"An Advert for the Army" - April 2008

Oran Mor's 'A Play, A Pie and A Pint' season has put together a strong team for Kieran Lynn's "An Advert for the Army". Director D C Jackson is getting great reviews for his own play "The Wall", while each of the cast of three had impressed us in a previous show. Add in the premise of a filmmaker reluctantly making an army recruitment advert with a cast of two soldiers and I was really looking forward to this one.

Ryan Fletcher puts in an excellent performance as squaddie Barrett who has been press ganged into appearing in the advert. Only last week I'd commented to Waldorf that I'd missed Fletcher's performance in "Black Watch" when we'd seen it second time around, so it was a nice surprise to see him back in uniform. Fletcher has some of the play's best moments and is perfectly comfortable with both the comic and serious aspects of his role.

While I enjoyed Tam Dean Burn's portrayal of filmmaker Nils, the character is written for maximum amusement value and I'd have liked to have seen it toned down a little - there's enough humour in the dialogue and situation that the decision to make him a caricature American seemed unnecessary.

Carmen Pieraccini gives a fine performance as tough-talking soldier Sarah attempting to limit Nils' outlandish plans and ensure the role of female soldiers isn't misrepresented. Her portrayal of 'acting' is particularly effective and she sets up a wonderful dynamic with Fletcher's Barrett.

Taken as a whole it certainly made for an enjoyable lunchtime performance and provided plenty of laughs along the way, but I felt the tone of the writing was uneven and the structure problematic. The shift from out-and-out comedy to a more considered finale didn't completely work for me - largely because it lacked the courage to commit 100% to the switch and attempted to retain some of the comedy. It had very impressively silenced the audience and it would have been a great way to leave them - rather than go back for a couple more giggles. The structure doesn't help as the show reaches what feels like a natural end point, but then goes for one more scene. I understand why, as Fletcher's final speech as Barrett is a magnificent piece of writing and is brilliantly delivered - I just wish it could have been placed elsewhere.

As it stands "An Advert for the Army" works well and I doubt many in the audience will leave less than happy, but I hope this isn't the end for the play. There's enough here that with a little more polish it could become something that deserves a wider audience.

'An Advert for the Army' runs at Oran Mor until Saturday 12th April
Image by Leslie Black used with permission

"Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us" - November 2008

In the final play of the National Theatre of Scotland & Traverse's 'Debuts' season Paul Higgins has successfully created three fully rounded and engaging characters who have brought to life by three strong performances. The problem is, 'Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us' is a play with five characters - and the final two drain the play of much of the strength it would otherwise have had.

John Wark plays younger brother Patrick who has surprised the family by returning home from Seminary a week earlier than expected. It's a well pitched performance which effectively conveys both his character's intelligence and his ignorance of life in the real world. On his return he finds older brother Johnny (Ryan Fletcher) caught up in some bother and desperately trying to raise some cash in a hurry. Fletcher plays Johnny with just the right level of gallusness but with the underlying knowledge that his life is a disappointment. Higgins, Wark & Fletcher have created a believable dynamic between these two and it's responsible for many of the plays strongest moments. As sister Cath, Carmen Pieraccini shines brightest when she is alone, particularly in a delightful scene in candlelight, and throughout the play genuinely inhabits the body of someone with a painful skin irritation.

Unfortunately the depiction of the adult characters fails to match the high standard of the children. Susan Vidler's 'Mum' makes little impact and I found it difficult to envisage her as part of this family set-up. But for me the real problem lay with Gary Lewis's alcoholic 'Dad' who is a fraction too close to Rab C Nesbitt to be taken as seriously as the character should be - particularly once he utters a line dangerously close to Rab's catchphrase. As a result I'm concerned that many of the laughs that the performance generated in the audience were simply of the lets-laugh-at-the-west-coast-scum variety.

Now I have to be fair here and admit that we deprived ourselves of what could have been one of the play's most powerful scenes. We were struggling with the play so much by the interval that leaving was a genuine possibility, so script book in hand I flicked to near the end to decide if it was worth staying for. Sufficiently intrigued we stayed - but we had been spoiled for a revelation that was handled rather nicely.

