Lament for Sheku Bayoh
The Guardian 20 November 2020 ‘It’s not Black Lives Matter,” says one of the characters in Hannah Lavery’s damning new play. “This is Scotland. It’s not the same.” The police…
The Journey
The Guardian 17 Nov 2020 The joy of a magic trick is in the moment. The magician defies the rules of physics and we are astonished. Usually that’s it. Unless…
Deliverance, Brite Theater
The Guardian 16 November 2020 One of the things they teach playwrights is character development. If your hero is the same person at the end of the play as they…
Shades of Tay, Pitlochry Festival Theatre
The Guardian 31 August 2020 YOU can’t fault Pitlochry Festival theatre for industriousness. Under artistic director Elizabeth Newman, the company has channelled its energy into a prodigious online programme during…
Traverse festival, Edinburgh
The Guardian 25 Aug 2020 This the time of year commentators like to weigh in about the big themes on the Edinburgh fringe. The festival is a cultural barometer and,…
Ghost Light review – a feast of dreams from the National Theatre of Scotland
National Theatre of Scotland online THE test of a good production of Peter Pan is the scene where the audience bring Tinkerbell back to life. For her to survive, we…
Scenes for Survival, 2nd round-up, NTS, online
The Guardian 4 Aug 2020 DURING the Covid crisis, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London has been collecting what it calls Pandemic Objects: artefacts that have taken on new…
Miraculous, Ayr Gaiety/Borderline, online
The Guardian 31 July 2020 The 1980s brought us one-hit wonders such as Nena, Falco and Men Without Hats. To that list, playwright David F Ross would like us to…
The Coolidge Effect, Wonderfools, online
The Guardian 28 July 2020 Stories to Connect Us is the name given by the Glasgow company Wonder Fools to its online season – and with good reason. In our…
Scenes for Survival, National Theatre of Scotland, online
The Guardian, 27 May 2020 THERE’S a special joy in seeing a familiar character in an unfamiliar place. Take John Rebus. Solitary curmudgeon he may be, but Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh…