Articles by James Beagon

The Battle of Frogs and Mice

Choosing to adapt a fairly obscure Greek text like The Battle of Frogs and Mice (also known as the Batrachomyomachia) as a storytelling show for children would be a bold choice for anyone, so it's particularly impressive as a choice for an Edinburgh Fringe debut by Helicon Storytelling, but even more impressive is how excellently they manage to pull it off!This is Fringe theatre at its simplest and most effective...

Penguinpig

There are times when a particular title will jump out at you and niggle in the back of your brain. If you’re not made even slightly curious by the title Penguinpig, I’d say you were missing out...

Julius Caesar

All-female Australian group Essential Theatre present their own gender-swapped take on Shakespeare’s classic. An intriguing concept, the production itself shows flashes of brilliance but also plenty of missed opportunities...

The Wonderful World of Lapin

Gentle and well-meaning, The Wonderful World of Lapin is a good attempt to introduce young children to the French language.Performer Tania Czajka begins by revealing her prize carrot, which she is growing in hopes of entering the Tastiest Carrot Competition...

The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck

You would be forgiven for thinking that a production of The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck performed in a circus tent might involve people dressed up as the characters acting out the tales...

Future Perfect

Tall Stories return to Edinburgh for their 20th birthday with an updated version of Future Perfect. Pitched at children aged 6 and above, Future Perfect is an enjoyable 45 minutes with a wholesome moral and traditional setup...

Bacchae

Both faithful and frantic, young company Flying Pig Theatre have produced a very satisfying version of Euripides’ Bacchae with a deft touch.It is worth noting that, despite being advertised as being transported to a crumbling Victorian mansion, this doesn’t really appear to be the case in any form or fashion...

Rhapsodes

Back for another year, Adam Meggido and Sean McCann of Showstoppers! fame return to wow us with what is possibly the most impressive improvisational feat at the Fringe.In each show, the two men compete and cooperate in their daily endeavour to create a Shakespearean masterpiece from scratch...

David Walliams' The First Hippo on the Moon

From the team behind Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs comes a brand new adaptation of David Walliam’s children’s book The First Hippo on the Moon. The ensemble of Les Petits has produced an entertaining, if formulaic, show for children...

All Quiet on the Western Front

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Pleasance Dome
11th Aug, 2017

Incognito Theatre’s adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front is a solid, if predictable, production which ticks all of the necessary First World War boxes.Being an adaptation of Erich Remarque’s 1928 novel, it’s not hard to see why this might be the case...

The I Hate Children Children's Show

Magician Paul Nathan returns to Edinburgh once more with The I Hate Children Children's Show for an hour of interactive magic, name-calling and the occasional glass of champagne.The show has been a staple of the Edinburgh Fringe for many years and it’s clear to see why...

The Damned United

Powerful and demanding, Red Ladder Theatre Company’s production of The Damned United is every bit as belligerent and uncompromising as the protagonist of its story.An adaptation of David Peace’s novel of the same name, The Damned United tells the story of Brian Clough’s doomed 44 day tenure as manager of Leeds United...

The Gin Chronicles at Sea

Interrupt the Routine returns as 1940s radio group The Misfits of London for another highly enjoyable adventure of The Gin Chronicles.This year’s instalment is The Gin Chronicles at Sea, where protagonists John Jobling and Doris Golightly set off on an Atlantic cruise to take a break from their amateur detective escapades...

Hup

Though there are plenty of shows designed for children at the Fringe, finding shows aimed at the youngest can always be tricky. Babies and toddlers can be a difficult audience to cater for...

The Story of Mr B

ShakeShakeTheatre present the tale of a man named Bumblegrum in a quirky and enjoyable puppet show for children.The story explores the question of just why Mr Bumblegrum is so grumpy all of the time, delving into his surprisingly tragic past and then looking at the consequences of his subsequent decision to reject all forms of friendship...

Medea: Greece Meets West

Review
★★
Edinburgh Fringe
The Jazz Bar
17th Aug, 2016

Billed as a “psychological drama conflating classical Greek mystery with jazzical profanity”, Medea: Greece Meets West contains very little Medea and not much more jazz.It’s not that the performers don’t pull their weight...