Even John Tiffany's direction is frustrating with characters spending considerable periods of time in static positions - and as this is staged in the round it leaves sections of the audience seeing the back of character's heads for far too long.

But there are moments that show that Higgins has significant potential as a writer. The relationships between the three younger characters are thoroughly convincing and there are some interesting ideas in the play - the concept of good deeds as currency and the way the family look down on the inhabitants of nearby Stonebridge provided something worth further thought.

Nobody Will Ever Forgive Us runs at the Traverse until Saturday 29th November
Image by Pete Dibdin used with permission.

"Cyrano de Bergerac" - June 2009

Yes, we know this was last week's 'Corona Classic Cut' at Oran Mor, but we only saw it on Saturday and it was a busy weekend. We'll try not to let it happen again. Actually no, we'll not be seeing this week's play 'Romeo & Juliet' until Saturday and with another busy weekend planned you'll probably not see our thoughts on that until Monday night either. Sorry.

Selma Dimitrijevic has cut down Edwin Morgan's Glaswegian Scots translation of Rostand's classic tale to fit the 50 minute lunchtime slot by effectively reducing it to the relationship between Cyrano (Gary Collins) and Christian (Ryan Fletcher). Although the production also features Annie Grace providing a scene setting introduction and musical accompaniment, she's really rather wasted here. The brunt of making the production work falls on Collins and Fletcher who give excellent comic performances. The unfamiliar language simultaneously amuses and frustrates (even here in Glasgow) and I'm afraid I lost a good portion of the narrative in Cyrano's final speech. Dimitrijevic's direction works well for the most part, but the changes between scenes are often unclear and there's little indication of time passing or intervening events.

An entertaining way to spend a lunchtime but not one that we'll remember for any great length of time.

Cyrano de Bergerac has completed its run at Oran Mor. The Corona Classic Cuts series concludes this week with Romeo & Juliet.
Image by Leslie Black used with permission.

"365" - Edinburgh International Festival 2008

Since its creation we've managed to see over a dozen National Theatre of Scotland badged shows and up until now only "Peer Gynt" has been a complete disappointment (yes we know it won loads of awards but it just didn't work for us) so I guess we were overdue for another one. And "365" definitely fits the bill.

365 features around half a dozen individual threads - some interwoven and others entirely isolated. This immediately creates a feeling of incoherence and puzzlement as the audience reaches for links between characters that simply aren't there. Despite David Harrower's writing credit, this really feels like a devised piece where pairs/groups have created their own segments with little attention given to the whole.

Given the excellent use of choreography and physical theatre seen in previous NTS shows I initially assumed that in "365" it was intentionally graceless and cumbersome but as the show progressed I'm no longer sure it deserves that generous approach. And despite trumpeting that it would feature a new song from Paul Buchanan of Blue Nile fame, it too failed to register even a minor impression. As for the set - least said the better.

Two of the central tales are given far too much prominence in comparison to others and fail to justify the attention. J's relationship with her mother lacked tension, and the damaging dynamic between F, K & B seemed merely designed to shock some of the older patrons of the International Festival.

But some elements of the show did work. The scenes between Ryan Fletcher and Scott Fletcher as brothers P and N arguing on other sides of a door were brilliantly staged and performed - a clear highlight of the night. C's story, one of the few to actually focus on the 'practice flat' idea the show was billed as, is also one of the most successful. Okay, so we'd seen it before in "Elling", but Ben Presley played the character with sufficient depth that I think he was the only one that generated any empathy. The scenes he shared with Rebecca Smith's L were particularly effective.

I'd read in previews that the show was very much an ongoing creative process and while that's probably responsible for many of its failings and lack of vision it might also save the show. They now have a couple of weeks to sort it out before a run in London. If they don't, I suspect it could be in for a real critical mauling.

And I'd strongly suggest that anyone involved with the show beg the guys from "Caravan" to put on an extra few shows to see just how effectively voices can be given to people and issues in need of them.

