The latest in news from the cultural universe
Just For Culture
  • Home
  • Art & Literature
  • Music
  • Day & Nightlife
  • Film & TV
  • About Us & Contact

Review: Mrs Puntila and Her Man Matti - The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 8 March 2020

9/3/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
It’s not often you get a major theatre in Edinburgh putting on such overtly political, left-wing work as that of Bertolt Brecht, but The Royal Lyceum’s latest production ‘Mrs Puntila and his Man Matti’, adapted by Denise Mina, is very much that. The most notable change to the script off the bat is the gender swapping of the protagonist to Elaine C. Smith’s Mrs Puntila.

The story revolves around wealthy capitalist Mrs Puntila, who while drunk is generous and kind, and while sober is ruthless and exploitative, and her chauffeur Matti (Steven McNicoll), a poor but self-assured man charged with dealing with Puntila’s antics. Basically, Puntila is the embodiment of the 1%, and Matti (along with various minor cast members) the spokesperson for the working class.

The play becomes a whirlwind of jokes, unlikely situations and escapades, all of which contribute to a powerful Marxist reading of our current society, which manages to never feel overly virtuous.

Elaine C. Smith and Steven McNicoll are fantastic as the two eponymous leads. It really is a joy anytime they’re on stage. Smith delivers a brilliantly comedic drunken Puntila and an equally stern and daunting sober protagonist, switching effortlessly between the two, and McNicoll is perfect as the stubborn, proud and cynical Matti. Both are gripping in roles which essential for selling the play.

The production often breaks the fourth wall - “We’re allowed to do it, because it’s Brecht. It’s dead German” says Puntila - in true Brechtian/epic theatre style, and this too works well. It’s used for great comedic effect (never more so than just before the interval), and to more sobering effect to highlight the struggles that working class families face in the modern day.
The production is a damning critique of the inequality between the rich and poor in society, and in particular, of how the working class are forced to shape their lives to the mood swings of the rich. 
It does feel the play gets caught between two timelines occasionally, though - the present day and whenever the play is set (the early 20s?), which can be a little confusing for the audience. And while the live sound effects throughout are great, the musical numbers from the cast are often a little hard to actually understand, which isn’t ideal given that they’re often there to explain plot details.

Overall, though, the play is a big old raging socialist success - they even sing communist anthem Bella Ciao (look, no matter what your political view, it’s a huge tune). It’s a brave production and one which succeeds in making Brecht relevant and engaging.

The production is a damning critique of the inequality between the rich and poor in society, and in particular, of how the working class are forced to shape their lives to the mood swings of the rich. The fact that Puntila seems slightly clueless no matter what state she's in just plays into this critique. Even at her friendliest (which is while drunk), she appears naive at best - at one point hiring four PA's she blatantly won't need, who are ultimately destined to get the chop later on in the play.

The climactic image of Puntila atop a staircase look out over “her land” with the silhouetted workers grafting on the stage below is intensely powerful, and provides a fantastic ending to a performance which will bring joy, focused-anger and vigour to socialists or anyone who would count themselves on the left, and which will challenge the views of those who are not. And if we’re honest about the profile of the bulk of current theatre go-ers in Edinburgh (this could be unfair, but I don't imagine they were knocking doors for Corbyn), we’re inclined to say that can only be a good thing.

4/5

Stuart Kenny
0 Comments

Review: An Edinburgh Christmas Carol - The Royal Lyceum Theatre, 5 December 2019

6/12/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Crawford Logan as Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge. Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic
Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' has come to Edinburgh in more sense than one at the Royal Lyceum Theatre this winter. Taking inspiration from the hometown of ‘Ebenezer Lennox Scroggie’, whose real-life gravestone in the Canongate Kirk graveyard inspired Dickens to write ‘A Christmas Carol’, Tony Cownie's adaptation of the festive tale transports the story from the English capital to the heart of Scotland for ‘An Edinburgh Christmas Carol’.

What that means for the narrative is, in truth, very little, minus the very welcome addition of a Greyfriars Bobby story arc that we never knew we needed (but definitely do). The most notable changes though come in the staging, and on-stage scenery. The play features beautiful cut-outs of Edinburgh Castle (which in real life sits a couple hundred metres behind the Lyceum), and the carefully-crafted portrayals of the Grassmarket, Cowgate and the graveyard itself are magical. They pluck you out of your seat and put you a mile or so down the street where the action is happening.

