George Orwell’s prescient story, of future dystopia, directed by Citizens Theatre artistic director Dominic Hill, and adapted by Chris Hannan, is a strange beast. At once, origin story of how it was Orwell came to create the novel, flanked by characters who both homage and pastiche post- World War 2 stiff upper-lippery and casual fascism;Continue reading “Theatre Review: 1984, Dundee Rep Theatre”
Category Archives: Live theatre
From The List Archive
Live Review: A Girl And a Gun Taking pot shots at potboilers Share: Author: Lorna Irvine Taking pot shots at potboilers Louise Orwin’s funny yet trenchant show, A Girl and a Gun, exists in a hinterland where the good girl (in white) is every bit as damaging and pernicious as the femme fatale (in red) andContinue reading “From The List Archive”
Kate Bush’s Influences
Pics of Kate Bush: John Carder Bush J W Waterhouse, ‘The Lady of Shallot’. Kate Bush was always upfront in her literary and artistic influences. She essayed The Brontes of course, but also Tennyson, Shakespeare and John William Waterhouse. Her Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic was unique in a time of punk, prog and so on, but theContinue reading “Kate Bush’s Influences”
The Royal Mile During the Fringe
Was there ever a better analogy for social stratification than the Royal Mile during the Edinburgh Fringe? A teeming mass, a melee of desperation and showing off, it displays the disparity between the classes in all of its garish, wanton glory. Almost Ballardian in scale,the crowd even works as a guide to life itself. FirstlyContinue reading “The Royal Mile During the Fringe”
Some Edinburgh Fringe 2026 Predictions
****! A title will have a swear word and the accompanying poster will have a suitably provocative image, which will be catnip/rage bait to Quentin Letts. Gilded Balloon,7.30 pm 68 Guns Despite featuring music by The Alarm, this gory new musical, written by David Ireland, focuses on The Troubles. Traverse Theatre almost wet themselves withContinue reading “Some Edinburgh Fringe 2026 Predictions”
A Short Rumination On Not I
It’s a mouth, yes a mouth… Animalistic, cannibalistic… Ready to swallow you whole. In the dark, was it… Yes! All enveloped in darkness. And Billie is her name, name of said isolated mouth… Billie always was the favourite, Beckett said one word only : “miraculous”. One.. one word only. What? YES. One word in recognition,Continue reading “A Short Rumination On Not I”
From Across the Arts Archive: Liz Aggiss-The English Channel
Arts:Blog Festival Review: Liz Aggiss–The English Channel ***** Posted by Across the Arts on August 27, 2015, at 11.27pm Lorna Irvine reviews a production with a woman who’s ‘hilarious and badass’. That Liz Aggiss is not a daily part of the school curriculum, along with free dinners, free speech and any kind of hope whatsoever is aContinue reading “From Across the Arts Archive: Liz Aggiss-The English Channel”
The Ultimate Puppet Show: White Rabbit, Red Rabbit
Nassim Soleimanpour’s peerless, hugely acclaimed 2010 show White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, could be the ultimate puppet show, in spite of no marionettes on the stage. Instead, one single performer- either a well-regarded actor or comedian- stands alone on a bare stage with a table and script, penned by Soleimanpour.There are no distractions like complex scenographyContinue reading “The Ultimate Puppet Show: White Rabbit, Red Rabbit”
Archive Review : Butterfly
Arts:BlogTheatre Review: Butterfly ****Posted by Across the Arts on January 29, 2015, at 11.01pmLorna Irvine A visually ravishing evocation of pain and loss, Ramesh Meyyappan’s Butterfly is truly special. Ashley Smith as Butterfly, a kite maker, is so fragile, innocent and graceful that it is nothing short of devastating when she is attacked. She isContinue reading “Archive Review : Butterfly”
Lear at Pitlochry Festival Theatre
Full casting announced for the Pitlochry Festival Theatre production of Lear Pitlochry Festival Theatre has today announced the full cast for their forthcoming production of Lear – Finn den Hertog’s new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. As previously announced, the production will be led by Scottish stage and screen icon, Maureen Beattie as Lear and Forbes Masson as Gloucester. They will be joined in theContinue reading “Lear at Pitlochry Festival Theatre”
