Articles by Rory Mackenzie

Angel in the Abattoir

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

Unmythable

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

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.

Boris: World King

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

Allie

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

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.

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.

Can Stand Up - Don't Want To!

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

Games of Love and Chance

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

Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen (Vol. 2)

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

Craig Campbell: Thrilling Mic Hunt

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

Monkeys and Typewriters

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

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.

Woody Allen's Writer's Block

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

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.

Death is the New Porn

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

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.

Shit of the Fringe

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

Cookies and Cream

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

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…

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.

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.

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.

Awkward Conversations with Animals I've F*cked

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

Rat: Induction

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

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.

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.

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.

Symphony by Ella Hickson, Nick Payne and Tom Wells

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

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.

Referendum and Dumber

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

I Killed Rasputin

The acting is exquisite.

Staple/face are... Going Down Fighting

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

Gamarjobat: Boxer

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

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.

God on Trial

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

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.

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.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

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

Jack, Or the Submission

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

Borges and I

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

Fantastical Adventures in the Mundane

David (Douglas Cape) is a writer.

Do We Need You After The Apocalypse? The Game Show

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…

Dying On Stage

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…

After Ever Happily

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 …

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

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

A Matter of Life and Death

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.

15 Minutes

Andy Warhol once proclaimed that in the future everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.

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

Luke Toulson is very ambivalent about his children.

A Complete and Comprehensive History of the Roman Empire in Less Than an Hour - With Jokes

Misnomer number one of the title; it does actually last a full hour.

The Rabbie Burns Supper Club

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

Splatter

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

The Major

Absurd, grotesque and quite brilliant, The Major is a small comic theatre gem of a decidedly weird kind.

A Writer's Lot

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)

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

Not the Messiah

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

Forest

Starting with a premise as old as any in the world of fairy tales, Forest begins with a little girl waking up in a dark and magical forest.

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.

Javier Jarquin: Joke Ninja

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.

Long Live The Little Knife

The value of art, human redemption, dead labradoodles.

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.

Simon Munnery: Fylm

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

Sean Hughes - Penguins

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

Davey Connor Live! But Not in Your Living Room

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

Sara Pascoe vs the Truth

‘There are no facts, only interpretations’ so said Frederic Nietzsche.

Mat Ewins: Once Upon a Time in the Jest

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…