The script receives a bit of a do-over as well. The classic lines all remain (“there’s more of gravy than of grave about you” / “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population” etc), but elsewhere local dialect takes over. For the most part it comes naturally (and makes sense given the Victorian Edinburgh setting after all), though at times, it feels a little on the forced side.

The ghosts of Christmas past, present and future also take on new forms. I was a little skeptical of the Ghost of Christmas Past, whose outfit was an awful lot to take in, but the tartan makeovers of the ghosts of Christmas present and future made them real highlights of the  show. The former was fantastical in his omniscience, the latter - without spoiling the spooky surprise - positively chilling.

Crawford Logan was a brooding, stroppy, eventually sympathetic Scrooge who got the applause he deserved. Ewan Donald was also notable as a brilliant Rab Crachit, and Grant O'Rourke, Belle Jones and Nicola Roy drew plenty of laughs in their slapstick roles. O’Rourke as a police constable and Jones and Roy as the duo behind the newly-formed Salvation Army.

Greyfriars Bobby came in the form of an adorable puppet, and was a huge hit with the crowd. Tiny Tim was also a puppet, but I must admit I was less convinced by this. While the ingenuity of the craft is undeniable, Tim is usually one of the most pitiable characters in the whole narrative, and it’s just a little harder to get properly into his storyline when he’s played by a (rather sinister-looking) puppet.

The strength of the story and characters around Tiny Tim meant this didn’t come as a huge deterrent for the play though. Overall, it was an enjoyable if slightly slow first half, followed by a wonderful second half and a euphoric conclusion. A fantastic festive day out for all of the family.

3/5

Stuart Kenny
0 Comments

Review: Barber Shop Chronicles - The Royal Lyceum Theatre, 24 October 2019

25/10/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
The barber shop is bustling. Customers moved from queue to cutting chair, where they're fixed up then shown the mirror, before stepping out to make room for the next in line. Barbers talk to customers; even dance with them to the booming music coming out of the shop speakers. The hustle and bustle is in full flow. And 'Barber Shop Chronicles' hasn’t even started yet. These are just the on-stage scenes we’re greeted with as we head into the Royal Lyceum Theatre to take our seats.

'Barber Shop Chronicles' comes from the pen of Inua Ellams, a playwright and internationally touring poet who was born in Nigeria. The play jumps around the world, exploring the everyday confessional booth that is the barber shop’s chair, in an anecdotal, sketch format.

We open in Lagos, spend 10 minutes looking through a window into the life of a barber shop there, then jump to another barber shop in Peckham, or Johannesburg, Kampala or Accra, then it's back to Peckham, then Johannesburg, and so on. All of this happens over a single day on the stage - rooted in time by the upcoming Champions League final between Chelsea and Barcelona.

The all-male play explores how “African men have gathered in barber shops to discuss the world”. Ellams was inspired after discovering a project to teach barbers about the basics in counselling back in 2010. He said: “I was surprised that conversations in barber shops were so intimate that someone thought that barbers should be trained in counselling, and also that they wanted the counselling project sessions to happen in the barber shop. This meant that on some level the person who was organising this thought there was something sacred about barber shops.”

Barber Shop Chronicles is an incredibly fun, energetic play, with comedy at its core; comedy born from big characters and personalities; from the cheeky, playful interactions that come out of a fresh cut, from self-aware human vanity, stubbornness, or straight from the heart.

Read More
0 Comments

Review: Solaris - The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 24 September 2019

25/9/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Solaris at The Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh. Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic
You don’t see an awful lot of sci-fi on the stage, but David Greig’s ‘Solaris’, a new play adapted from Stanislaw Lem’s famous novel, is a strong argument that we should see more.

The play tells the story of a spaceship of scientists far from home, who have been studying the eponymous planet of ‘Solaris’. The planet is covered entirely by ocean, but it is soon discovered to also be sentient - something the crew struggle to comprehend or understand.

‘Solaris’ is a psychological thriller, but horror tropes are in no short supply. This is particularly true in the opening half of the production. Striking lighting sets the watcher on the back foot, transforming the simplicity of the all-white set (a multi-purpose set rooted in sci-fi, which is undoubtedly not so simple behind the scenes) into the unknown and eerily disconcerting. 

