Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre is all things to all people. Want evidence? Just look at the first two shows after the Tollcross venue officially reopens following its three-and-a-half-year refurbishment. You could hardly have a bigger contrast. On the one hand, there is a recording of the podcast Wanging On in which Graham Norton and Maria McErlane dispense unreliable advice about life’s little dilemmas. Should be a hoot. On the other, there is Angels In America, Ivo Van Hove’s staging of Tony Kushner’s ‘gay fantasia on national themes’. It is performed in Dutch and lasts five hours. Should be great too.
Post-August, it’s the same: everything from a hip-hop musical to modern dance and a Yoruba retelling of Macbeth (Crown Of Blood). ‘We want to still have that mix of genres for the King’s,’ says Fiona Gibson, chief executive of Capital Theatres which operates the King’s as well Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre. ‘Our mantra is always to have a show for someone at least once a year.’ She points out that 90,000 residents contributed to the fundraising campaign for the refurbishment. The building is seriously loved. ‘It’s known as the People’s Theatre for a reason,’ she says. [READ MORE]