Ribbet Ribbet Croak

Ribbet Ribbet Croak is a gentle and successful piece of theatre for younger children, as well as being very suitable for PMLD and ASD family groups.The story is simple. Grandpa Frog and Grandma Frog leave the pond to plan a surprise for their little Grandfrogs...

James and the Giant Peach

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Zoo
12th Aug, 2016

UCLU Runaground’s James and the Giant Peach is a fresh, fun and frantic adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic.The tale is as you remember it. James, having lost his parents in a tragic rhinoceros accident, is sent to live with his horrible aunts...

The Lounge

Review
★★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Summerhall
11th Aug, 2016

There comes a time in most good plays when you realise you’ve become completely lost in a moment due to its sheer brilliance. The Lounge, performed by Inspector Sands and produced by China Plate, has a truckload of these moments...

The Gin Chronicles: A Scottish Adventure

After their great success last year, Interrupt the Routine are back with a brand new episode of The Gin Chronicles.The show’s uniqueness is utterly charming. The cast play actors from 1940s group ‘The Misfits of London,’ who act in their radio show The Gin Chronicles, complete with corporate product placement, Foley artist sound effects, and half-time advertisements...

Opera Mouse

Opera Mouse is a pleasant Canadian import presented as a one-woman puppet show by Melanie Gall.The story, unsurprisingly, follows a young mouse named Tilly who wants to be an opera singer but who refuses to accept any help in the process...

Frogs

School group Centaurs of Attention have an excellent company name and a rather good Fringe show to boot. This modern take on Aristophanes’ Frogs is full of the vim and vigour necessary to succeed, weaving together a new modern soundtrack with a clear understanding of the ancient jokes, as well...

Mary Poppins

This production of Mary Poppins draws heavily from Disney’s 1964 film, but fails to conjure the same magic.It’s worth noting that this production comes from local youth group Tribe Porty Youth Theatre, with a cast ranging in age from 5-18 years old...

Michael Morpurgo's King Arthur

Story Pocket Theatre bring Michael Morpurgo’s novel about King Arthur to life with a solid and enjoyable production. Though occasionally meandering in its storytelling, it is a good afternoon’s worth of family entertainment...

Metamorphoses

Ossining High School have delivered a solid and enjoyable, if somewhat flawed, production of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses.The piece is, for the most part, very well directed and choreographed...

Iphigenia in Tauris

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Spotlites
8th Aug, 2016

Champs Mêlés’ production of Iphigenia in Tauris is a two hour, French language translation of J.W von Goethe’s 18th century adaptation of Euripides’ original Greek tragedy with the occasional English surtitle...

Horse McDonald in Careful

Swapping her musical trappings for the theatre, Horse McDonald takes to the stage to present an undeniably intriguing and raw, if occasionally sensational, biopic of her own life.Though the audience seemed largely to be filled with long-time fans, people unfamiliar with Horse as a musician will still find much to enjoy in this show...

A Midsummer Night's Dream in Gotham

A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Gotham is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream but with Batman. Why? That’s not readily apparent but who cares? It has Batman...

The Snail and the Whale

Joyous in every way, The Snail and the Whale by Tall Stories is a textbook example of how to do theatre for children right.The plot follows Amy Tobias as a young girl and Patrick Bridgman as her father who together tell their favourite bedtime story of The Snail and the Whale...

Immaculate

Arriving fresh-faced from Dorset, young sixth-form group Harpoon present their take on Oliver Lansley’s hilarious play Immaculate. It’s a script rich with comic potential which the performance doesn’t always live up to...

The Snow Queen

Trundling into view as part of C Theatre’s 25th anniversary is The Snow Queen. A decent adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic story for the most part, it doesn’t quite seem to reach its full potential...

Iphigenia In Splott

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Pleasance Dome
27th Aug, 2015

The link between Greek myth and a deprived district of Cardiff is not an obvious one, and Iphigenia in Splott raises this intriguing question tantalisingly. Sherman Cymru’s production presents the answer deftly, and while the eventual reveal is fairly blunt, it does not diminish too much what has come before...

Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit and Other Tales

Lancaster Offshoots have created an enjoyable and surprisingly funny offering with their take on Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit and Other Tales.We are presented with shortened versions of several classic tales, including those of Squirrel Nutkin and Jemima Puddleduck, in addition to the title character Peter...

