Articles by Rory Mackenzie

Unmythable

An engaging, inventive and deliciously silly ride, Unmythable will appeal to anyone who enjoys either Greek legends or big laughs.

Girl from Nowhere

Filtered through the consciousness of the bright eyed and burnt out Jeannie, Victoria Rigby’s new play explores all that was best and worst about the sixties.

Allie

Ruaraidh Murray’s new play is a solid - though far from stunning - tale of a marriage turned very sour.

Boris: World King

Boris: World King is a giddy, silly and savagely satirical delight.

Some Thing New

Delivered as an interactive art workshop, with a narrative line slowly emerging, Some Thing New is a great idea with an unsatisfying execution.

A+E

Lottie Finklaire’s new play A+E tells the story of three women waiting in the hospital to find out if their friend will ever wake from her coma.

Angel in the Abattoir

Dave Florez’s new play Angel in the Abattoir questions the role and even the possibility of the modern hero.

Shit of the Fringe

The Shit of the Fringe is a weird show to review.

Games of Love and Chance

A witty piece of throwback theatre, Games of Love and Chance is quite the delight.

Dead Ghost Star

Like The Mighty Boosh in a minor key, Dead Ghost Star present a weird and wonderful double act of surreal, whimsical and thoroughly endearing comedy.

Can Stand Up - Don't Want To!

Tonally and thematically, Can Stand Up - Don’t Want To! is all over the place.

Monkeys and Typewriters

If a million monkeys hacked away at a million typewriters, eventually they would produce the complete works of Shakespeare.

Referendum and Dumber

Referendum and Dumber, from Ten Clowning Street, is irredeemably awful.

Rat: Induction

Two men and one woman, apparently strangers, await orders for their induction day.

Craig Campbell: Thrilling Mic Hunt

Craig Campbell is one of the most natural and kind hearted comics on the circuit.

Staple/face are... Going Down Fighting

Staple/face are a young sketch group, something they don’t shy away from.

Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen (Vol. 2)

It would be unfair to describe Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen Vol.

Cookies and Cream

Cookies and Cream is a showcase of young comics that has its hits and has its misses.

Gamarjobat: Boxer

To celebrate their tenth year at the Fringe Japanese comedy duo Gamarjobat have reprised their debut show Gamarjobat: Boxer.

Symphony by Ella Hickson, Nick Payne and Tom Wells

Symphony promises to blend a live gig environment with the best of contemporary British theatre.

Four Beers and a Burger - Meet the Brewer

Very often at the Fringe one can feel short changed by titles; titles that promise this or that and yet deliver so pitifully little.

Bunbury Is Dead

Imagine the complete works of Oscar Wilde thrown into a box, shaken about a good bit and then dropped all over the floor.

Frank Sent Me

Frank Sent Me is a gangster comedy that mixes fine moments with trite ones.

Milo McCabe: Troy Hawke

Milo McCabe’s latest comic incarnation is quite superb.

Awkward Conversations with Animals I've F*cked

Awkward Conversations with Animals I’ve F*cked is f*cking great.

Mat Ewins: The Six Million Dollar Ewins

Deliciously silly, startlingly original and completely incomprehensible Mat Ewins’ new stand up show is a comic tour de force.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

A romping, stomping brain blast is exactly what Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas wants to be.

Chaplin

An over-loving portrait of the lovable Tramp, Chaplin is an assured and solid play but one that refuses to ever take off its rose-tinted glasses.

Great Artists Steal

Does originality exist? Are all creators thieves in disguise? The answer is no and yes (probably), at least according to Great Artists Steal, a new play by Seamus Collins.

Woody Allen's Writer's Block

Two one-act plays: one two stars, the other four.

Our Town

Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is a beautiful evocation of small town Americana in the first half of the century as well as a rumination on life, death and everything in between.

A History of Falling Things

All quirky and endearing romcoms would do well to learn a thing or two from A History of Falling Things.

Death is the New Porn

Authentic, thrilling and (overly) ambitious, Death is the New Porn is a fine piece of theatre.

I Killed Rasputin

The acting is exquisite.

God on Trial

God on Trial is a vital and important piece of theatre.

The Bastard Children of Remington Steele

What is The Bastard Children of Remington Steele? It has enough energy to be many things and enough intelligence to do them well.