365 runs at the Edinburgh Playhouse until 25th August and then a the Lyric Hammersmith from 8th to 27th September
Image by Mark Hamilton, used with permission

"Turbo Folk" - April 2010

Alan Bissett's contribution to this season of "A Play, A Pie & A Pint" at Oran Mor is a prime example of that rare theatrical beast - a comedy that makes you think. It's also one of the few pieces of theatre I've seen in recent years that can genuinely lay claim to the overused 'Black Comedy' label.

While on tour in a Balkan-esque state, Scottish pop star Cameron (Ryan Fletcher) decides he wants to get out from his hotel room and meet some real people. His local record company escort (Simon Donaldson) duly obliges and takes him to the kind of bar tourists would avoid.

It's a beautifully simple set up and allows Bissett to make serious points in a manner that avoids any sense of superficiality or trivialisation. His targets include the Scottish belief that the world loves us; our continuing Scottish/British identity struggle; and our lack of knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the turbulent events in the recent past that formed many of the nations on our doorstep.

Bissett's wordplay with the 'local language' is genius - and I'm sure I missed picking out half of it. Fletcher plays Cameron to perfection and displays a musical talent that suggests that in the unlikely event of acting roles drying up he could quite comfortably make a move in that direction. Steven McNicoll as barman Vlad and Donaldson give magnificently steely eyed performances - and are crying out to be cast as the Evil Mastermind and his Chief Henchman respectively in a future Bond movie.

With its well pitched balance of light and dark, and snuggly fitting its 45 minute run time, "Turbo Folk" deserves to be another addition to the list of Oran Mor shows that gain a life beyond their initial run.

Turbo Folk runs at Oran Mor until Saturday 1st May
Image by Leslie Black Photography used with permission

"Confessions of a Justified Sinner" - October 2009

As one of the few books on a school reading list that I ever actually enjoyed, I was looking forward to seeing this Lyceum production based on James Hogg's 'Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner'. So it's surprising that last night after seeing the show I could summon up so little enthusiasm to post a comment on it that we seriously considered simply posting "What she said" with a link to Shona Craven's review at Onstage Scotland. We really can't remember a production where just about every element fails as significantly as they do here. Performances, direction, set and sound all contribute to making the show almost painful to watch.

Being entirely fair, with its supernatural elements and the significance of perception this was never going to be a simple novel to stage. Mark Thomson, who adapts and directs, manages the trickier elements fairly successfully but it's with the fundamentals that the problems lie.

His focus is very much on Robert and his mental decline/manipulation by the devilish Gil-Martin rather than the real cause of the problem - his belief in predestination. Robert doesn't need to lose his mind or be deceived and manipulated to commit his crimes - they follow logically from his beliefs, but there isn't enough emphasis here on religion being the problem. It's easy to see the story/play as an attack on those who take extreme actions based on faith, but for me that misses the real target - those who hold irrational beliefs of all varieties (whether they have the courage/foolishness to act on them or not).

We've seen enough of Ryan Fletcher in recent years to know he is a very talented performer, and when I discovered he was in the show I was expecting to see him playing the mysterious Gil-Martin (largely due to the fact we'd just seen him do a great job with a similar role in 'The Last Witch'). But cast as Robert he rarely makes the impact we've come to expect from him, and both Waldorf and I entirely independently felt there was something far too close to "Frank Spencer" about Fletcher's portrayal of the character in tone and mannerisms.

Iain Robertson is equally disappointing as Gil-Martin, leaving the character short in terms of charm, cunning or any real sense of power. Many of the rest of the cast are seriously hampered by having to play multiple characters - some to such an extent that I've only encountered previously when played intentionally for laughs. Poor Wendy Seager and Kenny Blyth are lumbered with five roles each! Only John Kielty (primarily as Robert's brother George), Kern Falconer (as Rev Wringhim) and Rae Hendrie (in her scenes as Robert's mother and his accuser Bel) emerge with much credit.

The revolving set with its angular monoliths provides interest at first but quickly becomes tiresomely overused, often only to enable Robert to keep walking/talking. And in a production where atmosphere should play such a key role the soundscape didn't deliver and the occasional use of projection seemed like a misplaced afterthought. The pace is plodding throughout and after the interval becomes utterly interminable with a series of scenes as Robert is on the run that served almost no purpose.