Elysium Fields

Potemkin’s People is one of two shows performing on alternate nights under the joint title of Elysium Fields from B-Land Productions. It concerns a political prisoner telling her captor a new fable about the artificial manufacturing of a nation and its self-inflicted path to destruction under the guise of beating ‘the enemy’ with their new weapon - words...

We May Have to Choose

We May Have To Choose is a one-person show performed by Emma Hall. The structure is refreshingly simple. For 45 minutes, she states 621 different opinions and declarations about the world around her...

Ferdinand

Ferdinand from Tasty Monster Productions is genuinely one of the nicest productions I have seen. A one man-show starring Luke Tudball, it explores a single dad telling the story of Ferdinand the Bull to his young son and how this tale becomes strikingly relevant to his everyday life and work...

The Dream Sequentialists

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Zoo
16th Aug, 2015

The Dream Sequentialists is a show about dream goblins. Immediate thumbs-up. Not designated specifically for children, this show nevertheless is a wonderful experience for all the family...

Pilgrim

Jetting in from Dublin, Pilgrim is a unique exploration of the maturity in valuing what you possess rather than clinging onto vain dreams of the future.Initially, Gonzo Theatre Company’s Pilgrim had me concerned at just how long an hour and 20 minutes was going to be as the thumping music and obnoxious behaviour started...

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden from Not Cricket Productions is a faithful and on-the-whole, effective, adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic tale. Rude and precocious Mary Lennox is taken to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor...

The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is a hard play to get wrong. Tennessee Wiliams’ words have an innate power all of their own. It is also, however, a difficult play to master. With this in mind, the group from Cleveland High School should be proud with the decent amount that they’ve accomplished...

Francesca, Francesca...

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Venue 13
14th Aug, 2015

Delving into the short life of 20th century photographer Francesca Woodman, Francesca, Francesca... is an intriguing piece, albeit somewhat vague. It seems to be posing questions to its audience but it’s never quite clear what all of them are...

Molly

This year, Squint presents Molly – a show investigating the mindset of a sociopath with eerie echoes of the things you might see in Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. Slick, dark and unsettling, Molly is enthralling from the off...

Antiwords

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Summerhall
14th Aug, 2015

Antiwords is a piece inspired by Václav Havel’s play Audience, featuring an awkward dialogue between a dissident playwright and a drunken brew master. Spitfire Company and Aurora Theatre’s reworking is amusing, if a little weary at times...

The Hideout

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
C venues - C nova
13th Aug, 2015

Haste Theatre’s new take on the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur is one full of charm and humour. The narrative, however, gets a little bit lost in the Labyrinth.The adaptation is reset in a shady 1920s establishment where the gods Dionysus, Hades and Aphrodite decide to retell the story of the Minotaur in their own unique way...

The Bookbinder

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Assembly Roxy
13th Aug, 2015

Trick of the Light presents a charming and an enjoyable addition to your afternoon in the form of The Bookbinder. A one-man show performed by Ralph McCubbin Howell, the show tells the story of an apprentice to a bookbinder who insists on rushing with his work...

Grandad and Me

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Summerhall
13th Aug, 2015

The Letter J’s production of Grandad and Me is simple, moving and effective. Accessible to younger children, it deals gently with themes of loss and memory. A young girl misses her recently deceased grandfather and, with the help of a friendly mouse, revisits the times and experiences they had together...

Morro and Jasp Do Puberty

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Gilded Balloon
13th Aug, 2015

Jetting in from Toronto come clown sisters Morro and Jasp, masters of their craft and hilarious to boot. This show, delving into the realms of female puberty, goes exactly where you think it goes and yet manages to surprise and shock you all the same...

I Am Beast

Returning for their fourth Fringe, Sparkle and Dark bring their own fascinating and fantastical take on experiences of death and loss. The result is an intriguing mix of heartbreak and humour...

Carnival Medea: A Bacchanal

From Georgia State University comes a wonderful reimagining of the Medea myth, reset in the colourful trappings of Trinidad’s carnival. This has two benefits: allowing a glimpse of Trinidadian culture whilst offering an interesting take on the Greek classic...

