The Full Monty Festival Theatre

Last night I had the great pleasure of going to the Festival Theatre to see The Full Monty, a stage play based on the film of the same name written by Simon Beaufoy, who wrote the script for the original film. [Read more...]

Who could believe that in this day and age a community radio station could be subject to presenters being forcibly removed from the studio, funds diverted from the use to which they were intended…oh, hold on, I live in Leith…better start again, eh? [Read more...]

Another excellent production from Northern Ballet is on the bill at the Festival Theatre until Saturday night. Their 2013 tour features the World premiere of their new production, The Great Gatsby, based on the novel by F Scott Fitzgerald.

There is something here for everyone, not just for ballet purists. The sets, storytelling and music are first class and the dance contains elements of diverse dances such as charleston and tango as well as classical ballet. [Read more...]

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

At some point in the recent past screenwriters Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis were asked to wave their magic wands and come up with a comedy based on the world of magicians. Something presumably with the endless quotability factor of Anchorman, the smug fallen hero of Talladega Nights, and the oddly touching bromance of Step Brothers. Sadly, by putting these elements into their big hat and uttering the magic words, they have pulled out a turkey rather than a bunny. That turkey is The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. [Read more...]

Oz the Great and Powerful

Sam Raimi has always been a fearless filmmaker. From his gruesome, iconic Evil Dead horror franchise to bringing Spiderman to the big screen, he is a director who has never been afraid of taking risks. And in Oz the Great and Powerful, he takes his biggest risk to date, returning to the merry old land of Oz almost 75 years after Judy Garland’s Dorothy took her first tentative steps down the yellow brick road. [Read more...]

In my humble opinion, this is the world’s greatest musical!! The Rocky Horror Show returned to Edinburgh Playhouse for its 40th anniversary with a new production directed by Christopher Luscombe.

As a fan of the show who has seen it a number of times over the years, I knew what to expect (or so I thought!) The Rocky Horror Show is full of corsets, make up, high heels and sexy jokes, as we are told the story of an innocent couple who stumble into Frank N Furter’s bizarre transsexual party. [Read more...]

History is a funny thing. Over time, it seems to me that those of us who are not students of the subject are left with only the ‘bullet points’. For example, I had long believed that the French Revolution put paid to their monarchy. The reality is that after it they still had spells under two emperors and a king before the founding of the Third Republic. Likewise, I was under the impression that the Civil Rights movement in America was a product solely of the Sixties and that ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ was originally a blockbuster film. I was put right on these two points when I attended the opening night of the stage version of the latter at The Kings Theatre in Edinburgh. The reality is that Alfred Uhry’s play was first performed ‘off Broadway’ in 1987 with the film, starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, coming along in 1989; and the civil rights struggle really started in 1875. [Read more...]

A surprisingly thought provoking evening of entertainment awaits in High Society at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh.

From its origin in The Philadelphia Story of the 1930s, through the 1950s addition of the wonderful Cole Porter score to the current thoroughly enjoyable production, this musical still has a lot to say that’s relevant today.

[Read more...]