In fact, the most entertaining moments of the afternoon came from listening to the audience members around us still ranting on about how much they hated "The Beggar's Opera". However, for the record, they actually seemed to really enjoy this show.

Confessions of a Justified Sinner runs at the Lyceum until 7th November
Image by Douglas McBride used with permission.

"The Corstorphine Road Nativity" - December 2009

Having fond memories of watching Tim Firth's "Flint Street Nativity" on television some 10 years ago we were delighted to see that he had adapted it for the stage and localised it to Edinburgh as "The Corstorphine Road Nativity". Its premise of adults playing primary school aged children appealed - particularly as an impressive cast had been lined up. So why did we leave the theatre feeling more ho-hum than ho-ho-ho?

The central conceit works well and we quickly accept the characters on stage as the youngsters - thanks in part to an impressive set design. We're gradually given an insight into the background of each child through chat and song, much of which is a bit hit and miss. A lot of the gags seemed to fall flat, particularly in the first half, and at times some of the humour was uncomfortable. I don't have a problem with that - some of the best comedy should make the audience uncomfortable, but here it was treading a dangerous line allowing significant portions of the audience laughs at the expense of a child with a lisp. Similarly, a few moments of race related humour didn't, for me, pass the 'laughing at' vs 'laughing with' test. Of course the question then becomes whether that is a problem with the writing or the audience.

Much of the rest of the humour is pretty obvious stuff, and at times I did think I'd be better off at a genuine primary school nativity - and certainly more entertained by a 'You've Been Framed' style compilation of them. And disappointingly the Edinburgh references seemed largely of a 'insert local reference here' style rather than a significant reworking.

What should pull the show through are the characters, but for the most part they aren't given much depth - perhaps because there are so many of them. Julie Wilson Nimmo impresses as Mary and her duet with Ryan Fletcher was the highlight of the carol parodies, while Gail Watson shines throughout as "Shepherd".

But there are elements that do work. The gradually revealed impact of parental influence/neglect on each child does hit home, just not as hard as it would if we cared more about the characters, and at times it all feels very calculated. Although there were clearly many in the audience who were enjoying the show considerably more than we were, I don't think our party of three was alone in being underwhelmed by it.

The Corstorphine Road Nativity runs at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre until Saturday 19th December
Image used with permission

Edinburgh Fringe 2010 - First Picks

We spent Sunday night working our way through this year's programme for the Edinburgh Fringe which launched at the end of last week. Surprisingly (and disappointingly) it didn't take us anywhere near as long as it has in previous years and if truth be told we found it pretty slim pickings. Usually we end up with a huge list that gets narrowed down to forty or so shows we plan to see but this year we found it a struggle to reach thirty. There's no guarantee we will see all of them once we have taken into account time/location and then scheduled them across a few day trips through to Edinburgh, but here are the shows that have caught our eye so far...

NonsenseRoom return to their home at Rosslyn Chapel and we're looking forward to finally seeing their show based on the Chapel's "Apprentice Pillar". In addition to 'normal' performances of "The Apprentice" there will also be 'special evenings' on the 7th and 14th of August which include a light buffet and tour of the Chapel and are well worth paying the extra ticket price for. NonsenseRoom have a second show at the Fringe - "Hairy Maclary & friends" based on a series of popular children's books - we won't be seeing this one ourselves but have no hesitation in reccommending it based on all their previous shows.

Next up is boxing based "Beautiful Burnout" from the National Theatre of Scotland and Frantic Assembly which comes with a cast that includes the usually impressive Ryan Fletcher.

"Blackout" from ThickSkin is inspired by the story of a Glasgow young offender waking up in a jail cell, and its description as "a 45 minute smack in the face" gained our attention.

David Leddy's "Sub Rosa" established itself as one of the greatest pieces of theatre we've ever seen when we saw it at the Citizens last year. With its site-specific nature we're not completely sure it will translate quite so well to its new location - but what is certain is that we're looking forward to finding out!

