloquence, I’d feel as if I were watching a one-man shanty as Ahir Shar (aka Shit Shag, via autocorrect) sways a…

Siro-A

The live rhythm action bonanza Siro-A is quite simply multi-layered hyperactivity for the stage.

Belfast Boy

This stifling performance by young talent Greg Fossard will make you uneasy as the traumas of a troubled Belfast man’s life unravel.

Alun Cochrane: A Show with a Man in It

Okay, he doesn’t promise much - the title was his son’s butchering of the ‘one-man show’ term.

Cut the Mustard

Cut the Mustard has what can only be described as an offbeat premise: it’s almost time for a live broadcast during a not-so-popular slot on Icelandic radio.

We This Way

A shamelessly monotonous cycle of intrigue, We This Way casts Seth Kiebel in a haunting light, his deadpan but deft delivery commanding an hour of interactive, communal ‘point-an…

Jamie MacDonald: Oblivious

Jamie MacDonald is a gentle comic, even when brandishing his white cane as a weapon.

Minor Delays

Those little things that hold you back, awkward pauses and abashed hesitations of everyday life: the focus of Minor Delays.

The Falcon's Malteser by Anthony Horowitz

“Maltese Falcon; no - Falcon’s Maltese,” one parent suggests as the title to the show outside the theatre doors.

Andrew Lawrence: Uncensored

Andrew Lawrence isn’t a fan, to say the least, of strident, militant lefties.

Lee Miller and Picasso

Edinburgh is a hotbed of street performance, pushy flyerers and hill-related exhaustion at this time of year.

Journeys Beyond

How many ‘family friendly’ shows centre around a woman hanging off the edge of a pier, contemplating suicide? How many flit from Lyte’s soothing hymn Abide With Me to a fierc…

Philharmonic of Wit

From the first gong to the last of many bows, Philharmonic of Wit artfully balances Waldemar Malicki’s blunt musings as host/pianist and the big numbers of a shamelessly showy or…

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical

No one expects to watch a musical set in a dog parlour with a canine duel – or, more precisely, ‘The Amazing New York State Poodle Fighting Championship’ – as its climax.

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