Articles by Dixon Baskerville

Christeene: Trigger

In Christeene’s second visit to Edinburgh she performs her latest show – Trigger. It is self-ascribed ‘Terrorist Drag’ mixing gritty basement rap with shock rock lyrics and coating it all in a hard-core version of Marilyn Manson during the peak of his antichrist superstar days...

The Fool

The Fool follows the events leading to the incarceration of its 3 main characters thanks to a law known as ‘Kevin’s Bill’. Delivered in a mix of Chinese with English subtitles and English, this is a near-future satirical comedy which uses a large amount of physical theatre and clowning...

Buzz: A New Musical

Buzz is a new musical from writer Robyn Grant. It follows the experiences of newly single Angie (Allie Munro) in her quest to find sexual gratification – specifically of the self-fulfilled sort...

Bit of Sunshine

A warning should be given to the audience of this show: the Bit of Sunshine one expects from the title is limited to less than five seconds of optimism and hope for the future in this no-holds-barred story of a young woman’s struggles with bulimia...

Police Cops

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Pleasance Dome
24th Aug, 2016

In its second year at the fringe, Police Cops is a spoof boys-in-blue parody along the lines of Police Squad. It follows the classic storyline of a young cop following in the footsteps of his older brother (and father) by joining with a retired old-hand to take down a criminal mastermind...

The Starship Osiris

Akin to a sort of Galaxy Quest on stage, The Starship Osiris is a non-stop comedic spoof space romp. It follows the adventures of the crew led by Captain Harrison, a starship Captain in the truest traditions of Star Trek’s Kirk, if Kirk was a member of Spinal Tap...

Juice Straws Are Bleak

Juice Straws Are Bleak is a fantastical, surrealist adventure experienced by a class of school children under the disinterested gaze of their teacher. It’s hard to compare to anything, but it has flavours of The Mighty Boosh, though in an original way...

Triumvirette

Triumvirette takes the form of a three part show – two monologues sandwiching a romantic comedy short play. All sections use different actors, and all use comedy to varying degrees and success, though it would be wrong to call them all comedic pieces...

Laughing Stock

A varied sketch comedy, Laughing Stock lives up to its name, parading numerous situations of self-deprecation before us providing much hilarity. It is a four-handed troupe of exceptionally talented comic-actors...

Triple Entendre: Love, Life and Other Stuff

Triple Entendre is directed, created and designed by Emily Cairns and is a comic musical cabaret about “Love, Life and Other Stuff”, consisting of a collection of original songs and poems woven loosely together with just a touch of narrative...

Yokes Night

A loophole in Irish law allows for the legal of consumption of Class-A drugs for 24 hours, and the youth of Dublin are not going to let Yokes Night slip by without taking full advantage...

Coup de Grâce

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Sweet Grassmarket
21st Aug, 2016

Coup De Grâce follows the supposed mental rehabilitation (through advanced experimental therapy) of Emma, a young woman haunted by her past. We see her memories and history unfold as the events leading up to her present state are played out, under the watchful eye of “the greeter”, a doctor who guides her through these emotional scenes...

The Inevitable Heartbreak of Gavin Plimsole

Review
★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Pleasance Dome
20th Aug, 2016

This quirkily named show from young company SharkLegs follows the story of Gavin Plimsole as he finds out he has a rare heart defect which could end his life at any moment. This leads him to have an audience-led adventure, various people choosing the next fork in the road of the story, as he attempts to make the most of his time in this bucket-list flavoured inspirational tale...

Family Values

Family Values by Michael Dalberg is pure theatre with a good splash of violence. Expertly directed by David Gasperetti, Ghost Light theatre tell the story of two brothers, Liam and Trent, caught in a spiral of Mafia family lies and destruction...

Howard Barker Double Bill

Review
★★
London Fringe
Arcola Theatre
8th Dec, 2015

This double bill of Howard Barker’s work features the London premiere of The Twelfth Battle of Isonzo alongside a revival of Judith: A Parting from the Body, both directed by Robyn Winfield-Smith...

Hula House

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Zoo Southside
27th Aug, 2015

Hula House, created by Permanently Visible Productions, is an immersive, semi-interactive look at the life of sex workers. It is a bold, uncompromising piece of theatre based on interviews with sex workers and explores the issues that affect them...

The Wendy House Trilogy: Dorothy

Dorothy, part of the Wendy House Trilogy, is a humour-infused adaptation of The Wizard of Oz written by Greg and Joe Allen and directed by Joe Allen. The action takes place in a Wendy House fittingly representing the house of Aunt Wendy...

Five Feet in Front (The Ballad of Little Johnnie Wylo)

This musically infused telling of Five Feet in Front (the Ballad of Little Johnnie Wylo) is a highly energised, yarn spinning hoedown of a play. Through use of live music, song and theatre it follows the thrilling story of a young innocent woman in a town of the corrupt...

Trygve Wakenshaw: KRAKEN

Kraken, devised and performed by Trygve Wakenshaw, is a physically charged one man mime show. The ‘storyline’ – it is not so much a story as someone in a room – follows the quirky imagination of Wakenshaw while he endlessly tails off on barely relevant tangents...

Ashes Afar

Ashes Afar follows the story of a migrant couple from different cultures in a volatile relationship. When Aine loses her memory, Mihail attempts to help her reconstruct their time together...