The Citz has its own presence at the Fringe with "The Girl in the Yellow Dress" as part of the programme at the Traverse but we might wait and catch that one when it reaches the Citz in September.

Those of you who have followed our Fringe tips in previous years will know that anything described as "darkly comic" is likely to catch our interest, and "Honest" from the Royal & Derngate Theatre duly did so. The fact its tale of a man in the pub determined to tell the truth, no matter what, is staged in a local bar also adds the novelty factor often required to stand out from the crowd.

"Imperial Fizz" could easily have got lost amongst the thousands of shows in the programme and defining itself as a "surreal, intoxicating comedy" risked it ending up on our blacklist. But the involvement of performer David Calvitto who impressed us so much in "The Event" was enough to convince us to give it a go.

I'm a little worried that Waldorf's selection of "In Memory" may turn out to be a total tearfest but it sounds like it has the potential to be a powerful piece of theatre - and on a more shallow note I'm a sucker for an interesting publicity photo.

Another of Waldorf's picks is "The Interpersonality Workout" which appears to be an amusing take on corporate training but I tend to think the reality of these events often takes them beyond parody. But hey, it has the advantage of being free, so why not?

Despite how it might appear at times we don't spend our time sticking pins in the Fringe programme to choose shows, and quite often we'll place a lot of trust on the basis of what we've seen a company do previously. Dogstar Theatre's "Jacobite Country" was an easy pick on that basis - despite its somewhat bizarre blurb. We really enjoyed their award winning "Tailor of Inverness" and are also pleased to see it getting another outing at this year's Fringe.

"Jacob's Ladder" from Pocketful Productions promises to be "a twisted comedy about religious politics, social position and sexual immorality" - more than enough to get itself added to our list.

An office romance doesn't sound particularly promising for a comedy, but then, writer DC Jackson is responsible for some of the funniest shows I've seen in recent years so "My Romantic History" at the Traverse is a must see for me.

This next pick is an interesting one as I saw a production of Louise Welsh's play last year that proved intriguing and frustrating in equal measures. Our review prompted some intriguing revelations about the play/production that makes me want to have a look at this new production of it. Warning - trust me that "Memory Cells" is a show worth seeing, but I'd really suggest going into it cold. Don't go looking for any reviews of it and whatever you do don't go searching out our one.

Sex trafficking appears to be quite a popular topic this year and while Emma Thompson's Executive Producing role on "Fair Trade" seems to have generated a fair amount of publicity, we don't think we can face two shows on the matter in a single Fringe and have opted for Cora Bissett's "Roadkill" based on the fact that pretty much everything we've ever seen her involved in as actor/director has been nothing short of brilliant.

Yes, we know that the Fringe tends to throw up a lot of self reverential and self indulgent shows full of theatrical in-jokes that are totally unfunny to 90% of the audience, but for people who see as much theatre as we do it's hard to ignore a show that doesn't take theatre too seriously. And we hope we don't fatally damage any credibility we may have established over the last four years when we book up for "A Slacker's Guide to Western Theatre".

Simon Callow has built a reputation as a real draw in Edinburgh with his Dickens based show and this year his performance in "Shakespeare:The Man from Stratford" is bound to attract an audience. But given our long-standing year round policy of declining press tickets it's a bit of a stretch for us to justify ticket prices of £20 plus for a single show when we could be seeing three others instead. Maybe if we can sort our schedule and time off to take advantage of the 2 for 1 offer on 10th August...

Euthanasia is always an issue that I'm interested in seeing being dealt with by theatre and "6766" sounds like it's going to rush in where others fear to tread. This is quite possibly the show I'm most looking forward to this year.

Few words divide our opinion on a show's blurb more than 'moving' - it seems to be a magnet for Waldorf and sends me scurrying for some comic relief instead. So I think she'll be on her own for "Speechless" despite the involvement of Sherman Cymru who brought us "Deep Cut" last year.

I'll also be ducking out of seeing "Stationary Excess" for different reasons - it lost me at "Imprisoned on an exercise bicycle..." but Waldorf's still keen.