Antigone Now

Part of the American High School Festival, Antigone Now is nothing if not endearing in its attempts to impress. Travelling all the way from Michigan to perform at their age is an achievement in itself...

Horseplay – The Troy Musical

Napier University Drama Society presents a musical retelling of the Trojan War as their offering to the gods this festival. Sort of. The war itself is largely brushed over and instead we are treated to a hefty preamble...

Our Teacher's a Troll

It’s amazing how much you can get out of the word ‘Ak’ – the only word in the troll language. Snappy replies and entire monologues uttered by the titular troll using this word are made to be equally terrifying in this solid children’s production by Paines Plough...

Julius Caesar

Of the two offerings of Julius Caesar that the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School are offering this year, this review concerns the all-male version: a show brimming with great ideas yet somehow falling short despite this...

Shakespeare Untold: Titus Andronicus (The Piemaker's Tale)

‘One-man Titus Andronicus for Kids’ sounds like one of those joke titles you suggest to late-night improv troupes. So imagine my surprise at discovering an expertly crafted one-man show that actually pulls that off...

The 56

The Venn diagram containing those who enjoy watching football and those who enjoy watching theatre might not have the largest overlap in the world. However, no prior knowledge of football is required to appreciate this powerful piece of verbatim drama...

The Voice Thief

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Summerhall
5th Aug, 2015

“Good girls should be seen and not heard”. This seems to be the guiding principle behind those working at the Mackenzie Institute for the Encouragement of Vocal Harmony (MIEVH)...

Beans On Toast

Patch of Blue return to the Edinburgh Fringe with their scrumptious offering of Beans on Toast: a triumph of simplicity which still captures the imagination and the heart. Forget your knockoff supermarket brand stuff; this is high-quality Heinz material – not the fancy Five Beanz stuff either, but good old normal beans, maybe with sausage...

Joe's Cautionary Tales

Hungry Wolf presents an energetic and enthusiastic offering for children at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. At times a little too enthusiastic for its own good, it nevertheless retains a charm and determination that must be admired...

The Trojan Women

Updating Greek myths and tinkering with texts is a finicky process; how to maintain the spirit of the original while providing an audience with something new? Yet this new production from writer Georgina Thomas largely manages to stand firm under this pressure, insidiously intriguing from start to finish...

Sunday in the Park with George

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
C venues - C
16th Aug, 2014

Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society have brought their leisurely afternoon stroll Sunday in the Park with George to this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Well-staged and with decent performances, the production is still perhaps a bit too leisurely for its own good...

Peter Pan

Review
★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Church Hill Theatre
16th Aug, 2014

This offering of Peter Pan from the American High School Theatre Festival never reaches the heights of the Second Star to the Right. It’s more on level with the first molehill on the left...

The Big Bite-Size Plays Factory Goes Down the Toilet

This is a show about poo. Occasionally it’s also about pee and toilet paper, but mostly poo. At one point, a woman dressed as a giant poo comes on and sings ‘Somewhere under the U-Bend’ to the Wizard of Oz tune...

Much Ado About Zombies

With such an intriguing name, the cynical part of me was almost prepared to be let down. How could this show possibly live up to its title? Happily, Thread Theatre Company has done an admirable job of delivering on their premise, even though there was the potential for a little bit more...

A Race of Robots

Despite a fun-sounding premise, A Race of Robots unfortunately does not live up to its name. Clearly attempting to parody old sci-fi B-Movies, the word ‘parody’ falls by the wayside fairly quickly and all we’re left with is a B-Movie...

Mike Belgrave's Krazy Komedy Show 4 Kidz

Mike Belgrave is a brave man. Children can be the harshest critics when you open yourself up to their opinions. He’s even braver for arming eight children with balloon swords and instructing them to stop him finishing his song...

The Penelopiad

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
C venues - C
12th Aug, 2014

Cambridge Shortlegs and Pembroke Players return to the Edinburgh Fringe with their production of The Penelopiad, an adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novella. Switching between physical theatre, light-hearted silliness and darker drama, the production initially feels a little bit muddled and unbalanced...

