Mara Menzies in Nyanya and the Mighty Whizz!

The Guardian, 9 Dec 2020

How many ways are there to tell a story? The Lyceum comes close to an answer in this Advent masterclass in narrative technique. In the run-up to Christmas, the theatre is unveiling a new tale every couple of days with a final four to be livestreamed from 16–20 December. On the strength of the first five, they make a compelling and varied collection.

Take Morna Young. She goes for the once-upon-a-time approach. Her story, A Fairy Tale (literally a tale about a fairy), is the kind of thing Oscar Wilde used to write: dark and emotionally complex with a happy ending that comes at a price. No schmaltzy shortcuts here. [READ MORE]

By Mark Fisher

MARK FISHER is a freelance theatre critic and feature writer based in Edinburgh and has written about theatre in Scotland since the late-1980s. He is a theatre critic for The Guardian, a former editor of The List magazine and a frequent contributor to the Scotsman and other publications. He is the co-editor of the play anthology Made in Scotland (1995), and the author of The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide (2012) and How to Write About Theatre (2015) – all Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. He is also the editor of The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls and What Do You Call That Noise? An XTC Discovery Book (both Mark Fisher Ltd).