The Silence of Snow: The Life of Patrick Hamilton

Mark Farrelly’s The Silence of Snow is a charming and funny, if not particularly deep, depiction of the life of Soho author Patrick Hamilton, best known for penning Rope and Hang…

Away From Home

Away From Home is the sensitive, touching tale of Kyle, who in his capacity as a rent boy is used to his fair share of sensitive touching.

Aaaaargh! It's 101 Jokes in 30 Minutes! Free

The title of Masai Graham’s show gives the impression that it is a grand test of comedic athleticism, hinting at a Tim Vine like mania.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore

In Your Face Theatre’s production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore lives up to its company’s name and in delicious fashion.

Borges and I

Review
★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
29th Aug, 2013

Jorge Luis Borges stands among the greatest writers of the twentieth century, a pioneering figure of South American literature and the magical realist genre.

Jack, Or the Submission

Review
★★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
25th Aug, 2013

When it comes to absurdity there are not many names more famous than Eugene Ionesco.

Fantastical Adventures in the Mundane

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

David (Douglas Cape) is a writer.

Simon Munnery: Fylm

‘Very, very, very, very funny, literally rib shattering, deeply profound and seemingly inane - also overwhelmingly pink.

Tony Law: Nonsense Overdrive

Tony Law is an irrepressible force; a man who pushes back the known frontiers of silliness, a clown of cosmic proportions.

Do We Need You After The Apocalypse? The Game Show

Review
★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
19th Aug, 2013

Society has crumbled, zombies are on the loose - what do you do next? A) Search for food, B) try to find other people or C) go see some bad comedians late at night with an underwri…

Luke Toulson: I Don't Know How I Feel About My Kids - Free

Review
★★★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
18th Aug, 2013

Luke Toulson is very ambivalent about his children.

The Rabbie Burns Supper Club

Review
★★★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
16th Aug, 2013

Set in the impressive venue of the Ghillie Dhu, the Rabbie Burns Supper Club is an ostensible celebration of Burns poetry and Scots culture.

Dying On Stage

Review
★★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
15th Aug, 2013

Dying on stage is a one man show written by Edward Chapman that seems particularly prescient amidst the ongoing scandal of popular television presenters being accused of indecent a…

A Matter of Life and Death

Review
★★★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
15th Aug, 2013

A Matter of Life and Death by Tom Morris and Emma Rice, as well as being a loving ode to the classic film by Powell and Pressburger, is also an original work in its own right.

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

Review
★★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
15th Aug, 2013

Are You Sitting Comfortably? takes as its premise the intriguing idea of setting a run of the mill office romcom inside a radio.

Not the Messiah

Graham Chapman’s life was the tragic element at the heart of the world’s greatest ever comedy troupe, Monty Python.

After Ever Happily

Review
★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
14th Aug, 2013

What ever happened after they lived happily ever after? When Red Riding Hood (not little) is sent to a psychiatric ward and told that she cannot be who she says she is, we realise …

Pigmalion Zoo

Review
★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
13th Aug, 2013

The posters for Pigmalion Zoo simply advertise it as ‘A New Play’ with no trace or clue as to who may have written it.

A Writer's Lot

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

Josh King’s play, as the title suggests, is unashamedly metafictional, exploring the artist’s relationship with his art and how that is reflected in his relationship with the r…

In Real Life (IRL)

Review
★★★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
11th Aug, 2013

We live in a world where technology is changing the way we see ourselves and other people.

Splatter

Review
★★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
11th Aug, 2013

The actor James Webb fears something is amiss on the set of his next film, a torture-porn horror flick called Porkies.

Damned

Damned is the new play by Jack Harrison and it is damned difficult to explain.

Mat Ewins: Once Upon a Time in the Jest

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

Mat Ewins is a passionate fan of history and of stand-up comedy, so quite naturally he brings his ardour and insider knowledge of both to create a show that is clever, silly and br…

Davey Connor Live! But Not in Your Living Room

Review
★★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
9th Aug, 2013

Davey Connor is a charming, unimposing performer whose style washes over the audience and wins them over seemingly without effort.

Javier Jarquin: Joke Ninja

Review
★★
Rory Mackenzie
Edinburgh Fringe
8th Aug, 2013

At the beginning of his show, Javier Jarquin warn his audience that his show is called Joke Ninja because his jokes are so stealthy that you probably won’t notice them.

Sean Hughes - Penguins

Classic stand-up comic Sean Hughes is worried he’s past his best.

Diablo

Diablo is a dark, violent and frighteningly authentic play about the sex trafficking industry in Northern Ireland from Spanner in the Works Theatre Company.