Comedy Club 4 Kids

I didn’t expect to be hearing hard-hitting political satire this afternoon, but wow, that was actually quite a good Tibet joke. A Tibet joke from an 11 year old. Yes, 11. ‘Comedy Club 4 Kids’ is an hour of stand-up comedy with a difference; it’s largely catered to kids and occasionally stars them...

Jungle Bungle

Bouncing into Edinburgh from Australia, No Mate Productions have arrived with their enjoyably infectious offering Jungle Bungle.Oliver meets a new friend on his first day at a new school: Claire...

Princess Taz and the Fearsome Forest

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Cafe Camino
7th Aug, 2014

The word ‘rap-dragon’ might simultaneously spark intrigue and a sense of unease, but fear not. Though we are being to the Fearsome Forest, things are not quite as frightful as you might think...

Always... Patsy Cline

Before this show, I had not heard of Patsy Cline. Now I have and I’ve heard her songs too. There’s not much more to say, although that’s not a bad thing. Basically just an excuse to sing Patsy Cline’s old songs, the production knows who its target audience is and unashamedly tailors itself to them...

The Bee-Man of Orn

With such a wonderful title, it’s a shame that The Bee-Man of Orn is not as thrilling as it sounds. Newbury Youth Theatre has had great success in the past, but this adaptation appears to be a rare misfire...

The Jungle Book

Flying High Theatre Company’s adaptation of The Jungle Book is a charming lunchtime production, faithfully recreating its source material and providing entertaining moments of physical theatre throughout the 50 minutes...

Maia and the Sock Monster

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Lauriston Halls
5th Aug, 2014

Uncommon Productions Staffordshire should be commended for their bravery in presenting their debut effort at the Edinburgh Fringe. A devised, interactive story-telling piece based on a short story written by a child would be a tough act for professionals to pull off, never mind enthusiastic sixth-formers...

Medea

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; so quotes or paraphrases every production of Medea ever made. But Hell seemed quite tame as Big Shoes Theatre Company’s production dragged itself over the finishing line...

The Odyssey: An Epic Musical Epic!

Triumphantly sailing into Edinburgh come Audacious Productions with their frankly magnificent production The Odyssey: An Epic Musical Epic. At an hour and 50 minutes, it certainly lives up to its epic name but every moment is worth it...

Tony and Mike - The Country Owl and the City Squirrel

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Summerhall
2nd Aug, 2014

It’s a rare show that can successfully entertain children of all ages. ‘Tony and Mike’ is one of these sought-after gems. A very pleasant afternoon can be had visiting the garden of a crooked little house on a hill...

Lysistrata

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
C venues - C
1st Aug, 2014

It takes a brave soul to attempt to tackle ancient Greek comedy with a modern audience. It takes one even braver to decide to turn it into a tragedy. This is no insult. Stunningly, Christopher Adams has not only made it work, he made it work incredibly well...

Shakespeare for Breakfast

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
C venues - C
1st Aug, 2014

With a free croissant and tea in hand, Shakespeare for Breakfast almost had me sold before kick-off. What followed was a delightful morning romp through ‘Shakespeare Land’, a place littered with puns most foul and yet pleasing, as well as a menagerie of references covering every sonnet under the sun...

Leodo: Paradise Lost

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
C venues - C
31st Jul, 2014

Not be confused with the Milton epic, Leodo: Paradise Lost follows the story of a young girl lost at sea and transported to a magical island beyond the horizon, Leodo. Or at least that’s how it starts...

King Arthur

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
C venues - C
31st Jul, 2014

Sometimes in this show, there’d come some songs like this. They’d start off nice and low but were often hit and miss. Spamalot reference quota now fulfilled, King Arthur is a fairly enjoyable afternoon adventure, if occasionally unremarkable...

The Adventure Machine

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
C venues - C
31st Jul, 2014

You wake up at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Do you a) Retreat under the covers; b) Grudgingly make some toast; or c) Embrace the day with unbridled enthusiasm, because you’re fortunate enough to be in the same city as this rather wonderful show? This is the first decision you’ll make about The Adventure Machine, but if you choose correctly, it won’t be the last...

The Bacchae

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
23rd Aug, 2013

Get your coat. You’ve pulled…an interesting show out of the Fringe guide to watch. Seriously though, bring your coat. This adaptation of the Bacchae takes place in the hills of Holyrood Park and, for the most part, uses the site very well...

