Reading Time: 2 minutesScenes with Boys promised a queer and gender-expansive take on miscommunication, love and the messy second adolescence that many queer people face – and through the complications of unrequited love, in a university setting that will be familiar to many, the play did just that. Not only did it deliver on this, but the emotive performances combined with the simple, but effective staging drew you into a story that is sadly relatable to so many.
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe first two episodes of London's 50-Hour Improvathon, an improvised sitcom comprising of twenty-five two-hour live sessions running continuously over a full weekend, were a dazzling testament to just how fabulous improv can be. Originally created by award-winning Canadian troupe ‘Die Nasty’, the London's 50-Hour Improvathon has been running more or less annually since 2008, now back at Wilton’s Music Hall after a three year break. The event was brought to London by esteemed theatre maker Ken Campbell and since then has been produced by director Adam Meggido and Extempore Theatre as an annual event, likened to binge watching an entire DVD box-set of comedy drama in one viewing.
Reading Time: 2 minutesFor Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy by Ryan Calais Cameron is a poignant and powerful play heavily inspired by Ntozake Shange's iconic 1975 choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Cameron's work, like Shange's, follows a similar style, presenting a series of connected monologues infused with dance music and movement, all skillfully performed by a talented ensemble of six performers.
Reading Time: 2 minutesIn their first UK tour since the pandemic, Zest Theatre’s Camp Phoenix made its way to The Albany this March. An action-packed show for the whole family, Camp Phoenix takes its audience along for a week-long camp designed to help seventeen-year-olds prepare for impending adulthood. Performed in collaboration with actual high school teens, catchy songs and a meaningful narrative make this show a delight to watch.
Reading Time: 3 minutesThroughout history there are pieces of theatre that defined a genre, whether the classic Pirates of Penzance or more contemporary Phantom of the Opera; however in the 21st century there cannot be a more influential musical in pop culture then Hamilton. Lin Manuel Miranda has written a piece of masterful theatre that works as a postmodern biopic, historical drama, and just an incredible album.
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe Scottish Storytelling Centre, along with other Edinburgh venues, played host to quite the lineup this week commencing its sixth year of the Edinburgh International Improv Fest. Saturday night boasted an impressive double act. Each in turn took to the stage in proper improvisational fashion to a rowdy audience to deliver some utterly ridiculous comedy.
Reading Time: 2 minutesLong form improv is based on fewer audience suggestions, with a series of scenes based on one or two suggestions, over a longer period. In tonight’s hour long show, we had two groups - Glasgow institution “Yer Da” and Berlin-based “GLB” performing to a near sell-out crowd, comprised of the general public and their contemporaries.
Reading Time: 3 minutesWho will emerge on top and win the National Bhangra Dance competition? A simple premise asked by Bhangra Nation and answered through an explosive musical tale, which gives voice to the diasporic search for identity, amid navigating teen angst and relationships.
Reading Time: 3 minutesA Song for Ella Grey is Pilot Theatre’s contemporary retelling of the Ancient Greek myth of Orpheus. Sam, Angeline, Ella Grey, Jay, and Claire are a group of friends on the brink of graduating high school in their small Northern town. Within this group, Claire and Ella Grey are particularly close. They have been best friends since they were little – endless sleepovers, no secrets.
Reading Time: 2 minutesA compelling story about how easily we fall victim to our sins Sin – An Original Musical is off to a good start. Writer/Director, John-Michael Mahoney has created a compelling character-driven show with a decent soundtrack. The…