Of course there are just as many shows that I'll be left to see on my own - including "Stitched Up" which claims to be a "bitterly comic take" on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Its timeslot might be tricky for us to schedule but it sounds like it might work as a funny conclusion to a day of more serious shows.

Another show likely to cause us scheduling problems is the EGTG's version of "The Tempest" as it takes place on a barge down in Leith. But it's not just the venue that piqued our interest - we enjoyed their version of "Tiny Dynamite" a couple of years ago and director Claire Wood's blog provides an interesting insight into the production process.

I had nearly marked "That Moment" in my copy of the programme and then didn't as it wasn't quite enough for me to make the effort to see on my own and I knew it would be too hard a sell to get Waldorf to come along. So I was pleasantly surprised when we compared our picks to find that it had made it onto her list. Perhaps it's another show that's benefitted from the whole 'theatre eats itself' vibe.

But she's back on her own again for what sounds like a 'choose your own adventure' type performance in "Threshold" from 19;29. I'm a little cautious about this kind of stuff (terrified I'll miss a turn and wander off and get lost!) and the note that 'price includes a bus ticket' doesn't help matters.

We certainly wouldn't be rushing to see another "Hamlet" at the Fringe but SEDOS' "The Tragedy of the Prince of Denmark" might be an intriguing look at the play's events from a different viewpoint.

Waldorf's hoping to see "Tunde" but a 'powerful drama' about modern day child trafficking sounds a little too close to 'moving' for me...

How workers in a call centre cope when faced with a natural disaster isn't really an obvious choice for me - especially as the blurb says it's "funny, poignant and moving" but somehow I still want to see "20:20 Vision". Maybe it's my mother's 'end of the world' fixation coming through...

"The Typhoid Marys" true-life tale of 43 women confined in a psychiatric hospital for being carrier's of typhoid seems unlikely to provide a comfortable afternoon but sometimes those are the shows most worth seeing.

The Fringe often features shows that deal with a personal journey or triumph over adversity and Waldorf has picked out "Unshakeable" from the programme. Paul Betney's performance based around his diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease sounds a little too 'personal' for me - I prefer my shows more 'at arms length' but it sounds very much Waldorf's cup of tea.

We have very few hard rules about things that we won't see at the Fringe but "Ups and Downs" has managed to persuade us to break one of them. We've learned that shows in hotels are considerably riskier than those in other venues and in fact we can't think of a show we've seen in one that would gain anything like pass marks. But KDC Theatre's show about a group of the newly dead as they await judgement is the kind of thing we like to see at the Fringe so we're taking a deep breath and giving it a chance.

"Two couples explore the threat of honesty and our perverse need for it" sounds like typical Fringe stuff and wouldn't normally warrant our attention but "While You Lie" is written by Sam Holcroft whose "Cockroach" has the distinction of being one of only half a dozen or so shows that have genuinely changed my opinion about something important. And the fact it's on at the Traverse is generally a measure of quality... and provides a nice excuse to eat at the nearby "Spirit of Thai" restaurant.

Surprisingly, it wasn't the "slick, dark and very funny" that got "Wild Allegations" onto our list, but rather a hint at the play's format/structure. In any medium I tend to enjoy things that provide alternative views of the same events or any kind of 'he said'/'she said' situation so it was the mention of "parallel but conflicting tales" that grabbed me.

"a site-specific, interactive shopping experience" was enough to send me running in the opposite direction but I wasn't surprised to see "Your Dream Wedding" from Anything Bloody Goes on Waldorf's list.

That's all we have from the 'Theatre' section of the Fringe programme but we like to dabble in the 'Music' and 'Musical' sections too. As soon as we heard Alan Cumming was bringing his musical show, "I Bought a Blue Car Today", to the Fringe it was top of our 'hot ticket' list. And we'd enjoyed his performance in "The Bacchae" so much a few years back that we don't even grudge paying £20 a ticket. We're amazed there are still tickets available for his 3 night run but don't wait too long to book up.

We're also hoping to see "Spring Awakening" and I'll see "Fresher" if it can be slotted around a day's schedule.

