Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Underground Venues
Theatre
Run ended

A Lot Of It About tells the life story of a gay man, Ben, growing up in an age of transition: a time when homosexuality was legal, but still entirely taboo. It’s not spoiling too much to reveal that Ben rejects his true identity, and embarks on a course of sex aversion therapy, which he hopes will “cure” him of his attraction to men. Eventually, he marries the God-fearing Ann – only to discover that his feelings for his wife can now never take a physical form.

Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Underground Venues
Theatre
Run ended

One of many plays at this year’s Buxton Fringe to tackle the tricky subject of mental health, Broken is a subtle and considered work, focussing on the inner thoughts of a patient in a psychological ward and the efforts of her doctors to treat her.  The play poses some big questions and features some compelling acting, though I felt in the end that it hadn’t achieved quite all it had aimed for.

Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Underground Venues & Arts Centre Studio
Theatre
Underground Venues: 7 Jul 4:30pm to 5:30pm, 11 Jul 1pm to 2pm, 18 Jul 1pm to 2pm, 21 Jul 1pm to 2pm
Arts Centre Studio: 12 Jul 6pm to 7pm, 20 Jul 7:30pm to 8:30pm

In a lonely dressing room in a Broadway theatre, superstar actor Richard Burton shares some reminiscences, sinks some vodka, and waits for his call to the stage. Inspired by Burton’s own writings, this hour-long monologue takes in Burton’s upbringing, his career, and of course his notorious love life – but also sheds some light on his private tribulations, and the demons which stalked him from within.

Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Departs from in front of the Opera House
Other Events
Daily, on the hour from 10am to 4pm

In the six days since I arrived in Buxton, I’ve noticed two things. Everyone’s talking about the “Victorian tram” – and everyone’s keen to point out that it’s really a milk-float. So, yes, it’s all quite true: the red-liveried “tram” is indeed a refurbished delivery vehicle, and it doesn’t actually go anywhere you couldn’t walk in ten minutes anyway. But to apply such bald logic is to miss the oddball magic of this hour-long tour, which is filled with humour, interest… and electric-powered splendour.

Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Underground Venues
Comedy
Run ended

The Fringe these days is full of fresh-faced, smartly-clad magicians, eager to tell us that they’re “using psychology” to control their audience’s minds. What sets Matt Pritchard apart is that, when he says it, it’s absolutely true. Employing a glorious blend of showmanship and science, Pritchard’s family-friendly act is halfway between a conjuring show and a popular lecture; as a child, I’d have found him the coolest science teacher I’d ever had, and my grown-up self was pretty impressed by him too.

Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Poole's Cavern
Theatre
8 Jul 5:30pm to 6:30pm, 8:30pm to 9:30pm, 9 Jul 5:30pm to 6:30pm, 7pm to 8pm, 8:30pm to 9:30pm, 10 Jul 5:30pm to 6:30pm, 7pm to 8pm, 8:30pm to 9:30pm, 11 Jul 5:30pm to 6:30pm, 7pm to 8pm, 8:30pm to 9:30pm, 12 Jul 5:30pm to 6:30pm, 7pm to 8pm, 8:30pm to 9:30pm, 13 Jul 5:30pm to 6:30pm, 7pm to 8pm, 8:30pm to 9:30pm

Another year, another foray into the bowels of the Earth. Butterfly’s productions in Poole’s Cavern have become a fixture at the Buxton Fringe, combining a genuinely stunning backdrop with some reliably enjoyable promenade theatre. And I was intrigued by their choice of script this time round: after all, cutting Shakespeare’s longest play down to just an hour was always going to pose a formidable artistic challenge.

Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Underground Venues
Theatre
4 & 6 Jul 6pm to 6:45pm, 8 Jul 7:30pm to 8:15pm, 13-14 Jul 6pm to 6:45pm

The Last Motel might sound like somewhere you’d find in rural Tennessee – but, as we soon find out, this particular one is a few miles outside Barnsley. Into the room bursts a big man, in a shabby fleece, with a turkey (yes, a turkey) on his head. We’re witnessing the aftermath of a heist gone wrong; and we learn that our implausibly-disguised anti-hero has been left with an unwanted hostage, a well-spoken female vicar.

Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Underground Venues
Theatre
9 Jul 8:45pm to 9:50pm, 10-11 Jul 6pm to 7:05pm, 15 Jul 8:45pm to 9:50pm, 20 Jul 6pm to 7:05pm

“He who fights monsters must take care, that he doesn’t become a monster himself.” You won’t often find me quoting Nietzsche, but there’s no better way to summarise this dark and stylish play – which tells the tales both of a fantastical battle, and of a self-defeating struggle against the monstrous injustices of our real world. With a finely-tooled script and some superlative low-key acting, In A Land Much Like Ours is a must-see of this year’s Fringe.