Exodus
The Guardian 8 August 2022 It is with remarkable prescience that Uma Nada-Rajah’s political farce has opened at the same time as the Tory leadership campaign. Just as Sunak and…
Wilf and Ode to Joy
The Guardian 11 August 2022 Who would have thought the writer who came to attention with a sweet play about a bookshop would return as one of the most scurrilous…
James Ley on Sally
The Scotsman 30 August 2022 It is turning out to be the summer of James Ley. First, the Traverse decided to revive its production of the playwright’s Wilf for the…
This Is Paradise
The Guardian 26 August 2021 Kate Regan is a woman defined by the men in her life. There’s her gentle old Belfast dad, disappointed by the company she keeps, there’s…
Eavesdropping
The Guardian 20 August 2021 If this were a regular show it would be something like One Million Tiny Plays About Britain, the adaptation of Craig Taylor’s micro-dramas originally serialised…
Still
The Guardian 11 August 2021 I don’t think Frances Poet intends her play to be depressing. She has a dry wit, a vigorous way with words and moments of theatrical…
Still game: Edinburgh’s 2021 fringe is a return to the festival’s roots
The Guardian 9 August 2021 On the wall in my kitchen is a calendar made by Edinburgh theatre critic Thom Dibdin. This time last year, he and his photographer brother…
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…
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,…
Five from Inside, Traverse, Edinburgh, online
The Guardian 19 April 2020 Many theatre-makers have responded to the coronavirus lockdown by seeking to re-create a sense of community. Whether it’s the Zoom-based talking heads of the Show…