Some Big Some Bang

Some Big Some Bang is set at the memorial of a mother’s death. The family gathers at the house and intrigue follows. A baby is born amid the mewing of cats and oranges falling from the tree in the garden; decisions have to be made...

Leftovers

Review
★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Zoo
19th Aug, 2015

Leftovers follows the story of a young woman Elizabeth and her tragic experiences of the break-out of war. Though it is told using an exciting mix of physical theatre and intriguing storytelling, the acting unfortunately falls short of the lofty goals of this piece...

Key Change

Key Change, directed by Laura Lindow, is devised by women in HMPYOI Low Newton and follows the stories of 4 female inmates. It is a strong piece of theatre and follows the prisoners’ relationships with each other and to their families outside...

Going Viral

Going Viral, written and performed by Daniel Bye, follows an imaginary outbreak of a highly contagious weeping virus spreading across the world, by you. It is an enthralling and intriguing piece of theatre, proving to be well crafted and intriguingly presented...

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience

Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is now an institution. For fans of the show, it is an expertly crafted romp, taking us right in to the heart of the Faulty Towers world.The action begins outside the restaurant, as the diners are herded inside by table/group, suffering fairly constant abuse from Basil Faulty and witnessing the sort of banter we would expect between Basil and Manuel...

The Paradise Project

The Paradise Project by Third Angel and mala voadora is set in a futuristic shelter-in-construction, inhabited by Stacey Sampson and Jerry Killick as they create a society within which they can peacefully co-exist...

A Gambler's Guide to Dying

Performed and written by Gary McNair, A Gambler’s Guide to Dying is a story told by a young boy, charting his grandfather’s extraordinary life of gambling. Having won a fortune betting on the 1966 World Cup, he then stakes it all on living longer than predicted after a prognosis of terminal cancer...

Goodstock

Goodstock is directed by Lucy Wray and written by Olivia Hirst, and follows the writer’s real-life experiences with breast cancer and how this affects her family and relationships...

The Very Grey Matter of Edward Blank

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Assembly Roxy
16th Aug, 2015

The Very Grey Matter of Edward Blank is directed by Conrad Sharp and performed by Familia de la Noche, taking place in the home and imagination of Edward Blank. It is a cacophonous riot of physical, mime and clowning theatre...

Reunion

Reunion, by Neil Smith, is the story of an older couple, George and Jude, recounting their youth together and their love for one another. It is an enchanting story, told in the beautifully minimalist setting of their garden...

Blind Man's Song

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Pleasance Dome
16th Aug, 2015

Conceived and directed by Guillaume Pigé, Blind Man’s Song follows the imagination of a blind musician at the speed of thought. This beautifully choreographed piece of mime and physical theatre moves at a stunning pace with complex stage manoeuvres that keep us constantly engaged...

A Cinema in South Georgia

Co-written by Susan Wilson and Jeffrey Mayhew, A Cinema in South Georgia follows the misadventures and travels of a group of Edinburgh Whalers in a desolate outpost in South Georgia...

The Sacred Room of Desire

The Sacred Room of Desire, written and directed by Carola Benedetto tells the story of the Hindu pantheon family of Shiva, Parvati and Ganesha. Though this story is nicely told, it is also the show’s downfall...

Rebounding Hail

Written by Avital Lvova and George Vere, Rebounding Hail is set in a 13 year old girl’s room surrounded by her books. It is a beautifully told story of the girl’s imaginary adventures in storyland, with characters from the books bursting into life as she reads...

Eating Seals and Seagulls' Eggs

Review
★★★★
Edinburgh Fringe
Pleasance Dome
14th Aug, 2015

Eating Seals and Seagulls’ Eggs is a poetic telling of Ireland's ‘most hated woman’ – Peig Sayers. It skilfully uses multimedia in the form of period-appropriate screens, radios and projections...

The Sacred Obscene

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

Set mainly in a London strip club, The Sacred Obscene is a new play following the stories of the women who work there. It feels like a genuine telling of real people, which, though not the most thrilling performance at the Fringe, is skilfully enhanced to performance-piece level...

The Gambit

The Gambit, written by Mark Reid and directed by Matthew Gould, opens to the ticking of a chess stop-clock and, of course, a chess set centre stage. For any big fan of chess, this in itself is quite an exciting beginning...

Spillikin – A Love Story

Spillikin, expertly directed and written by Jon Welch, follows two periods in the life of Sally, a charming and rebellious woman who married her unlikely childhood companion, the child-genius Raymond...

Pardon / In Cuffs

The ever-prevalent story of the individual being caught up in, or fighting against, the machine of society – not always nobly – is told with skill and beauty by the three actors in Valentijn Dhaenen’s conceived play...

Frankenstein

A new adaptation by Lindel Hart who also plays the Creature, this play looks more closely at the vulnerable and sensitive sides of Frankenstein’s monster. The show promises a huge amount in its opening sequence...

Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens

Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens follows the unfolding story of a group of misfits working the infamous den of iniquity – Saucy Jacks space bar. Terror strikes at the heart of this community of outcasts when an old nemesis – the Sling Back killer, strikes again...

You Look Tasty! (A Play by A. Tiger)

A traumatised zookeeper tells the tale of her misadventures with her co-workers and an escaped Tiger who is now their captor… and director.This wickedly funny show written by Stewart Pringle and directed by David Mercatali follows the story of a young zookeeper with more than a touch of Stockholm syndrome...

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