Likewise, there’s frequent use of the theatre’s shutter screen to break up scenes. The technique pulls you further into the world of the spaceship while simultaneously focusing your attention on the solitude and mental fragility of each of the characters in the process. The crew of three may appear courteous face to face, but they spend all of their time apart, are largely uncooperative with one another, and the longer you spend with each of them, the more obvious it is how frail their environment, and their own headspace, really is.

At the heart of the audience unease is the pure mystery of the planet of Solaris. This is manifested for the crew of the ship and the audience alike in the form of the brilliantly uncanny ‘Ray’, played by Keegan Joyce, a human, or at least, a human-shaped being, who randomly appears on the spaceship. 

His interactions with protagonist Kris - the brilliant Polly Frame - unfold from here and pose serious questions about the morals of human desire and what exactly it means to be human.

If that sounds like a big question, ‘Solaris’ is full of them. The further you dive into the premise of the play, the more you’ll end up pondering the deep stuff. Even the ways that each character views ‘Solaris’ - the planet which seems to dream and feel - leaves you thinking. Their opinions and stance on the unknown entity are formed seemingly in keeping with their role on the ship, but also from their personal character history, however unrelated. Jade Ogugua’s Sartorius and Fode Simbo’s Snow, the scientists on board, take far more analytical, fact-based approaches to the subject than Kris’ emotional response.

As is the case with much of great sci-fi, the play raises an abundance of questions about our species which it leaves you to answer. ‘Solaris’ asks what we are capable of sacrificing and overlooking for our deepest desires. It asks what the consequences can be, it asks what makes a human a human, and it questions the drive of humanity not just to unmask every corner of the universe, but to colonise and pollute it as it goes.

Not bad for a night at the theatre, then. As long as you don’t mind the possibility of an existential crisis afterwards.

5/5

​
Stuart Kenny


0 Comments

Theatre Review: Local Hero - The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 23 March 2019

27/3/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Being born in the early 90s I am probably one of few who went to see Local Hero at the Lyceum Theatre without actually having seen the film, much to the dismay of my father, who regularly insists it is the best film ever made.

So I didn’t really know what I was getting into. For anyone in the same boat, the story is about an American called Mac who works for a company called Knox Oil that want to buy over a small coastal village called Ferness on the west coast of Scotland for their firm.

What follows is the comic tale of Mac’s meetings with the village, his interaction with the quirky people who live there and his falling in love with both them and the location itself. Effectively he’s used - to great effect - as a vessel to explore and romanticise the everyday life of a small Scottish village, and we follow the growth of his character as the people of Ferness take one side or another in the debate over whether they should sell their town.

At the Lyceum Theatre, it was made into a musical.

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame scored the music to the original hero, which, again, my mother and family insist is one of the best soundtracks ever. Family legend has it that the soundtrack was even playing while my brother was born, so it’s actually a bit bewildering that I’ve never seen the film. But anyway. The Lyceum got Knopfler back to score their production and it is a huge coup for the play. The music is standout sensational. It’s the accompaniment that really brings that authentic Scottish edge - that turns a brilliant script by original author Bill Forsyth and the Lyceum’s David Greig into a love letter to the west coast of Scotland.

This is especially true when paired with the staging of the stunning Scottish night sky, which, without spoilers, is fantastically pulled off. At times, it feels as though you’re there, and looking at it yourself.

It’s not all musical, there’s plenty talking in between, but the cast really do handle the transition fantastically. You’d think a bunch of small town Scottish characters chucked into what are at times, deliberately cliche-based musical numbers would turn out pretty cheesy, but with the characters themselves written as over the top comedians, dreamers, ambitious business men (however small town) and romantics, it doesn’t feel forced. Quite the opposite.

Katrina Bryan's voice is fantastic as the resistant Stella, and her character enviable, Damian Humbley's Mac is played to perfection as the conflicted businessman, Adam Pearce's Russian Viktor is particularly comical and Julian Forsyth's Ben is a real standout as the spanner in the works of the deal. Forsyth is so convincing as Ben that I wouldn’t be surprised if the man actually lived on a beach. Similarly, Matthew Pidgeon’s Gordon plays the counter to Stella with wit, humour and reliability. He’s deeply likeable and you sympathise with his position no matter how much you might disapprove of his line over the deal.

A real five out of five success from the Lyceum here, who have produced what is safely the best love letter to Scotland that we’ve seen on the stage in years.

