Following the Qatar World Cup controversy and the recognition finally being given to the Women's game, Pitch is a well-timed and necessary play about the queer community's relationship to football. Elizabeth Hope, Eleanor Rattenbury, Meg Lewis, Ethan Pascal Peters and Elijah Harris in Pitch. Photo Credit: David Monteith-Hodge. If there is one area that homophobia... Continue Reading →
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Theatre Review: Poof! (Gilded Balloon) ★★★
A gentle, lyrical piece that highlights the importance of magic and hope in today's world. Celeste Lecesne in Poof! Photo credit: Andrew Moore. Expertly performed by Celeste Lecesne, LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of the Trevor Project, Poof! is a monolgue play with songs, written by V (formerly Eve Ensler). The piece has a lot of... Continue Reading →
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Theatre Review: Baklâ (Summerhall) ★★★★
A searing exploration of colonialism, identity and sexuality, Max Percy's solo show examines intergenerational trauma and its effect on the modern Filipino. Max Percy in Baklâ. Photo Credit: Northwall Arts Centre. Max Percy is an engaging performer, whether talking with ease to the audience or affecting a breathtaking piece of rope work. Both skills are... Continue Reading →
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Theatre Review: Wasteman (Assembly George Square Studios) ★★★★
Inspired by performer Joe Leather's own experiences, Wasteman is a pithy black comedy about a Northern bin-man who learns to put the sparkle back into his life. Joe Leather in Wasteman. Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming. Bolton-born Leather's slickly staged solo show is a real joy to watch. Opening with a drag dream sequence, Joe talks... Continue Reading →
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Theatre Review: Boy Out The City (Underbelly Cowgate) ★★★
In this solo show about isolation, homophobia and mental health, Declan Bennett draws on his journals and personal experiences to weave a compelling tale. Declan Bennett in Boy Out The City. Photo Credit: Roberto Ricciuti. After the worst St Patrick's Day on record, Declan decides to escape the London lockdown and move to Oxfordshire with... Continue Reading →
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Theatre Review: It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure (Underbelly Bristo Square) ★★★★★
A sharply-pointed satire that is not afraid to make the audience uncomfortable, It's a Motherf**king Pleasure takes aim at assumptions about disability, ableism, and the knots people tie themselves in trying to always say the "right" thing. Aarian Mehraban, Samuel Brewer and Chloe Palmer in It's a Motherf**king Pleasure. Photo Credit: Alex Brenner. This show... Continue Reading →
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Theatre Review: Them (Pleasance Courtyard) ★★★★
With powerful physical performances by the all-female cast, Them is a challenging, complex piece that explores toxic masculinity. Bergdis Julia Johannsdottir, Marjo Lahti, Anna Korolainen Crevier and Tinna Thorvalds Önnudottir in Them. Photo credit: Anna Maggy. The audience is greeted, so politely, by the four performers who are sat as if in toilet cubicles. They... Continue Reading →
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Theatre Review: Santi & Naz (Pleasance Courtyard) ★★★★★
Childhood best friends begin to be pulled apart in this beautiful, joyous and heart-rending play about identity, set against the emerging reality of Partition.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Theatre Review: Blue (Assembly George Square) ★★★
An unflinching portrait of policing, politics and racism in America, June Carryl's Blue is hard to watch for all the right reasons.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 Theatre Review: Oscar at The Crown (Assembly George Square Gardens) ★
Six meets Thunderdome in this dystopian musical, loosely based on the life of Oscar Wilde. The music is pumping, the singing is loud, but the plot is lost in this superficial soundscape.