Articles by Maria Hagan

Give Take

Give Take’s Musical Remedies are an exploration of the healing powers of the natural world.

Back Out from the Outback

The Edinburgh Fringe is brimming with acts from Down Under, but you probably won’t witness any more authentic than Susie and Mel in their storytelling show Back Out From The Outb…

Tubespotting

How long would it take to go via every single one of the 270 stations on the London Tube map? Most of us would shrug at the question, having no desire whatsoever to even consider s…

Noughts and Crosses

Shakespeare’s School brings Malorie Blackman’s much loved novel Noughts and Crosses to the stage in a performance that falls disappointingly flat despite the potential of the w…

Forever Young

The Yvonne Arnaud Youth Theatre’s Forever Young is a heartfelt portrayal of the damaged, tormented and stolen youths of the First World War through drama, poetry and song.

Spring Awakening

The Italia Conti Ensemble’s rendition of Spring Awakening is a well-directed and expertly performed take on Frank Wedekind’s controversial play.

Beats North

“Being a DJ is like being a storyteller,” we are told at the opening of Beats North, a heartfelt celebration and exploration of the powers of music.

Spoken Word Sundays

Just off the Royal Mile, down along the cobbles and between the narrow walls of Jackson’s Close, Appletree Writers and Friends gather every Sunday of the Fringe to celebrate spok…

Romeo and Juliet

Take a Shakespeare play and strip it of all of the aspects that make it a timeless sensation.

Wuthering Heights

“We are not going to tell you a story,” the cast disconcertingly warns the audience in the opening minutes of Wuthering Heights.

Antidepressants Are Not Overprescribed!

Come gather in the yurt at the Stand in the Square for another in the series of The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas.

The HandleBards: Macbeth

Review
★★★★★
Maria Hagan
Edinburgh Fringe
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - West Gate
10th Aug, 2014

Fishing rods, bike bells and shuttlecocks likely did not feature on the Elizabethan prop list for Macbeth.

Afrobeat from Poción de Fe

When afrobeat makes prime-time at the most renowned jazz club in town, you know you’re in for the good stuff.

Awhile with Seamus Heaney

The world gasped in shock when renowned Irish poet Seamus Heaney passed away in August of last year.

Hamlet

Horatio may be played by a girl in a school uniform, yet this is the only aspect of Hamlet that gives away the fact that the performers are all high school students.

15% of The Seagull

Directed by Tim Schulz and written by Liberty Martin, Cheryl Mayer and Lauren Stapleton, 15% of The Seagull is a humorous glimpse into the world of theatre adaptation and casting.

Monkey Poet: Shit Flinging - Free

Monkey Poet: Shit Flinging is a show much more savoury than its name suggests.

The News at Kate: Leftie Cock Womble

Amidst the moustachioed revolutionaries that don the walls of Viva Mexico restaurant, Kate Smurthwaite takes the mic for a thought-provoking hour of comedy.

Victorian Vices – The Picture of Dorian Gray

The moment you step into this showroom, I can guarantee you’ll wish you had worn your suit or gown.

George Orwell's 1984

Taking on the literary giant that is George Orwell’s 1984 is a notoriously difficult task, and The Stevenage Lytton Youth Thursday Group have bitten off a little more than they…

Movin' Melvin Brown: The Ray Charles Experience

Movin’ Melvin Brown: The Ray Charles Experience is an entertaining soirée of song and dance in homage to the great soul music pioneer of the 1950s.

Frank Skinner: Man in a Suit

‘Knob jokes with depth’ are the words that fifty-six year old Frank Skinner himself uses to describe his new stand up show Man in A Suit.

Belfast Boy

One man is all it takes.

Tis Pity

Natalie Audley’s ‘Tis Pity is a clever retelling of John Ford’s 17th century incestuous drama ‘Tis Pity She’s A Whore.

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience

Come and meet the Faultys, the Fawltys’ delightful doppelgangers.

Frankenstein: UnBolted

Mary Shelley is likely turning in her grave at Last Chance Saloon’s rendition of Frankenstein, but no doubt she’s also struggling to stifle a giggle at their heartfelt whack at…

Animal Farm

The Tumanishvili Film Actors Theatre Company present George Orwell’s Animal Farm in a remarkable, poignant enactment of the dangerous rise of tyranny in a state where ideals of f…

Chris Turner: Pretty Fly

Bandanas, braces and £16 patchouli hand soap are just a few of the afflictions that British comedian Chris Turner has had to suffer in life as a skinny, middle class white boy.

Voca People

“Everything you are about to hear is pure human vocals,” a voiceover announces before the show begins.

Soweto Spiritual Singers

The Soweto Spiritual Singers greet their audience with the Lord’s Prayer, sung in perfect harmony.

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