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Review
★★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
21st Aug, 2013

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (from here on mercifully abbreviated to APCSP) follows the trials and tribulations of six young spellers, along with some extremely fortunate/oh-god-what-did-I-sign-up for audience participators...

Pirates of Penzance

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
19th Aug, 2013

It’s difficult not to enjoy yourself watching Pirates of Penzance and this production from Durham is no exception, although it does occasionally feel like it’s trying to undo itself...

Medea

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
15th Aug, 2013

To choose Seneca over Euripides (thus making this a Roman rather than a Greek tragedy) is a brave decision by Kudos and one that occasionally backfires. For the most part, this is a decent production but there are niggles throughout that hinder enjoyment...

Inquiry into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Review
★★
Edinburgh Fringe
13th Aug, 2013

Hosted at the Edinburgh Christadelphian Church by the local community group there, Inquiry into the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ purportedly sets out to examine evidence of the matter...

Sanctuary

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
13th Aug, 2013

Discussing the topic of abortion in a church venue may seem like a controversial and edgy thing to do. Yet though central to the plot, Sanctuary never seeks to preach – at least, not about that...

Godspell

Review
★★
Edinburgh Fringe
12th Aug, 2013

The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. In this case, he’s given me a production of Godspell from Ohio and taken away my sanity. It’s never a good sign when you hope a show is reaching its conclusion then, realising that it is only halfway through, die a little inside...

In the Kingdom of the Blind

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
12th Aug, 2013

That’s an awfully good-looking prop, I think to myself as a character takes a knife to an apparent rabbit carcass. Then, as he hacks away at the meat and places it in the pot, I look closer and realise how very real it actually is...

The Bunker Trilogy: Macbeth

Review
★★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
10th Aug, 2013

Recast in a WWI bunker, claustrophobia is the order of the day as you watch events unfold in a very small room from an even smaller bench. The cast are in competition with the discomfort provided by these benches for an hour and a half and emerge gloriously triumphant...

Static - Free

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
7th Aug, 2013

In Static, a man in his early twenties describes growing up. Not much else happens. He does this by referencing large current affairs events from the past twenty years - 9/11, the July 7th bombings in London, the riots...

A Laughing Matter

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
6th Aug, 2013

Hush Theatre is on a mission ‘to deliver a comparable experience to both deaf and able hearing audiences. This they achieve - both deaf and able hearing audiences would have been equally appreciative of some bits of the show, whilst equally nonplussed about others...

Oresteia

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
5th Aug, 2013

The Cambridge University team behind Oresteia have achieved many things I would have considered impossible with Aeschylus’ source material. A version of the Oresteia that made me laugh out loud would not normally be a good thing but those behind the reworking of the trilogy into an hour long script clearly know their stuff...

Facehunters

Review
★★
Edinburgh Fringe
4th Aug, 2013

SWEARING?! LESBIANS?! DRUG ABUSE?! HOW TERRIBLY AVANT-GARDE! Apologies for the shouting but Facehunters seems keen to stress that if you have a message of any kind, you’re best off SCREAMING it...

Barry Brennan’s Bi-Monthly Dungeons and Dragons Sessions – A Geek Tragedy

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
4th Aug, 2013

No in-depth knowledge of Dungeons and Dragons lore is required to appreciate the excellent comedy this show provides. Those in the know however will receive a +2 bonus to enjoyment rolls...

Lysistrata: The Disco Vaudeville Rock'n'Roll Musical

Review
★★
Edinburgh Fringe
2nd Aug, 2013

The title is probably the most interesting thing about this adaptation of Lysistrata, but any potential that it implies is sadly missed by the show itself. Lysistrata: The Disco Vaudeville Rock'n'Roll Musical sounds like it should be a barrel of laughs, taking a very silly Greek comedy and supposedly making it sillier...

Human and Other Things

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
1st Aug, 2013

Fresh from the Namat Theatre in Cairo, Human and Other Things offers a select glimpse of Egypt, albeit in a rather frustrating manner. Occasional moments of intrigue are balanced out by intermittent points of sheer bafflement and all of these instances appear quite suddenly before the play returns to its slow and steady pace...