5/5

Stuart Kenny
0 Comments

Theatre Review: Wendy and Peter Pan - The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 7 December 2018

13/12/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Ella Hickson's adaptation "Wendy and Peter Pan" brings J.N Barrie's book from the early 20th century up to date with a healthy dose of magic, in a really quite moving production.

The staging is wonderful from the get go, opening to a cosy family bedroom scene where the kids play battles and imagine themselves into different worlds.

They are soon visited by Peter Pan - Ziggy Heath - of course, and end up in Neverland where they search for their “lost” brother Tom, a new character and focus of the Darling parent's depression.

Throughout, the set looks great but where the magic really comes is from the script and the brilliant acting from the cast, who are flawless throughout. Glitter, confetti, brilliantly placed lights and Peter and Isobel McArthur’s Wendy flights round the stage really transport you.

Gyuri Sarossy's Hook is the perfect “heel”, raising boos from the audience as the pantomime villain and scaring the kids, who Heath’s Peter also plays to perfectly. Sally Reid's Tink goes full-Scottish, had the kids laughing and was at the center of one of the standout moments for the younger audience.

Wendy is the real emotional centrepiece of the play though, as the reversal of the title names from the original novel by Barrie would suggest. She guides the rest of the characters through the world and is the protagonist, focus and driver of the plot.

Read More
0 Comments

Live Review: John Cooper Clarke - The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, 30 November 2018

3/12/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Look. It’s Dr. John Cooper Clarke. If you’re the kind of person who wants to go and see John Cooper Clarke live - if you’ve been inspired by his poetry over the years, amazed by his stories, laughed at his jokes or mere nature - you should go see John Cooper Clarke live. It shouldn’t matter what a review says. And the man does deliver exactly what you’d expect.

But we’ll get to that in a second.

Part of the novelty of seeing John Cooper Clarke live at Queen’s Hall for us was not only seeing the man himself, but seeing the 900-seater venue completely sold out for a poetry gig in the Scottish capital. The Edinburgh poetry scene is booming at the moment, with events almost every week, and often more, ranging from open mics to monthly slams, slam poetry showcases, page poetry events, talks, book launches and brilliantly curated special events across the city (but in particular, at the thriving Scottish Poetry Library). These events are no stranger to a sell out - but they also tend to be at maximum 100 seats. To see a poet sell out a 900-seater venue was quite the reminder of not only what a poet can do and the wide audience they can reach, but also of quite what John Cooper Clarke did for the artform.

And what he’s still doing now.

The format of JCC’s show saw three poets warm up the crowd from 8pm-9pm, then there was a 20 minute interval before Clarke took to the stage to perform for a solid hour or so.

Toria Garbutt was first on. A West Yorkshire based poet with an album out via the acclaimed independent spoken word record label Nymphs & Thugs, Garbutt is punk to her core.

Mike Garry followed, a Manchester poet who explores the close relationships of a people and their city, and who brought a good few belly laughs from the crowd, before comic Simon Day, as character, acclaimed Yorkshire poet Geoffrey Allerton, came on to close the support.
​

Allerton is an absolute joy. The audience were in heaps of laughter throughout, from the basic absurdity of many of the poems - a personal favourite being about midges / mosquitoes - to the clever way Day plays with the rhyme schemes. It’s a laugh a second.

Read More
0 Comments

Theatre Review: Dracula - The King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 30/10/2018

5/11/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Jenny King’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula came to the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh for Halloween and had the audience on edge from the get-go.

A tremendous beginning saw strobe lighting break the pitch darkness, while perfectly choreographed acting and dancing stoked the horror on cue and a terrifying soundtrack boomed in the background. The beginning marked everything good that was to come from director Eduard Lewis’ show. It started with a bang and barely let up from there.

The adaptation stayed largely true to the novel, with some scenes set in hindsight and others embellished, and with a script as strong as they had, it’s hard to go wrong.

The scenery too was sensational. Welcoming home turned into haunted castle turned into city street in no time at all. It really was quite miraculous and added a lot to the production.

Andrew Horton’s Jonathan Harker was the star of the show as far as the casting went, looking brave, frightened, composed or shell-shocked as required. Evan Milton was also notable as Doctor Seward and Olivia Swann’s Mina Murray was compelling throughout.

Glen Fox’s Count Dracula was daunting and cut a formidable figure, but the accent felt a little overly stereotypically Eastern European, as was the case with Philip Bretherton’s crazy professor Van Helsing, bringing an almost parodying feel to certain scenes.