And that just about concludes our tips for now, although we may add shows to our list once we get more details about shows such as cast etc. It's also unlikely we'll be able to see all these shows as past experience suggests there will be time clashes and distances between venues that will prove insurmountable given the relatively short amount of time we can spend in Edinburgh.

We are always open to suggestions for other shows to see, but if you're planning on e-mailing us about your own show, please do so as early as possible. We always get a few e-mails each year in the middle of the Fringe asking us along to see shows that sound fantastic but we simply can't rearrange our plans at short notice. And with that in mind I had made a mental promise that I would go along to see the first show that sent us a press release after the programme launched - so although it wouldn't have normally been on our list, is technically in the 'Comedy' section (which we haven't quite got round to yet), and is in a hotel venue, I will be going along to see "Dildon't".

"The Last Witch" - Edinburgh International Festival 2009

This first bit is confusing so please pay attention at the back... "The Last Witch" by Rona Munro is being staged by the Traverse Theatre Company and directed by Traverse Artistic Director Dominic Hill - but isn't being staged at (major Fringe venue) the Traverse Theatre. Instead it's part of the Edinburgh International Festival and is being staged just round the corner at the Royal Lyceum. Everyone got that? As a result of this combination it's very much a flagship piece for both the EIF and the Traverse so there's a lot of interest in this one...

Next, a bit of housekeeping. While it usually falls to me write up our thoughts on the shows we see, it's only after Waldorf and I have compared notes. And we've always had the policy that if she's enjoyed a show considerably more than I have, she'll be the one to put pen to paper. Now, "The Last Witch" has caused a significant division of opinion this evening, but as Waldorf prefers to take her time over things, we might have to wait a while for her thoughts ("White Tea" comments now one week and counting). But given the short run and likely interest in the production we'd rather not keep you waiting - so I'll do my best to fairly reflect her thoughts on the show.

I'd avoided reading much about the play in advance but Rona Munro has cleverly taken things down a less obvious route than I expected. Set in northern Scotland in 1727 it focuses on Janet Horne who finds herself accused of witchcraft, but this isn't a familiar tale of hysteria and paranoia. Here Horne is a self proclaimed witch who boasts of her abilities to her daughter and neighbours. Being essentially a wee wifey with a big mouth she quickly had Waldorf very much on side, but for me it killed any sympathy I had for the character there and then - in my book if you talk yourself up like that with a load of nonsense you have to be prepared for the consequences if you run into someone daft enough to believe you (or use your ramblings against you). My liberal sentiments were pricking my conscience that this could be an allegory for those in the present day who talk themselves up as extremists and then find themselves at the sharp end of terrorism charges, but I still felt nothing as she burned.

Waldorf liked Munro's biting dialogue, but it didn't always work for me. I thought the sparks flew in the scenes between Janet (Kathryn Howden) and local Sheriff (Andy Clark) and also in the moments between daughter Helen (Hannah Donaldson) and Nick (Ryan Fletcher) but for much of the rest of the time I found the dialogue seemed to drag on - with too much standing around waiting for characters to finish. Waldorf didn't feel this was a problem and particularly liked the dynamic created between the three female characters - Janet, Helen and neighbour Elspeth (Vicki Liddelle)

For a production that has clearly had a lot of time and effort thrown at it, I didn't think it was particularly put to good use on stage. In fact I reckoned that it could have been staged just as effectively in the Traverse's small studio theatre (albeit without the same size of audience). The on-stage musical accompaniment seemed out of place and the video elements and soundscape were unimpressive. And don't get me started on the use of the fluorescent strip lights!

In Waldorf's book this was an enjoyable evening but for me it was decent at best - certainly not deserving of its flagship status.

The Last Witch runs at the Royal Lyceum until 29th August and their website indicates all performances are currently sold out.
Image by Robbie Jack used with permission

"Waterproof" - May 2009

This week's lunchtime offering at Oran Mor is Andy Duffy's "Waterproof" - a tale of two friends on a fishing trip. Ryan Fletcher's Alex is making the most of his new found freedom at university while Ali Craig's Gordon is still living with his parents and recovering from a painful break-up. Please be aware that my comments here give more plot detail than we normally do, so if you haven't seen the show yet you may want to think twice before reading on...

