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Reviews from the Edinburgh Fringe

Waiting for a review of your show?  We have a handful still to publish this year, mainly of shows we reviewed over the closing weekend.  They're coming in the next couple of days.

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The Girl Who Cannot Die
Published on Tuesday, 12 May 2015
3

3 stars

Sweet Grassmarket (venue website)
Theatre
2-11 Aug, 4:00pm-5:05pm
Reviewed by Richard Stamp

 Family-friendly. Suitable for all ages.
 Free and unticketed. No pre-booking required.

Over the last few years, actor-playwright Ginny Davis has earned herself a reputation for delivering witty reflections on family life. Her popular “Ruth Rich saga” now runs to four much-lauded instalments, but with Hound Dog she’s tried something different – handing over the stage to a full cast of actors, and stepping back herself into the writer’s role. Her script tells a tale inspired by a real-life experience: on a recent holiday in Crete, she rescued a dog from an abusive owner, bringing it home to live with her ageing Labrador and the rest of her middle-class family.

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I am Hamlet
Published on Tuesday, 12 May 2015
3

3 stars

Greenside (venue website)
Theatre
2-10 Aug, 6:35pm-7:25pm; 12-17 Aug, 11:05pm-12:05am; 19-24 Aug, 2:55pm-3:55pm
Reviewed by Ellen Macpherson

 Recommended for age 16+ only.

Judging by this show, I think we have finally moved to a stage of human development where shows based on social media don’t exist purely to preach messages about its use. Timeline is a refreshingly normal production, in which I didn't once have to sit through a thinly veiled message about the moral degradation of young people on the internet. The writers have used verbatim conversations from Facebook to create a narrative of five university students and their relationships – resulting in a comedic drama with plenty of genuine laugh-out-loud moments.

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Down-Up
Published on Tuesday, 12 May 2015
2

2 stars

theSpace on North Bridge (venue website)
Theatre
2-3, 5-10, 12-17, 19-24 Aug, 4:05pm-4:55pm
Reviewed by Richard Stamp

 Recommended for age 12+ only.

It’s got a weird old title, but The Suicidal Tendencies Of Sheep And A Dog Named The Hoff is really quite a straightforward play. Set at the start of a weekend stag do, it aims to be a funny-but-touching assessment of male friendship, in the face of a looming tragedy. It’s a well-observed script, but ultimately quite insubstantial – and I left disappointed that it hadn’t taken me to some more challenging places, or taught me more about how I should aspire to be.

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The Reincarnation of Trim Tab Jim
Published on Tuesday, 12 May 2015
3

3 stars

C venues - C aquila (venue website)
Theatre
1-17 Aug, 6:45pm-7:45pm
Reviewed by Richard Stamp

 Parents or guardians should consider the content of this show if children are attending.

As we look back at the horror of the First World War, it’s tempting to reduce it to a few clichéd images: the trenches, the gas-masks, the poppies in no-man’s land. But this well-presented play conveys a far more nuanced tale, seen through the eyes of two young officers on the front line. So of course, we witness the suffering, and the constant threat of loss – a tragedy that’s all the more affecting because it’s so resolutely underplayed. But we also learn another side to the wartime story: the happiness at landing a decent billet, the all-too-brief leave in Paris, the pleasure to be found in a trip to a restaurant and a glass of rough wine.

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Bathtime
Published on Tuesday, 12 May 2015
4

4 stars

Pleasance Dome (venue website)
Theatre
31 Jul, 1-4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-25 Aug, 4:10pm-5:10pm
Reviewed by Richard Stamp

 Family-friendly. Suitable for all ages.

“This isn’t a magic show,” says the devilishly avuncular Paul Nathan, and that might just be the one unvarnished truth his hour-long act contains. Yes, there are card tricks, and yes, his easy drawl belies a sharp line in chicanery. But he’s also a compelling actor; and he’s joined on the stage by a fine guitarist too. Between them they deliver a quirky, striking piece of theatre… one with potential to appeal to those whom conventional illusionists leave cold.

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So It Goes
Published on Saturday, 09 May 2015
3

3 stars

Assembly Roxy
Theatre
31 Jul, 1-12, 14-25 Aug, 10:45pm-11:45pm
Reviewed by Richard Stamp

 Recommended for age 12+ only.

For an example of a piece of literature that’s been ruined by its own fame, look no further than Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde. Written as a mystery thriller, Stevenson’s novella – together with all faithful adaptations of it – is comprehensively spoiled by the simple fact that everyone now knows the secret of Jekyll’s double life. And so, for this stylish production, Fringe-First-winning playwright Jonathan Holloway has adopted a radical solution: yes, we think we know the story… but he’s gone ahead and changed it.

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The Bombing of the Grand Hotel
Published on Saturday, 09 May 2015
2

2 stars

C venues - C (venue website)
Theatre
31 Jul, 1-17 Aug, 8:45pm-9:45pm
Reviewed by Richard Stamp

 Parents or guardians should consider the content of this show if children are attending.

I confess: I’d never even heard of Six Characters In Search Of An Author before now, still less seen it performed. Cambridge University ADC offer a free-spirited take on Luigi Pirandello’s 1921 script, filled with Fringe-related in-jokes and modernised asides. It’s an ambitious production with a large and capable cast, but the confusion inherent in Pirandello’s meta-theatrical plot too often leaches out into the production.

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M.A.I.R.O.U.L.A.
Published on Saturday, 09 May 2015
0

preview

theSpace @ Surgeons Hall (venue website)
Theatre
2-3, 5-10 Aug, 4:25pm-5:05pm

 Recommended for age 14+ only.

A surreal and disturbing show about the business of performing femininity, Jewel earned five stars from our reviewer at the Brighton Fringe in May. The story of a young girl who’s desperate to win a beauty pageant, it asks hard questions but is filled with energy too. One performer, Claudia Jeffries, plays a range of roles as she captures the varied forces which shape Jewel’s life.

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Vlad the Impaler
Published on Friday, 08 May 2015
0

preview

Just the Tonic at The Caves (venue website)
Theatre
1-12, 14-25 Aug, 4:40pm-5:40pm

 Recommended for age 14+ only.

Winner of our “one to watch” award at this year’s Brighton Fringe, Sleeping Trees Theatre’s version of The Odyssey is a wild eyed, energetic version of Homer’s epic. A physical performance filled with mime and music, it also boasts some highly-skilled, multi-layered comedy. All in all, we found it impossible not to enjoy this quirky interpretation of a classic tale.

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Edith, Elizabeth and I
Published on Thursday, 07 May 2015
0

preview

Bedlam Theatre (venue website)
Theatre
2-24 Aug, 7:30pm-8:35pm

 Parents or guardians should consider the content of this show if children are attending.

There are four versions of Titus Andronicus at Fringe 2013, but this – from the cleverly-named Smooth-Faced Gentlemen – surely stands out. Performed by an all-woman cast, it promises a “brutally farcical take” on Shakespeare’s bloodiest work, as well as providing a new opportunity for female actors to take on roles that are normally reserved for men. And with the co-founders of Edinburgh favourites Three’s Company providing substantial creative input, there’s a lot of promise in this eye-catching play.

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