Quantum Battlestar Deep-Space Voyager Tardis Wars: The Million-Dollar Space Epic

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
23rd Aug, 2012

If the title has somehow not given it away already, a warning should be given to the unenlightened. Read the title and see how many shows you recognise in it, then consider how well you know them, as your enjoyment of this show will be directly proportional to your own personal level of geekiness...

The Mermaid of Zennor

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
20th Aug, 2012

Zennor is not, as it turns out, a distant alien empire, but a small fishing village in Cornwall. My inner child briefly feels disappointed. Yet this soon passes, as it ultimately does not detract from what is a heartfelt and engaging story...

Winfamy

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
17th Aug, 2012

Weirdly, the house lights come on as the show begins and by house lights, I mean the ordinary light-switch for the room. Winfamy is part of the Free Fringe and thus is naturally nestled in the side-room of a bar; heavy tech is therefore not expected...

Gotcha!

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
16th Aug, 2012

A one-man show scheduled for over an hour and a half can be a daunting prospect for both performer and audience. Yet by the end, it was only the stamina of the performer that was drained as the audience eagerly lapped up his words...

25: 13 Red, 12 Blue

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
15th Aug, 2012

Before the lights had barely dimmed, the main actor confidently strode on stage and began the central monologue of how his life in Hull was bad. This is how the play began and is as about far as it seems to want to go...

Theseus and the Minotaur: A Love Story

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
14th Aug, 2012

Flamenco dancing is perhaps not the first thing I would associate with the legend of the Minotaur and indeed neither is the idea that the conflict between the monster and Theseus had anything more to it than simply not wanting to be eaten...

Trojan Women

Review
★★
Edinburgh Fringe
12th Aug, 2012

At some point in the creation of this production, somebody decided that they were better at writing than Euripides. Anyone with knowledge of Greek Tragedy should know what such hubris will inevitably prompt...

The Night Porters

Review
★★
Edinburgh Fringe
11th Aug, 2012

Neither hilarious nor haunting, the claim this play makes to such titles falls as flat as the claim that it is a comedy. Two men sit in a hotel lobby during the night shift. The elder appears to be training the younger and has a fascination with ghosts; the younger is outwardly sceptical but, shock horror, turns out to be actually quite scared...

Fabled

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
10th Aug, 2012

Searching for words to describe Fabled is difficult, which is appropriate as Lois Tucker does not utter a single one for the entire hour she is on stage. Apparently stuck in some sort of bizarre storytelling multidimensional box, she proceeds despite her own confusion to act a series of different narratives told by a variety of distant and semi-interested narrators...

Three Words

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
9th Aug, 2012

Congratulations to Byteback Theatre for presenting a splendid physical show and going some way to alleviating my, not-uncommon, instinctive scepticism for the genre. Three Words follows the life of Larry; the quintessential ordinary man...

Boy In a Dress

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
8th Aug, 2012

What happened in this hour long show is still not quite clear; there was singing, nudity, drag, and a large cupboard to be sure. An erratic story was also present, performed by its writer La JohnJoseph, and apparently detailing some sort of semi-autobiography...

Three by Poe

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
7th Aug, 2012

I knew three things about the show before it started; that there are horror stories, that there are three of them and that they are presumably related to Poe. The prolonged darkness at the beginning is somewhat unexpected but perhaps it is atmospheric...

The Many Mishaps of Mr. Vinegar

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
6th Aug, 2012

Never before has a kazoo been blown with such gusto; so far so good as the two performers began the show with a confident song. An attempt to encourage the participation of the younger members of the audience fell somewhat flat...

National Theatre of Scotland Presents Love Letters to the Public Transport System By Molly Taylor

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
6th Aug, 2012

Writing a show is a difficult enough task; to then both act and direct said show is worthy of a titan. Indeed, the words ‘Writer, Director and Performer’ initially stirred misgivings, but it happily turns out that an iconic bus seat and pile of old tickets are all that Molly Taylor needs to hook our attention...

CeilidhKids at the Fringe - Free

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
3rd Aug, 2012

Satisfying energetic children can be a task for even the most patient of adults, but CeilidhKids seem to have found a simple but effective solution to combine family bonding with children dancing and jumping around to their hearts content...

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