Duffy supplies Alex with some great lines but there are also several that fall flat, and after a while the character's cheeky persona crosses the threshold into irritation. Balancing this, Craig's Gordon is wonderfully deadpan and gives the impression that there is a whole lot going on below the surface. The banter between the two works well and gets (most of) the intended laughs but it comes at the expense of credibility. Yes, part of what's going on is clearly about friends drifting apart, but the 'banter' is at times so ferocious that there's little here to show a level of attachment - even one in the past.

The other problem with the banter is that it goes off at all sorts of tangents with anecdotes and mini-lectures that provide the laughs but do little to provide insight to the characters or advance the story. And I do mean all sorts of tangents - dead deer, linguistics, pederasty, an old bloke across the river, Thoreau's 'Walden', Byron, a visit to a prostitute, and instruments for stunning fish. Maybe Duffy is being very clever here and is intentionally playing with the audience, teasing us and making us think we know where this is headed - unrequited feelings of one for the other, blunt instrument introduced in Act one to be murder weapon in Act three, the suspicion of Alex having had a one-night stand with Gordon's ex Linda. But none of these are developed, and in fact nothing really happens at all - and the addition of a friend who never arrives leaves the whole thing feeling like a take on "Waiting for Godot".

Selma Dimitrijevic's direction keeps things pacy and ensures no side of the in-the-round setting feels neglected, but the use of a pop-up tent proves problematic for a period. It leaves the actors teetering around the edges of the raised stage - they seriously need either a smaller tent or a bigger stage before the inevitable happens.

Andy Duffy has created a pair of characters that certainly intrigue, and the performances bring them to life, but "Waterproof" feels like a chapter in the middle of a novel where the best bits have already been or are still to come. That said, while during the course of the play the muted laughter left me unsure how well it was being received, there was no doubting the very enthusiastic response at the end.

Waterproof runs at Oran Mor as part of A Play, A Pie & A Pint until Saturday 16th May.
Image by Leslie Black used with permission

"Cockroach" - October 2008

For the first of the National Theatre of Scotland's short "Debuts" series of plays by new writers, Sam Holcroft has written an impressive piece of theatre - for the first three quarters at least. It's full of energy, humour and has a depth to it, but towards the end it suddenly decides it needs a more dramatic conclusion. Sometimes more is definitely less.

Set in a world of after school detentions the audience will be quickly taken back to the world of John Hughes' bratpack films of the 80's. And it's a comfortable place to be, both for audience and writer. The classroom antics ring true and the characters are quickly filled out to the extent that we're interested in the dynamics between them - although I'm not sure it extended to actually caring as much as it possibly needed to.

Slowly we realise that outside the classroom the country is in the grip of war and we watch as it gradually impacts on our characters. The biology revision sessions work well as the central framing device on which a lot of the play's focus hangs, thanks in part to an excellent performance by Meg Fraser as the teacher. The young cast all do well in portraying the frustrations and impulsiveness of teenagers with Ryan Fletcher's Davey and Helen Mallon's Leah particularly impressive.

Vicky Featherstone's direction is at times stunning - particularly the initial confusion as we enter the transformed Traverse 1. Incredibly she manages to make the 'open walled' classroom feel claustrophobic and oppressive at times, really adding to the tensions, while also allowing us to depart the room entirely for a wonderfully imagined scene between Mallon and Frances Ashman's Mmoma. The pacing works well and it held my attention throughout - although as a whole it felt longer than its 1 hour 50 minutes, and comfort-wise it would have benefited from an interval.

The issues and questions raised by the piece are intelligent ones and I felt it a shame that Holcroft wasn't quite brave enough to let them stand on their own. There's a point in the play about 90 minutes in where we have a speech about it being "a weak man's war" and this seemed a very natural place to end but instead we have a final 20 minutes of melodrama that adds little. And I'd have liked to see a little attention paid to what we have lost in previous wars - genetically and culturally.

But this was never short of entertaining and a great start to the "Debuts" season - the others now have a good deal to live up to.

Cockroach runs at the Traverse until Saturday 1st November.