Read More
0 Comments

Event Review | Knight at the Castle - Year of the Young People, Edinburgh Castle, 5 October 2018

8/10/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Knight at the Castle was a one-off artistic showcase and night of entertainment at Edinburgh Castle for the Year of the Young People - a Scottish government initiative that seems to keep on giving.

The concept was that the night would be a special event at "Scotland's oldest knight club" (see what they did there?), Edinburgh Castle, showcasing young talents from across the arts and giving people a chance to explore the castle in neon light. It delivered accurately on that description.

Glasgow-based indie quartet West Princes opened, playing the courtyard before the sold-out crowd marched the drawbridge, past the burning crown torches, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce to enter the castle (which it’s worth noting is normally £16.50 to see around, given this event was £15).

All the exhibitions were open and available to stroll through, and seeing the history available to tourists year round was definitely one of the high points in itself. There’s a great new exhibition opened just on the event day exploring how the castle changed hands between the English and Scottish after the 12th century and the invention of the trebuchet. The prize-posession crown jewels were also open to the public, and the old castle jails had been takeover by magicians and singers who entertained the crowd as they walked through.

Likewise, in between exploring you could drop in to magic shows or musicians placed around the castle.

Singer-songwriter, guitar player, pianist, and women of many talents Sophie Penman impressed with her commendable instrumental skills, immaculate voice and poignant lyrics. Penman had won a competition from The List to play in the Grand Hall at the castle, which we thought a particularly good idea. There was a resounding plea for more when the singer finished her set.

Read More
0 Comments

Theatre Review: Madagascar the Musical - The Edinburgh Playhouse, 2 October 2018

4/10/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
There is a child sitting in front of us. A young lad. About eight but dressed to the nines. There are a lot of children sitting around us in the Edinburgh Playhouse. This is Madagascar the Musical after all, but we are going to focus on this particular child.

As Jo Parsons dressed as a four foot King Julien the lemur shuffles to the centre of the stage and announces that he does in fact - predictably - like to move it, move it, he likes to… move it, the accompanying music starts and the on-stage protagonists, Alex the lion (X-Factor winner Matt Terry), Marty the zebra (Antoine Murray-Straughan), Gloria the hippopotamus (Timmika Ramsay) and Jamie Lee-Morgan's Melman the giraffe join the rest of the cast in an undeniably catchy, entertaining and incredibly surreal segment where a bunch of human beings dressed as animals dance and sing their way round stage, the child in front of us begins fist pumping. The kid has been quiet the whole way through the show, sitting comfortably, not laughing too loudly, but simply cannot contain himself as the song he has clearly been waiting for bursts into action. By the end of the segment, he simply sits in his seat, both arms in the air like he’s just won the lottery. Time of his life.

The boy represents the crowd, in all age brackets, pretty well to be honest. Madagascar the Musical has a slow start. The in-zoo segments and build up to the arrival of the escaped animals on the African island is predictable and offers little in original scripted entertainment. It is exactly that - build up - but it’s also the first half of the show, right up to the interval, so it’s a shame it didn’t offer a few more laugh out loud moments or hooking moments, and with great vocals from each of the leading cast, it’s a shame there’s not more original, engaging and innovative musical instrumentation too. Live musical performances with more focus would add a lot to the show.

Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Art & Lit

    Reviews and news from the theatre and literature world, including short reviews of new books and old classics.

    Archives

    March 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    June 2016
    August 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    October 2013
    June 2013

    Categories

    All
    5 Things To Do
    Amsterdam
    Attractions
    Barcelona
    Beatlemania
    Best
    Canada
    Canucks
    Canvas
    China
    Chinatown
    Chinese
    Cirque Du Soleil
    Coffeshop
    Eat
    Edinburgh
    Edinburgh Playhouse
    Erick Villeneueve
    Food
    Guide
    Heineken
    Highlights
    Ice Hockey
    Immortal Chi
    Knowledge
    Let It Be
    Live
    Local
    London
    Museum
    Musical
    Music Festivals
    Neighbourhood
    News
    Phnom Penh
    Playhouse
    Red Light District
    Review
    Scotland
    Secrets
    Smoke
    Stage
    Theatre
    The Beatles
    Tour
    Travel
    UK
    United Kingdom
    Vancouver
    Vancouver Island
    Victoria
    Vincent Van Gogh
    West End

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.